Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: RE: meat, forced vegetarianism, etc.

[Racheli Gai (racheli]

Hey TR,

Here is my personal perspective:

"Wives tales wisdom"??  - I could do without this one.

As to your juicy steaks and such: There are good reasons to cut down on
eating meat, other than how it might affect one's health. This is
especially true with beef: Raising one pound of beef utilizes at least
2,000 gallons of water.  Depending on how the animals are raised, there is
reason to worry about their well being, as well as about other forms of
environmental damage (overgrazing and such). If we go back to the health
issue - unless you buy organic meat, or grow your own, there are issues to
do with hormones, traces of antibiotic drugs (given to animals to make
them grow faster), traces of biocides, and more.
My point in mentioning these isn't to determine whether one should or 
shouldn't eat meat, but to suggest that not all meats are created  equal -
in terms of environmental costs; the kinds of chemicals which  might be
present in the substance on your plate; etc.
 

R. (an omnivore).




>Personal perspective:

>Even when I was a practicing vegetarian, I disliked the way that some
>vegetarians insisted that their diet was superior. As Dan O'Neil put it,
>if you think vegetarians are peaceful, advanced people, try eating a good
>hamburger in front of one.

>Now, I am on the Atkins diet.  Which means, people, that I have bacon for
>breakfast, and very few veggies indeed compared to myself in years past.

>Looking back, I now realize that I started to have the symptoms of
>diabetes at the time I went vegetarian.  A low-carb lifestyle has made me
>healthier; for several years I had been getting daily bouts of vertigo
>and other symptoms that made my life less than vigorous, but avoiding
>carbs has cleared up those problems.  In my experience, I must limit my
>food carbs to under 20 per day, normally, and avoid like the plague
>anything particularly sugary or starchy, with exceptions on special
>occasions or in emergencies.

>Having tried vegetarian, even vegan, in my earlier life, I am well aware
>of those styles.  I can say with some authority that there's no easy way
>to provide a diet within those parameters and still meet my needs--and
>any diet that managed to do so would be deadly boring.  That's not to
>deny that some people thrive under a vegetarian diet; but I insist that
>we're all different and that we all should pursue our own dietary needs
>based on what seems to work for us.

>I am aware that there is "good" research to support all kinds of dietary
>choices.  Frankly, I am amazed that anyone can still earn a living as a
>dietician; over the years, the dietary profession has relied on junk
>science and wives-tale wisdom to contradict itself again and again in
>food recommendations.  Until the dietary profession settles itself into
>some recommendations that last longer than a decade, I'm planning to
>consider them only a little more believable than politicians.

>IMO, there is too much in American culture that amounts to food faddism. 
>Happily enough, the people I'm currently working with on cohousing are of
>like mind.

>As I envision it, a common house dinner involves serving dozens of
>people.  Why not prepare a great ranges of foods to accomodate peoples'
>needs?

>Enough about imaginary non-starchy vegan meal plans--bring me a
>porterhouse, medium rare, with Atkins steak sauce!

>TR Ruddick
>Dayton Cohousing

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racheli [at] sonoracohousing.com (Racheli Gai)
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