Eating meat – let’s see – it causes cancer, heart disease and chronic obesity and maybe a third eye, purple hair and an extra limb or two. Right? Isn’t that what most “experts” say?
It was until Nina Teicholz decided to take the meat, butter and dairy naysayers head-on in her best-selling The Big Fat Surprise, and next week, Dan Murphy will have a five-part, in-depth review of her work.
Teicholz spent her career covering food and nutrition issues for publications like Gourmet and Men’s Health magazines, and reporting for National Public Radio. She has contributed to the New Yorker, the Economist, the New York Times, and Salon. She’s spent time in academia and earned degrees from Yale, Stanford and Oxford University.
And while her latest work may make the case for the meatcase, she is not a rancher or have any other direct tie to raising cattle or producing beef. Those of us in the industry (and my finger is pointed right back at me right now too) can talk ‘til we’re blue in the face about the healthful benefits of meat, but we’re biased. We've got dirt on our boots and a "steak" in the game (pun intended).
Teicholz, through a nine-year-long investigation, narrows in on the benefits of dietary fat as it relates to better health, wellness and fitness. According to www.thebigfatsurprise.com, “Science shows that we have been needlessly avoiding meat, cheese, whole milk and eggs for decades and that we can, guilt-free, welcome these “whole fats” back into our lives.”
Amen.
So what did Dan Murphy learn from his interview with Teicholz and what can you expect to glean from the five-part series next week? Here are a few tidbits:
- An in-depth background of the book – the why and how Teicholz decided to tackle this topic, and the response she’s received so far.
- How and why politics trumped science in the late 1960s and 1970s, resulting in red meat becoming enemy number one in our nation’s battle against cardiovascular disease.
- Why science supports the nutritional value of meat’s role in the center of the dinner plate.
- Looking forward – promising research is being conducted today that may help change public opinion.
- A summary of Teicholz’s most powerful arguments in favor of animal agriculture and including meat in a healthful, nutrient-dense, well-balanced diet.
Stay tuned. This promises to be an informative and entertaining series!
