Friday, May 21, 2010

Friday's Food for Thought: Where Have We Gone Wrong?

From Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions cookbook, page 337:

"What dietary changes have caused Americans to suffer more cancer and heart disease since the turn of the century?  It is true that we consume more beef- 79 pounds per person versus 54 in 1909, a 46 percent increase- but poultry consumption has increased a whopping 280 percent, from 18 pounds per person per year to 70.  Consumption of vegetable oils, including those that have been hydrogenated, has increased 437 percent, from 11 pounds per person per year to 59; while consumption of butter...has plummeted from 30 pounds per person per year to just under 10.  

Whole milk consumption has declined by almost 50 percent, while lowfat milk consumption has doubled.  Consumption of eggs, fresh fruits (excluding citrus), fresh vegetables, fresh potatoes and grain products has declined; but consumption of sugar and other sweeteners has almost doubled.

Why, then, do today's politically correct dietary gurus continue to blame beef consumption for our ills?  Is it because they are the one wholesome food that has shown an increase over the past ninety years?"

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