Why I Eat Meat

First of all, if you are vegetarian or vegan, I challenge you to read this post in its’ entirety. I was myself for more than twenty years a vegetarian and appreciate your perspective. Have an open mind for the ability to change, based on self-experimentation, significant study and research on all aspects of nutrition and a huge desire to get maximum performance out of my food choices.

Having worked in the health and fitness industry for multiple decades there is no bigger issue for a majority of individuals than figuring out what the optimal nutritional path. It’s difficult for a plethora of reasons, a mere sample is below.

1. Confusion on what is healthy
2. Daily bombardment of headline grabbing misinformation on diet
3. Extreme emphasis on body perfection (which doesn’t exist)
4. Snake oil salesmen and women on everything diet and wellness related
5. Decades of nutritional advice that clearly has not been successful
6. “Food-like product” toxic environment that encompasses our society

OK so back to how come I eat meat. I strongly believe that as we age a priority should be placed on what food provides you with the ultimate in performance enhancing benefits. I have written in previous posts about the need to move away from food as punishment or reward and into the mode of real food that give you high energy and maximum sustainability. See here, here and here.

This thinking does not require a scientific study or ‘expert’ opinion. It demands you look seriously at how you feel on a daily basis. Do you have extreme highs and lows of energy? Do you feel uncontrollable hunger? Are you totally depleted at the end of the day? Is your weight (whatever the number) steady and stable? Do you get sick often or rarely? Does food affect your mental state either positively or negatively? Are you able to do physically the things that you enjoy on a regular basis? What is the state of your skin, hair and joints?

These are the types of questions you need to be straightforward in answering when it comes to your diet. Not the number on a scale and not the latest media headline. Your ability to perform, on a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being the highest, where are you? This is what I myself did and came to the conclusion (sadly took me 20 years) a vegetarian diet was doing harm to my health.

Why I eat meat

1. Full of nutrients and minerals that provide long lasting effects
2. Is a real food not a manufactured processed food-like substance
3. Provides high level of energy for physical exercise and daily life
4. Believe in supporting local farmers to enhance community sustainability
5. See ruminants as part of a complete cycle to rebuilding our top soil and environment
6. Follow the path of traditional diets (like Weston A. Price) that have been proven effective over centuries, among cultures and across continents
7. Believe animals, especially ruminants can be raised ethically and sustainably and that many farmers are currently doing just that
8. Don’t believe in supplementation in order to have a ‘healthy diet’
9. Tried other paths and this is the one that works by far the best for me!

Flash Back

Prior to the 1970’s and before the US ever became involved in dietary recommendations, we looked pretty good. Take some time and pull out old pictures of family, friends and classmates and compare to photos of today.  One series of photos I find striking is the funeral train of Robert Kennedy in 1968, sizes and shapes of all kinds of people but all looking more or less within normal ranges. That would be hard to find today.

Processed food, vegetable oils and constant eating and drinking all day long was not a traditional way of living for most Americans prior to 1970. After the first ever dietary recommendations from the McGovern Committee in 1977, one starts to see a continual uptick of many negative components for the next fifty years.

By choosing to blame (unfairly in my opinion) saturated fat as the diet demon caused an epidemic of poor food choices for a large portion of the population. I highly recommend Nina Teicholz’s book, The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet. Nina has a host of podcasts on her website if you prefer listening.

“THE BIG FAT SURPRISE is the first publication not only to systematically argue that the saturated fats in animal foods have been unfairly maligned, based on weak, inconclusive evidence, but also to document the highly damaging unintended consequences (the rise of both vegetable oil and carbohydrate consumption).

More than a dozen scholarly review papers over the past five years have confirmed Teicholz’s conclusions on saturated fat. For average people, the implication is that we have been needlessly avoiding meat, cheese, whole milk and eggs for decades and that we can welcome, guilt-free, these “whole fats” back into our lives.”

In a nutshell what we’ve done the last fifty years hasn’t worked. Of course, it is hard to generalize on such an enormous topic but a good place to start is to encourage eating real food and cooking the majority of your meals, and in my opinion that includes meat.

Sustainability

I understand individuals have concerns about animals, welfare and the environment. I respect this. I have read and continue to examine the real impacts on our globe through intelligent conversations and research on the topic. I challenge you to read, listen and investigate beyond the latest fear mongering headline.

Professor Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D. of UC Davis should be first and foremost on your lists. He has written numerous papers, online videos and detailed information on the sustainability and importance of ruminants in our food systems. Here are some key points from a talk on Peak Human Performance.

• In the US livestock is actually 3.9% of direct GHG emissions and all fossil fuel sources combined is 80% according to the EPA
• Water that goes into an animal is excreted and serves as fertilizer, it’s a cycle
• Water needed to make almond milk vs dairy milk is 17X higher
• Cattle are very efficient; they make use of a resource that humans cannot (cellulose)
• Domesticated animals and pets contribute to GHG (e.g. horses which there are 9.5 million of vs only 9 million dairy cows)
• Livestock contribute to the CO2 cycle, the amount that animals add to the atmosphere is equal to the amount that is destroyed
• US has the lowest environmental impact of any livestock producing country in the world (3.9% of GHG for all livestock combined)
• 12% of all GHG in the world stem from the US and 11 of the 12% that the US contributes stems from fossil fuels and 1% of this stems from food production

Here’s his written statement before the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on May 21, 2019.  If you prefer viewing Professor Mitloehner’s talk on Sustainable Diets, Food and Nutrition at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. And one more article on cows, climate and greenhouse gases.

Wendy Pratt an Idaho rancher has a beautiful TED talk here on Grazing to Heal the Earth. She eloquently explains the role ruminants play in their intricate balance with plants in photosynthesis and land renewal. She speaks softly and from the heart.

My point is not to say these two individuals are the only sources of information on the topic of sustainability but they are an excellent starting point.

Going Against the Grain

Below is a direct quote from a high school classmate’s experience with our current state of nutritional advice. I applaud her tenacity and bravery.

“It pisses me off that I spent thousands of dollars over the years on insulin, even with insurance, that I have been off of completely for the last six months. Simply by changing my way of eating for life. I was following doctors and diabetic nutritionists’ advice, and continually getting worse. Totally ridiculous.

Eating medium amounts of protein, low carbs from vegetables only, no grains, sugar or high carb veg. and healthy fats without restriction. Going on 4 years, and my diabetes is well controlled, and I’ve lost over 150 lbs. I’m never changing back!”

First of all, can we have a round of applause for my friend?! The struggle is real, and many must endure intense times/years before finding a solution. I myself struggled with health issues after twenty years of being vegetarian. It took much investigation and experimentation to understand meat heals. My story is abbreviated in this post “What Do You Eat” and in depth in my book: Finding Lifestyle Sanity: A Survival Guide.

I feel strongly it is my right to choose this and do not need nor desire a governing board of any kind to tell me what I should or shouldn’t eat. There is room for everyone to choose. In my opinion there is no moral high ground of nutrition. It’s a choice based on one’s lifetime of experiences, especially those that get results.

At the end of the day MEAT (nose to tail) gives the biggest bang for your buck. Satiety, vitamins, minerals and downright tasty. That’s what food should do and what it has done for centuries.

Chris Kesser talks about how “Red Meat: Does a Body Good” here. He simply outlines the input of B Vitamins, Vitamin D, Iron and other minerals in meat that promote good health. He also explains some of the false and misleading attempts to tarnish meat’s reputation.

Dr. Zoë Harcombe has numerous books, papers and publications on the great benefits to eating meat but more specifically saturated fat and the crucial role both play in promoting optimal health. This quote is taken from a podcast with Zoë and Chris Kesser, found here.

“So the most important one is that we must consume fat. Human beings must consume fat. We die without consuming dietary fat. We must consume essential fatty acids, that’s why they’re called essential.”

Something I haven’t mentioned enough significantly is how beneficial meat is for the brain. Dr. Georgia Ede, a board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in nutrition-focused counseling services is a great source to review. This piece The Brain Needs Animal Fat points out how minimizing vegetable oils and processed foods and including animal foods can positively impact brain health.

Final Note

I grew up in a small Midwestern town in a family that believed in real food and the pure pleasure of home cooked meals. Too some idyllic but in our house, it was just normal. This was partly due to living on a teacher’s salary for the whole family and the other part to our Mom’s love for food and eating together.

My thinking is not far from hers. I remember vividly shopping with her once and asking, “How come you never buy or use margarine?” Her, Sondra’s simple answer was, “Why would I ever want to do that.”

Your health is not determined by a governing board, a number on a scale or a very loud interest group. Find a path that works best for you, respect the diversity in choices and for all encourage real food and real meals at every avenue.

Krisna’s book “Finding Lifestyle Sanity: A Survival Guide” is available here.