Part 5: Sustainable Food Systems and How to Eat
Desiring to cause least harm through your food choices is a noble ambition. We completely respect one’s religious or personal choice not to eat meat. If some people don’t like the taste or have a hard time with the idea of eating meat, that’s totally OK. We both have some very good friends who avoid meat, even though they know that this is not an environmentally better or healthier choice. However, there are some people who feel it’s morally superior to avoid meat and would like everyone to adopt a plant-based diet. Today, meat has become symbolic of murder, power, dominance, gluttony, and Western wealth. Many idealize vegetarians as not only healthier but also more enlightened, civilized, pure, and righteous. In a certain sense, veganism and vegetarianism have become religions unto themselves. Humans are only one part of the web, depending on all others in the web to survive. We need the bees, the birds, the snakes, the fish, the grasslands, the rivers. We need as much diversity as possible in order to thrive. Our industrial food system eliminates biodiversity. A diet that eliminates animals relies on a food system that is wholly dependent upon industrial agricultural processes. The enemy is industrial agriculture and hyperpalatable infinite-shelf-life junk food, not the family of farmers down the street who want to raise their animals on grass. Let’s unify the real food community. In fact, as we have seen, there are major vitamin deficiencies connected to a meatless diet. With 1.62 billion people worldwide suffering from anemia, and red meat as our best source of bioavailable iron, we need to take an honest look at how we vilify meat for health reasons. Is the problem in the public schools the burgers, or could it actually be (ironically “plant-based”) fries, pizza, tater tots, chips, and cookies? Is it OK for these programs to post their anti-meat misinformation in schools, telling many food-insecure kids that giving up meat is the right thing to do? Many people living in poverty depend on livestock, and eliminating animals from the food system would actually increase hunger and poverty, leading to more people relying on the government for food assistance. When we advocate that folks give up meat wholesale, we’re often not recommending they fill that hole in their diets with nutritious food. What’s the most affordable food source? As we’ve seen, it’s those processed carbohydrate foods. Instead of worrying about how much meat everyone will be eating, we should be very worried about how much junk food they’re eating. A diet high in refined grains (e.g., processed foods) is the biggest nutritional contributor to diabetes in China. A truly resilient food system requires as much life as possible, and this means animals and plants. Life feeds on death. To remove ourselves from death is to remove ourselves from the cycle of life. We cannot bypass the laws of nature. We’re dependent on all living things, yet we like to think we can somehow survive with less life surrounding us. If our food system (1) makes people so sick that their health-care costs bankrupt global economies, and (2) destroys our topsoil such that we can effectively no longer produce food, then it is, by definition, unsustainable. We firmly believe that a sustainable food system is one that can both feed the populace well and stand the test of time. Researchers found that we’re doing great at carbohydrate production, but not as well with protein and other micronutrients. Our success with carbohydrates, however, has had a serious downside: a worldwide plague of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases. To shift our discussion on food security from “calories” to “nutrient security” means we have to seriously question how we are to provide some of the most critical nutrients. The households with the highest carbon footprints were ones that consumed more fish, vegetables, alcohol, and sugary foods, and ate out at restaurants most often. Meat consumption was a much lower contributor compared to the most glaring offender: eating out. Meat-inclusive diets, be they low fat or low carb, showed a reversal of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes so long as folks reduced their consumption of refined foods. When we see regions feeding themselves instead of relying on outside food, we generally see more resilience. Animals play an important role in all regenerative food systems, as well as healthy diets for humans. The goal should be to help local farmers and ranchers learn to care for their land in a way that will result in healthy food and best agricultural practices. We can produce more nutrient-dense food in this way. Instead of “everything in moderation,” it’s time we start recognizing that obesity in the West is the result of “quick, convenient, and cheap”. Shopping locally and supporting food producers who are doing it right is not only healthier and better for the environment; it also supports local economies. As we have said, there isn’t just one specific macronutrient ratio, ideal food, or way of eating for all humans. We recommend buying the best-produced food you have access to. This book recommends the Nutrivore Challenge. What the Nutrivore Challenge and all these other plans have in common is prioritizing protein to avoid ravenous hunger and reducing your intake of highly processed foods, which are easy to overeat. This is not intended for individuals with eating disorders, for whom “everything in moderation” may actually be the best advice. For the rest of us, the advice of “everything in moderation” can often lead to overconsumption of hyperpalatable, ultraprocessed foods. Eggs from pastured chickens are actually worth the extra money because their fats are significantly better than industrially raised chicken eggs. We see many people avoiding roots and tubers while on a Paleo diet because they are trying to reduce their carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates do have benefits such as lowering cortisol (stress), fueling highly glycemic workouts (like CrossFit), and acting like a prebiotic in your intestines (by feeding your good bacteria). If animal flesh is completely off the table, shoot for eggs from pasture-raised chickens and fermented dairy products from grass-fed cows, like cheese and yogurt. Compared to the nutrivore breakfast, most American breakfasts are low in fat, low in protein, and high in carbs. Eating this way in a fasted state (first thing in the morning) can set a person up for a blood sugar roller coaster. Just because a food is considered OK for the nutrivore diet doesn’t mean that you are free to eat ten pounds of bacon at each meal, or chase each snack with a gallon of coconut milk. Athletes should naturally consume more starchy vegetables like roots (carrots and parsnips) and tubers (potatoes and sweet potatoes). The macronutrient combination and calorie load that works for a twenty-five-year-old athlete may not work for a fifty-year-old recovering from hip surgery. It’s best to consider your weight loss goals, stress level, and activity level. For weight loss, consider consuming the bulk of your daily starch intake in a post-workout meal. More active people can include more starches. Winter squashes like butternut are lower in calories than potatoes or sweet potatoes. The idea is that carbs alone or fat alone are not necessarily going to spark overeating. However, the magical combination of carbs plus fat seems to be an unnaturally winning combination to our brain’s circuits. Most hyperpalatable junk food is this combo—think about potato chips. It’s hard to overeat plain boiled potatoes, but fry them in a vat of oil and many people can crush a whole bag in one sitting. Some of the most hyperpalatable foods include mashed potatoes (with butter), chocolate chips, potato chips, custard, French toast, waffles, blueberry muffins, hash browns, garlic bread, and human breast milk. Remember, you shouldn’t feel hungry, but it’s also not ideal to eat past capacity.
