Chapter 9: Introduction to Meats

Welcome back!

The following is an excerpt of chapter 9 from the book: Better Living With Whole Foods.

INTRODUCTION TO MEAT

OVERVIEW

There are many schools of thought when it comes to meat. Some groups claim that meat is the best source of protein on the planet. Other groups claim that the protein in meat is not bioavailable and the best source of protein is obtained from plant sources which have a much higher rate of bioavailability.

The purpose of Better Living With Whole Foods and the 16 Week Total Body Makeover is not to turn you into a meat eater, vegetarian, or vegan. The purpose of these programs is to help you look and feel your absolute best. These programs work for vegetarians, vegans, and meat eaters alike.

Which leads us to…

DO I NEED TO EAT MEAT TO BE HEALTHY?

The answer is no, you don’t need to eat meat in order to be healthy. As a matter of fact, eating commercial meat is very unhealthy. Good clean healthy meats eaten in moderation can be nutritious, but they are not essential to optimal health.

Take a look at the Before and After pictures of myself in the My Story section of the book. The Before picture is me eating processed and refined foods as well as a ton of commercial meat; mostly beef and chicken. The After picture is me on a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, and some raw dairy. I have never felt more vibrant and full of life since adopting my vegetarian lifestyle in January of 2004.

MY FIT LIFE

I became a vegetarian for three main reasons:
1. You have to basically be a detective when it comes to eating meat. It is so hard to find quality beef, chicken, and fish that I came to the conclusion that it would be much easier to be healthy as a vegetarian.
2. I believe that it is easier to obtain good quality protein, that my body can actually absorb, from vegetables and raw dairy.
3. If I had to kill an animal, skin it, and clean it, I would not be a meat eater.

This is my personal choice. I do not expect everyone to become a vegetarian just because I am. However, the one thing I do suggest is that you limit your consumption of meat; 2 to 3 times per week is plenty for most people.

That being said, the one principal that I believe everybody can agree on is the fact that it is crucial to your health and well being to make the most informed and healthful decisions when choosing the types of food that you eat; and meat is no exception.

Reason being, commercial meats are subjected to a whole myriad of unhealthful practices that are detrimental to your health, including:

• Unnatural Diet
• Crowded and Contaminated Living Conditions
• Pesticides
• Hormones and Antibiotics
• Irradiation
• Virus Injections
• Dyes
• Cloning

We will discuss each of these harmful practices in detail throughout this section.

PESTICIDES IN MEAT?

Studies have shown that commercial meat and dairy products contain higher levels of pesticides than commercial vegetables or fruits. Reason being, grains which commercial animals are fed are subjected to higher levels of pesticide contamination than the vegetables, fruits, and grains that are grown for human consumption. And the animals soak these pesticides into their fat and muscle.

This is a key indicator that we need to eat foods that are free of pesticides and herbicides. If commercial farm animals contain high levels of pesticides in their muscle and fat from eating contaminated food, then, if we eat foods (meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits, etc.) that are contaminated with high levels of pesticides, we will absorb these harmful substances into our muscle and fat cells as well.

ARE YOU EATING CLONED MEAT?

Cloning is the most recent in an ever growing list of concerns in our food supply.

FDA Alert:
FDA announced on Thursday December 28th, 2006 preliminary approval of milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring to enter the human food supply. Despite public outcry, FDA has not recommended these products be labeled if approved.

In other words, in the near future, the meat and dairy products found on the shelves of your local grocery stores may come from that of cloned animals. To make matters worse, these meat and dairy products will not be labeled as such.

Nobody knows the effect that consuming cloned animal products will have on our health and well being… not the FDA or anyone else. The consequences could be severe. This is further proof that the FDA does not have our best interests at heart and why you need to be as informed as you possibly can when it comes to the food that you and your loved ones will be eating.

MEAT CONTAMINATION

I want to make sure that you have a clear understanding of the impact that unhealthy meat has on our society. The following is an excerpt from a pamphlet distributed by Earth Save International, which is titled Our Food Our Future: Making A Difference With Every Bite:

Eating a meat-centered diet is not only linked to lethargy, obesity, and the development of certain diseases, but also to life-threatening cases of food poisoning, antibiotic resistance, and other problems. Every year in the U.S., there are 75 million cases of food poisoning, with 5,000 of these cases being fatal. According to the USDA, 70 percent of food poisoning is caused by contaminated animal flesh.

Explains Dr. Michael Greger, Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States, “Farmed animals today are sick, these are sick and diseased chickens, pigs, fish, and cows, producing diseased and bacteria-laden flesh and pus-filled milk that even industry standards call ‘unhealthful.’”

Fecal matter in meat is a matter of grave concern. Not only are the cow’s hides covered in manure when taken to the slaughterhouse, but their digestive tracts are often cut open and spill onto the contents during slaughter. Due to fast line speeds, workers cut so fast they have little time to examine each carcass, and can carve up 60 cows an hour. Food that comes in contact with fecal material can result in the dangerous pathogenic bacteria, E. coli.
– Our Food Our Future, Earth Save International (www.vegpledge.com)

Let’s put this information into perspective: Every year there are approximately 55 million reported cases of food poisoning due to contaminated meat, resulting in thousands of deaths every year. These statistics are alarming to me and they should be to you too, especially if you have children.

That being said, let’s take a look at the bad and the good of individual meat products including beef, fish, chicken, and pork…

Book Excerpts

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