Bittman Signs Off at Times

New York Times food writer and columnist Mark Bittman is leaving the paper.

Bittman wrote in his regular column that he's leaving "to take a central role in a year-old food company, to do what I've been writing about these many years: to make it easier for people to eat more plants."

Bittman noted that five years ago, when he started his column, food was not as serious a topic as it is now. "Now nearly everyone knows that food matters," he wrote.

He also mused on his role as a journalist and advocate. "I’ve long seen myself as an activist and an advocate as well as a journalist," he wrote. "Although I’m eager to understand both sides of an argument, I’ve felt that my job was to parse an issue, get the facts right, figure out what I thought was the correct position on that issue, and express it."

Read his full farewell piece at nytimes.com.