New Documentary Puts Reducetarianism in the Spotlight

Convincing others to adopt a fully plant-based diet can be one of the most challenging parts in moving towards a sustainably driven cruelty-free food system. Riverdale actress Madelaine Petsch and leader of the Reducetarian Movement Brian Kateman teamed up to explore the challenges that hinder people’s transition to a plant-based diet in their new documentary MEAT ME HALFWAY. The duo aims to guide people towards a plant-based diet without forcing them to immediately drop favorite habits and traditions.

The documentary team decided to take an approach that encourages steps towards a meatless diet rather than forces a plant-based lifestyle, believing that when presenting a new diet often times people respond defensively. Kateman walks the viewer through his own process of reducing meat, pointing out everything from nutrition to sustainability, to showcase the reasons why meat consumption is harmful to self-interests and environmental health.

“I co-directed MEAT ME HALFWAY alongside Journey Wade-Hak with a single question in mind: why is it so difficult to get people to eat less meat? Despite all the known issues factory farming has on the environment, human health, and animal welfare, we as a society are eating more meat than ever before in recorded history,” Kateman said. “In 2020, according to the USDA, Americans on average ate 225 pounds per person. I set out to learn what caused this carnivore craze: Was it culture? Our biology? Marketing? Or something else?”

Kateman felt inspired to discover what would push people to realize the impact of their diets. The activist founded the Reducetarian Foundation to promote the act of limiting and minimizing meat and animal-product consumption rather than a full-sweeping demand that people become plant-based. Through the documentary, Kateman guides the audience on a journey to inspire people to lower their animal product intake. The educational, honest, and relatable path allows the audience to connect to plant-based or plant-forward living, rather than feeling isolated from the process.

“At its core, I was inspired to make this film because I wanted to offer an alternative vision for conversations around meat consumption, to show that the vegan-omnivore divide is a false one because meat consumption isn’t an all-or-nothing premise,” he continued. “I hope that the film will inspire a generation of individuals to cut back on animal products in order to create a more compassionate, healthy, and sustainable world.”

Petsch and Kateman come to audiences where their diet currently stands. The MEAT ME HALFWAY documentary takes a controversial and heated topic and attempts to make it palatable to all audiences, regardless of diet. The film hopes to make its viewers and subjects feel like a part of a solution rather than the problem, which is key to Kateman’s Reducetarian mission.

The film features interviews with several activists alongside discussion with people who have never considered lowering their meat consumption. The film also explores the dangers of animal agriculture, spotlighting the environmental damages and cruel practices that define the food industry worldwide.

Kateman also interviews representatives from several plant-based food giants such as Clara Foods, Eat Just, Beyond Meat, and Miyoko’s Creamery. Kateman attempts to display every aspect of reducing meat consumption from the small steps such as introducing avocados to his parents to immense scientific leaps such as Silicon Valley labs working to develop meatless proteins.

People can watch the MEAT ME HALFWAY documentary now on Amazon or iTunes to join Kateman and Petsch’s exploration into general meat consumption. Kateman emphasizes that the middle ground must be address to make progress changing the greater culture’s diet saying, “the first step is to get people to stop thinking about vegan-omnivore as a binary.”

Seven-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood has been hailed for her “enormous” vocal range. When it comes to her diet, Underwood’s a fan of breakfast burritos and lots of tofu. She doesn’t shy away from the carbs, either. According to Cheat Sheet, one of her favorite snacks is a toasted English muffin with peanut butter.

Singer, songwriter, and “The Voice” coach, Blake Shelton, 43, has been working to stay fit recently with help from his long-time love, Gwen Stefani, who is a vegetarian and told him to get off the meat if he wants to feel fitter and lose some weight. Shelton has been trying to keep up with Stefani's impressive fitness level, according to an interview Stefani gave this fall. The former No Doubt singer and Hollaback girl is a longtime vegetarian, eats a mostly vegan diet, and is super fit-- and at 50, looks younger than her years. A source told Gossipcop, “Gwen’s told him the way to lose it is to stay the hell away from meat and bad carbs.” We're rooting for him!

The best-selling female country music singer in history isn’t buying any expensive steak dinners after a performance. The “Queen of Country Pop” has sold more than 100 million records but says she keeps her meat-free diet simple. She is both vegetarian and eats very little dairy -- though at times has said she does eat eggs.

Americana singer and songwriter Annette Conlon is also a passionate vegan. She started “The Compassionette Tour,” in an effort to bring compassion, social consciousness, human interaction, and animal issues to a mainstream audience.

The Man in Black is synonymous with country music, even nearly two decades after his death (1932-2003), probably in part because of the biopic about his life starring vegan actor Joaquin Phoenix. Ask any die-hard country music fan (or your dad, for that matter) and they will tell you that Johnny Cash was one of the best-selling musicians of all-time. His scores of hits include “I Walk the Line” and "Hurt" "A Boy Named Sue" and dozens of others. Cash himself was believed to have lived meat-free later in life to help combat some health issues. At Johnny Cash’s Kitchen and Saloon in Nashville, you can also load up on the meat-free dishes as the restaurant boasts a fully stacked veggie menu that includes greens, sweet potato mash, and fried okra.