Some Meat and Plant Education - Editorial

The standard food pyramid (MyPyramid.gov)

It's the battle of the century. Which of these diets will win? Meat or no meat?

I have nothing against those that choose to not eat meat for ethical, moral, or religious reasons. As a religious man myself that is constantly debating whether or not something is right or wrong, I get that. However, as someone who enjoys a good breakfast of bacon and milk, I’m tired of my diet choice being assaulted by some members of the vegan and vegetarian communities based on health grounds. I have nothing against them, but I’m tired of taking the shaft. Why exactly? It isn't because of their life choice, as most of them are very healthy, and lead happy, comfortable lives. My problem is that some of them have grouped themselves with fanatical members leading their cause.This puts them up with the likes of the “far atheists” and “anti-government advocates”, who instead of properly educating the public about their beliefs and reasoning, they try to make you feel guilty for being circumcised and wanting to be rich. Many of them are good people, who believe what they believe in, and I can respect that, but sadly, every group has some bad apples. I’m sure that most people are nice, and respectful, and have strong beliefs in themselves and their ideologies, and sadly they have to put up with extremist authority figures, on both sides. I’m sad that many of these groups get hate for what they believe, especially since it’s just the leaders that give them a bad name. Aside from all of that, my core problem with the pro-plant movement is their failure to properly educate on the health pros and cons of being a vegetarian, and a omnivore. Hopefully I can help to educate you all on BOTH the pros and cons of these two different diets, and how, in the end, they all ultimately lead down the same road.

Now, one of the leading claims made by the vegetarian community is that meat is the cause of several health problems, and is unnatural to do. This doesn't make much since, you know; blaming new diseases on products that we've been consuming for thousands of years with no problems is a bit confounding. It would be like saying that cars are bad for the environment, and that they’ve been polluting the earth since the Renaissance. Meat is, also, not unnatural. Historically, sole meat eaters have lived longer than sole plant eaters; however vitamin tablets have solved this problem in more recent years. A common misconception made in the meatless world is meat being unhealthy, just because it is, when really it has to do with genetic modification, and poor preparation (both of which are more recent developments). Ever since industrialization, the world has been looking to make products, once only for the super wealthy accessible to the masses. Plush chairs, indoor plumbing, and the food of kings, meat, are all example of this. During meat packaging, it's likely that some healthy processes, such as cutting fat off, are skipped to cut costs and make the product cheaper. Really, it's a lack of preparation that makes meat so unhealthy, at times. If you care about what you eat, meat is a powerhouse of healthy energy and vitamins, much like a proper vegetarian or vegan diet. With both different diets, if you improperly balance and don’t correctly prepare the meals you consume, both can take very huge tolls on your body.
 
Right now, it seems, both diets are about equal, but what else can be said? Another claim to further the anti-meat movement is that meat is just a blob of pink slime, I mean, right? Have you ever been to the grocery store, and seen that discussing blob? It’s gross. Well... that's a bit unfair, to judge something before it's even halfway through its preparation. By that logic, all vegetables are wet, slimy bulbs, leaves, and seeds covered in dirt that have been underground for a third of the year, but that's not how you eat it. You prepare it, first by washing it, than either eating it raw or cooking it. Similarly, you get the meat, clean it, and cook it. That's why humans are what we call omnivores. We work best on a diet of both plants and animals.
 
The most important thing you can do for your diet is to eat healthy, in general. Avoid heavily processed foods and under-prepared meals, as that's where most modern diets fail. The truth is, you don't need meat in your diet, but you don't need plants either. Modern medicine makes it plausible to take vitamin pills and protein drinks, so even should your diet become deficient in anything, it's pretty easy to fix it with a once daily pill. Accompany this with exercise and other healthy decisions and you should be fine. Once again, not counting the ethical issues of eating meat, ultimately, there’s nothing wrong with a diet of meat, just as there’s nothing wrong with a diet that doesn’t include it.
 
Thanks for reading everyone! Just wanted to call attention to some internet chatter I’ve been seeing. I didn’t mean any hate by this, and once again, thank you for reading and listening to my point of view. Liked what I had to say? Didn’t like it? Have more thoughts on the subject. Tell me in the comments and on my social pages, and I’ll see you very shortly for today’s edition of Levengood Today. If you haven’t checked out the post I already made today, here’s the link.  Sources: (RD, Prevention, Authority Nutrition)