Quick To Judgement

Perhaps today's post should have been titled Follow The Money. My latest diet book read has redeemed itself in a small way with a discussion of the USDA and how it operates. I still think the message is a little off target, but the spirit is there. The author repeatedly lumps together meat (no), dairy (maybe), fat (no), and processed foods (DING DING DING DING!!!!) as the causes of all our chromic illnesses and inflammatory conditions. He calls out the USDA for bending to the will of lobbyists for meat and dairy over Big Starch (as far as I know, there is no such thing. I just thought it sounded funny). Indeed, in my opinion large governmental institutions are susceptible to being influenced, but I don't think it's meat vs starch. It is fake food vs. real food. The issue is how our meats and starches are produced and delivered to us. No longer are individuals growing and raising their own food, or even working and trading with local farms where the techniques are transparent. It is large corporations pushing to use all sorts of chemicals to facilitate harvest and processing in the name of efficiencies and profit. It's not meat that is the problem. It is factory farm feedlot meat that is fed hormone boosted and antibiotic infused mash instead of free range grass. It is not the wheat so much as the glyphosate it is drowned in to speed up the harvest. Frankly, a vegan diet might be beneficial to more people than we think, but not if it comes with a heaping helping of pesticides. Regardless of whether you prefer Mediterranean, vegetarian, keto, or paleo, take a close look at where your food is coming from. That is more important than any diet you can stick to.