Food and Restaurant

Why the Paleo Diet Could Bring the Downswing of Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice that many people have considered because it offers the ability to be a green meal planner.  Also, organic stores and markets, which allow vegetarians to sustain their lifestyles, are becoming more commonplace. The goal of the vegetarian lifestyle is to minimize the amount of meat consumed because when compared to fruit, vegetables, and nuts, meat has a much larger carbon footprint.  However, if food culture has moved to a low carbon high carbohydrate diet where meat consumption is less, then why is pork demand at an all time high?  Why do pulled pork and bacon sandwich litter every menu?  Why are there comfort food restaurants in every single cosmopolitan area?

Why is it that meat is still in demand if the trend is to consume less meat?  One suspected reason is the Paleo Diet.  Also known as the Caveman diet, the Paleo diet has become popular with a range of people including celebrities, athletes, and eco-lovers.  The principle behind this lifestyle is to go back to the diet of Paleolithic man.  This diet consisted mainly of proteins and healthy fats.  Carbohydrates were few and far between because grains and oats weren’t introduced until the Neolithic Era.

The main authorities on this diet are Loren Cordain and Joe Friel who wrote the book “Paleo Diet for Athletes”.  In this book, they show how athletes in America are eating too many cereals, refined sugars, and dairy products and not enough vegetables, seafood, lean meats, and fresh fruit. A lot of factual evidence is given to support their findings.  For example, their argument is summarized perfectly in an article found in the great New England Journal of Medicine.  This article states: “low-carbohydrate high protein diets [are] more effective in promoting weight loss than time-honored, low-fat high-carbohydrate diets advocated by the American heart Association.”

Cordain and Friel’s argument has been labeled very anti-vegetarian and their apathy for organic foods has not helped the situation. However, somewhat remarkably, there are many eco-lovers who are taking the time to look at the increasing evidence that shows that meat eating could be better for the world than eating vegetarian alternatives.  Some of the evidence that has been put forward includes the intense deforestation in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina that is linked to the production of soy.  When looking at soy, it should also be noted that some soy products are highly processed. In addition, there was a recent study performed on greenhouse gas emissions, and according to H. Scott Matthews and Christopher Weber, greenhouse gas emissions made by vegetable transportation is greater than that of meat transportation. Also, livestock that is grass-fed are essential to sustainable agriculture because they encourage plant growth and produce manure which can be used instead of chemical fertilizers.  Shockingly, cheese has been found to be worse for the environment than pork and chicken.

The Paleo diet is not intended to be marketed at an environmentally friendly diet even though a lot of its main tenets are centered in having a healthy environment.  This diet promotes fresh food instead of frozen, processed, or prepackages food. Its goal is to promote low environmental-impact food.  It also encourages us to eat something other than beef which is environmentally detrimental and high in fat.

Nothing will ever stop meat from being viewed with skepticism, but trends can help demolish this idea.  The long held lifestyle choices that we have do have discrepancies and the Paleo diet will make us think critically about these choices.

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