WEB POSTED 08-13-2002
Eat to Live-Or Else!
The title of this column may seem a bit extreme to some of our
readers. However, if it seems extreme to you, you are in grave danger�
primarily because you are facing a threat to your very existence,
self-afflicted, and you are totally unaware of it.
The Chicago Tribune recently carried an article by James
Sollisch of National Public Radio entitled "Taxing vices: Why stop at
cigarettes? How about fries?" Within the article, he raises the
question, "Why not a fat tax?" He supports this suggestion by pointing
out "After all, we�re becoming the world leader in obesity, especially
if you look at our youngest generation. Nutritionists tell us that a big
part of the problem is the prevalence of fast-foods, which often contain
products high in fat like hamburger, cheese and french fries ... with
heart disease the number one killer in America ..."
He asks the question: "What about the cattle lobby?" and proceeds to
answer it. "Well, we�d let the market work its magic. If they could
raise beef with a lower fat content, the fat tax would fall off. Maybe
they�d go back to feeding cows grass, which is what their stomachs are
designed to eat, instead of corn, which adds fat and may contribute to
human health problems."
The "NOTEBOOK" page of the July 29 issue of TIME magazine
announced that 19 million pounds of beef had been recalled the previous
week because of potential E. coli contamination, "the second largest
such recall in U.S. history."
Two weeks earlier, the July 15th issue of the same magazine carried a
nine-page article entitled, "SHOULD WE ALL BE VEGETARIANS?" The author,
Richard Corliss presents an opening which defies description�I can only
repeat it:
FIVE REASONS TO EAT MEAT:
1) It tastes good
2) It makes you feel good
3) It�s a great American tradition
4) It supports the nation�s farmers
5) Your parents did it
"Oh sorry ... those are five reasons to smoke cigarettes. Meat is
more complicated."
A recent study by TIME magazine indicated that some 10 million
Americans today consider themselves to be practicing vegetarians, while
an additional 20 million have "flirted with" vegetarianism some time in
their past. In the process of compiling the study, the journalists ran
into smart alecs who ask: "If animals weren�t meant to be eaten, then
why are they made out of meat?" The writers� simple answer is, "One
might ask the same of humans."
Reportedly, a study conducted by Arizona State University psychology
professors reported that, sight unseen, salad eaters were rated more
moral, virtuous and considerate than steak eaters. VEGETARIAN TIMES
states, "For many people who are working to become vegetarians,
chicken and fish may be transitional foods, but they are not vegetable
foods ... the word �vegetarian� means someone who eats no meat, fish or
chicken."
As I tell everyone who informs me that they eat "a little bit" of
meat, "THAT�S LIKE BEING A LITTLE BIT PREGNANT"!
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