The challenge: no eating meat, fish, dairy, eggs or anything derived from the animal kingdom for seven days. The irony: She partook in this challenge while still wearing her leather shoes and perfume derived from whale fat among other animal-based consumer products. Two years ago, the "queen of whatever is trendy" attempted a 21-day vegan cleanse of her own, but apparently was not impressed enough with the lifestyle for it to stick. This year she lowered the bar to seven days, but also dragged 378 poor saps on her payroll into this Godforsaken baconless world.
The results were apparently mixed, though I'm sure the challenge's sponsor, Kathy Freston, would consider the experiment a huge success. Oprah Winfrey just promoted her books and lifestyle for the second time in two years, and several of the lab rats actually had some very nice sound bites and anecdotes. I'd call that a financial success if I were Ms. Freston, too.
So here is my standard disclaimer: I don't care what you eat, and I would appreciate it if you didn't care what I eat. If you want to promote healthy eating, that's great. But don't assume that people who aren't in lock step with your lifestyle are any less healthy or happy. I recently read some of the results and reactions, and question the interpretation on Oprah's site.
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"Some staffers had a harder time with the challenge than others. Co-Producer Veronica says she used to eat a lot of fast food, and eating vegan left her feeling "angry." Kathy told her it was because she had an addiction."
Addiction? Color me reactionary, but Kathy Freston has no business diagnosing anyone with an addiction. She's not a doctor. Or a psychologist. She's not even a nutritionist. In fact, I'm pretty sure she isn't even a certified yoga instructor. Her credentials? She began modeling at the age of 16, married too young and was involved in a bad relationship. Re-married a wealthy producer (who happens to be currently working for the Oprah Winfrey network) and wrote a book about her previous relationship. Later, she proclaimed herself a wellness expert and began writing other books. Thanks for the addiction diagnosis, but do you mind if I get a second opinion from my wife's equally qualified hair colorist?
As for the anger; I'd be angry too if I were staring at a bowl full of kelp for lunch. Me, personally, I'd rather get punched in the groin by a five year old with a runny nose and bad table manners.
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"By the third day, Rich says he felt better than he had in 10 years. Before the challenge, Rich says he was taking six to eight antacids a day and suffering from migraine headaches. "And let's qualify it, I ate horribly," he says. "I ate poor foods. Now I don't. And I lost 11 pounds."
Eleven pounds in one week? Someone obviously removed part of Rich's brain, which was included in total weight loss. Note to Rich: you can eat healthy, lose weight and still be an omnivore. Really. There are, like, hundreds of us who do it.
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"By the end of the week, 300 of the 378 Harpo staffers who signed up successfully completed the challenge. Collectively, they lost 444 pounds and gained 84 pounds...and used a record amount of toilet paper.
78 Harpo staffers have a modicum of intelligence. 378 people lost a total of 360 pounds (444 minus 84 gained) in one week. That's less than one pound per staffer, which equates to two glasses of water. Don't aggregate the numbers to make them sound more impressive. And what about the tiolet paper consumption? Wasting normally productive time while sitting on the can, killing trees to produce "record amounts" toilet paper and wasting thousands of additional gallons of water flushing toilets. How does this factor into the green lifestyle?
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I feel terrible sorry for you as you obviously spend no time researching nutrition. You should check out the book "The China Study" which advocates plant-based nutrition as not only a healthful way to eat, but something that can improve the quality of life for people suffering from diseases of affluence. And it's written by a man who's been studying nutritional biochemistry and cancer for longer than you've been alive.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to eat your quarter-pounder with cheese, then by all means please do. But don't expect any sympathy when you acquire heart-disease, high blood pressure, colorectal cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, etc.
Couldn't have said it better myself. If evolutionary biology meant for us to be herbivores, why didn't all those savage beast-eating cavemen croak of high blood pressure and type II diabetes before they had the ability to make equally bloodthirsty kiddies. Meat isn't the problem, its unhealthy over-consumption of all types of things. A diet of french fries (fried in veggie oil of course) and jolly ranchers is technically vegan, but I doubt I'd get on Oprah for following that for a week (but worth a try?).
ReplyDelete-An admitted food addict
I would say that we are all born with vegan tendencies. I think we're taught to develop a taste for meat. If we were carnivorous by nature then we'd all be outside chasing smaller animals, catching them with our bare hands or teeth, and eating them raw. (Head to tail, entrails, anus and brain included.) That's what real carnivores do. The fact that we are omnivorous means we can survive on either or both.
ReplyDeleteI prefer veganism because I don't agree with the way food animals are treated. And if you don't agree with something, you don't support it. The health benefits are a secondary benefit for me. To each his or her own, though. Everyone's on their own path.
@Anonymous: No sympathy needed. I'm an extremely healthy omnivore who is well aware of the China Study and thinks a great deal about nutrition. I also believe that if we were not meant to consume animal proteins, why is the very first thing we ingest as newborns animal protein--mother's milk. Is eating a lot of vegetables healthy? Of course. Will eating a steak chulupa every other Thursday kill me? Only if I forget to chew.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for my colon, I'll have you know that my colon was voted the 9th best colon in America by the American Medical Association.
@ Kay. Thanks for the thoughtful post. Our diets should consist primarily of fruits and veggies, but we ingest animal protein right out of the womb. As for catching small animals and eating them raw, how do you think I spend my Sundays? Curious about a vegan's take on dairy/eggs if no animal is harmed.
ReplyDeleteI commend you for sticking with your principles. Unfortunately, our society is predicated on exploiting other creatures in some fashion; from the clothes and perfumes we wear, to the medicines that keep us healthy. If you live in a house, chances are it exists as a result of deforestation and chasing animals from their habitats. Unless it's a mud house in the plains or a cave house in Andalucia--neither of which have very good BlackBerry reception by the way.
@whitnd4: What about bacon flavored Jolly Ranchers? Still vegan? If you could convince Oprah that fries and Jolly Ranchers would help her keep the weight off, you could be the next Dr. Phil.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there's no escaping all forms of animal use. The goal of veganism is to do as best you can and lessen the amount of suffering. No one is perfect but I'm not the type of vegan that says "all or nothing." It's important to do what you can with what you've got.
ReplyDeleteTo say that dairy animals and chickens are not harmed is a far from the truth. In dairy, cows are impregnated constantly to keep up milk production. As soon as she has her baby it's taken from her to either become a dairy cow (female) or veal (male) which is terrible in itself. If you've never heard the scream of a mother cow that is having its baby taken away, it's a god awful thing to hear. She'll bellow for days.
As for eggs, male chickens at birth are either ground up or thrown in trash bags to suffocate, as they are no use to the egg industry. The female chicks have their beaks cut off so they can't peck each other to death while living in closed spaces. Once they're sent to their battery cages, where they will live abnormally short lives, they are allotted less than the size of a sheet of notebook paper a piece. They can't perform any natural actions such as preening or roosting or even spreading their wings or turning around. They're subjected to abnormal hours of lighting to trick their bodies into laying more eggs than is natural for a bird.
Did you know that chickens will consume their own eggs to restore the lost calcium from each egg? I didn't know that until I went to a farm sanctuary. They're crazy for the stuff! Once they stop laying the maximum amount of eggs, they're considered spent and are sent to slaughter. I think it's a terrible life for any animal and unfortunately "free range" isn't defined and ends up being, for the most part, manipulation of peoples' good intentions for money. But that happens everywhere, I guess.
I appreciate your kindness towards my comments as I know they don't reflect your own opinion. As for breast milk, herbivores consume it at birth, too. I think there are a lot of arguments for and against what we both stand for. Veganism makes me happy because I feel like I'm living in line with my values and it feels very right for me on a personal level.
Anyone that can google "Factory Farming" and see what goes on in animal agriculture, and still be okay with it, has my blessing to consume all they want. But most people aren't okay with it and it makes them upset so they turn a blind eye. That's the saddest part, in my opinion.
Happy Thursday and good luck with your squirrel catch on Sunday!
Thanks, Kay- I appreciate the educational discourse. In your honor, no squirrels this Sunday.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, profitability drives humans to do a lot of things we shouldn't. We all make our stands for what we believe in most strongly in one way or another.
Cheers.