There’s a netflix show that is getting a lot of media attention recently, and for good reason.
The Game Changers is a 90 minute documentary on the pro’s and cons of meat consumption in your diet over an exclusively plant based diet, presented primarily for athletes.
Of course, the presented information is relevant for non-athletes.
First of all – this video (like most videos presenting an opinion – even the ones that “rebut” this video on youtube) has several flaws.
It’s up to you to form your own opinion, this is mine.
Let’s just say – I have had my preconceived ideas about vegetarianism and meat consumption ever since an (aging) university professor said to my class:
“Vegetarians all just need to eat a decent bit of steak”
And of course, everyone believed him. Well I did.
Another preconceived notion I’ve alway had was:
“Vegetarians are only vegetarian because they care about animal rights”
Which – for a lot of people is a very valid decision indeed.
However – I still thought this “argument” was flawed.
Now, fast forward a few years and there is so much more research on the pro’s and cons of different diets, but there’s ONE THING that is always consistent in the research…
And that’s the simple notion that you should EAT MORE VEGETABLES.
Now, I don’t know about you, but the idea of eating more vegetables as a kid was a nightmare. More extremely over cooked spuds, carrots and beans.
No thanks!
These days – I’m a tad more savvy.
Now I’m thinking more along the lines of not only the effect of food on inflammation and performance, but also it’s effect on land use and the environment.
That’s where the research gets interesting.
The documentary dives into this, and presents information in a very visually intriguing way.
Take the above image for example. It’s certainly no scientific test. Just an interesting visual as to what happens after eating fat.
It’s amazing how much fat accumulates in the blood from eating meat.
Even a day afterwards!
Your body has to deal with this fat.
Of course, we NEED fats in our diet, but interestingly the cloudy plasma may be less than ideal especially day after day, year after year.
Then there’s this:
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3573976
You need cortisol. It wakes you. It’s in an inverse relationship with melatonin as I have written about here.
However, too much floating cortisol is not good.
Ask anyone who’s stressed how they feel…
Cortisol goes through the roof. Why increase it with diet?
Then there’s this:
This is what gets me.
Look, I come from BOTH a farming AND horticulture background. So I can see both sides of the “argument”.
However, this statistic resonated with me:
Of all the calories generated in the world for food consumption according to the article listed in the image above, 83% of the land is dedicated to animal production, and it only provides 18% of the consumable calories.
Source: Science 01 Jun 2018: Vol. 360, Issue 6392, pp. 987-992
I’m not sure about you, but that’s a crazy statistic.
We’re not underpopulating the world. We’ve overpopulating it.
Not only are the health and environmental effects far stacked towards the vegetable corner, but the PRICE of food is as well.
It’s almost 1/2 the price to eat mostly vegetarian meals.
Who do you know that wants to save several thousand dollars a year?
There are many more sides and avenues to this story – this article is simply my opinion.
There is no “perfect” diet for everyone.
Watch the video, see if your opinion is strengthened or altered.
Then perhaps watch a youtube video that challenges the science behind it, and see if their “arguments” put you firmly back in the meat eating corner.
