I have been blogging about health and nutrition for almost five years. In the beginning, I blogged a very bias point (unfortunately), promotion of a "guru" vegan agenda. I'm not vegan, never has been.
Nowadays I blog more objectively. Some diet-Blog readers would disagree, say that I have a vegetarian agenda. Not me. I'm not even vegetarian. I mostly fruit and vegetables, and no meat, poultry, milk or eat eggs, but I eat fish. to be honest, my diet more Mediterranean than anything else.
In my time spent blogging about diet-that seems like an eternity-I've encountered a lot of different, in contrast, and downright radical views. When you have a blog about a vegan lifestyle (like I did for too many years), you get a bunch of tree huggers and hippies who sing, "down with meat, dairy and livestock farmers. Eat more cabbage! And save the whales! "
What is this lead to? A backlash of the opposite opinion; Pro-Meat people. In most cases is the Atkins, low-carb people. And I've taken my fair share of backlash, especially when I was paid to shill. "You idiot," they shout, "people are hunters. We should only eat meat. The Masai live hundred on nothing but blood, guts and offal. Oh, and screw the whales! "
Here's my point. Vegans, and for the lack of a better term, "low-carbers," a very small proportion of the population. Both lifestyles are radical and too restrictive for the average American. People want to eat all kinds of things, for better or worse.
A peeved off vegan or low carber is like the guy standing in Times Square, shouting in a megaphone, "sinners, the world ends. You must repent! " Yes, he is there, making a fuss, but nobody listens.
Now why I bring this up? Well, this week, the u.s. Department of agriculture (USDA) released the 2010 dietary guidelines for Americans, and I have already seen that taking heavy criticism of our two radical groups. It has too many grains and not enough beef for the low-carbers, and are not earthy-crunchy, uber-veggie enough for the vegans.
The core of the new directives basically says: "meet the new boss, same as the old boss." USDA officials are encouraging people to still enjoy their food, but eating in moderation and stick to healthier fare: nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk and dairy, seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans and peas, and nuts and seeds. Also the old standby-opinion: limiting saturated fat, fast food, and refined sugar and sweets. No duh.
But think what people-pay attention vegans and low-carbers-these guidelines are the the Government can do, best period.
The vast majority of people eat some of these and some of that; which contains meat, cereals, fruit and vegetables. Maybe it's because we are omnivores. But if you are choosing a radical, vegan or low-carb, go ahead, just don't expect a "food revolution". Your "revolutionary" diet (usually peddled by some fame-hungry, so-called "health" guru) will never become the norm. National health organizations will never roll out food reform that only calls for fruit and vegetables and no meat or vise versa.
Health institutions need to the masses, and the masses as meat, dairy, fruit, vegetables, sweets, salt, refined grains, whole grains, fast food, and everything there. The USDA tries a balance, that hopefully will inspire the majority of Americans to eat better.
No one cares about a handful of loudmouth vegans and low-carbers. Directives of the official diet contains always all kinds of foods-get over it.
Image credit: wizkid1
No comments:
Post a Comment