THE EDGE OF COMMON SENSE by Baxter Black, BaxterBlack.com
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eatless Monday…what kind of person would think something like that up? The same kind of people who would support Breathless Tuesday, Whistleless Wednesday or Jalapeñoless Cinco de Mayo? It is the same cloudy-headed, “we know what is best for you.” starry-eyed finger-shakers that have brought us rubber chickens and the Ice Age of the 70s. Surveys and trials that support this whole Wizard of Oz Magic Show are based on this contention: “…going meatless once a week MAY reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, (MAYBE) cardiovascular disease, (MAYBE) diabetes and (MAYBE) obesity…and (MAYBE) help reduce our carbon footprint and (MAYBE) save precious resources (MAYBE) like fossil fuels and (MAYBE) fresh water.” Backed by such phrases as: “…convincing evidence…” “…limited but suggestive evidence,” “…research suggests…” “…this may be in part…” are used to qualify claims that have not been proven. It’s called “Pop Science.” The Meatless Monday Mafia have chosen MEAT as the victim, for many reasons. The biggest is that the vast percent of our population has no clue
where their food comes from, has no farmer friend to explain the difference between fat and lean and therefore they are gullible to the Meatless Monday Magic Show. Another big factor that drives the Meatless Mafia; people like to eat meat! Humans are omnivorous! And the Mafia hates that! In every community there are people that are against anything that is popular, accessible and good for you. How about oil? How about your pet dog? How about GMO crops? Pasteurized milk? Measles vaccine? How about nuclear power? Mind you, the Mafia are not against everybody being restricted or abused; our National Health Care system, for instance. The politicians that made it mandatory for everyone except themselves! They are part of the Magic Show too. I am a scientist myself, as well as a rancher. I respect good science, especially trials and surveys that have statistical significance. As a veterinarian, when the diagnosis is not clear and not confirmed, I am cautious about prescribing treatment. Rule #1 “First Do No Harm.” The knowledgeable men and women working in this area of nutrition and health are entitled to speculate on the value of “Meatless Mondays.” They have some basis to back their opinion either way. But when an issue is overtaken by the politicians, charlatans, Ad
Meatless Monday Magic Show
Men and their Mafia who deliberately manipulate the facts and blame food producers, that’s when I’m allowed to question their motives. All of this hoorah between the farmers and the agriculturally/scientifically ignorant consumers (meaning unknowledgeable, not belligerent) would not exist if the Mafia swept the dust off their layers of hubris and indignation. The culprit is not meat. The culprit is the profound abundance of produce, animal and vegetable, available to Americans, all 300 million of us, you and me, every day, every year, year after year. It’s not that they eat too much meat. It’s that they eat too much! Period. You in the Meatless Magic Show have a behavioral problem to deal with! Start there if you want to get serious. Back up and look at the source. It’s not the cheese, it’s the pizza! The problem is not in their belly…it’s in their brain! I appreciate you can’t force people to do what you think is ‘better for them.” And it probably doesn’t help your “cause” that the life span of Americans keeps increasing year after year. To single out and demean farmers is one thing, but to punish all the Armed Forces enlisted soldiers with your Mandatory Meatless Monday plan is shameless. Thank goodness Congress agrees. They have passed a bill to prevent what they called activists groups (with) a “radical agenda,” stressing that military personnel should not be subjected to political agendas. Oh, and by the way, this is America. Nowhere does the law say, “Thou Shalt Not Eat Meat on Monday.”
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