DAILY DIARY – DEBUNK THE JUNK, APRIL 15, 2004

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Receipts available as a pdf.

“Man prefers to believe what he prefers to be true.”  –  Francis Bacon

Day 15, 2004:  I don’t care what you write about me, just make sure you spell my name right!  I’m actually surprised at all the interest in my 30-day McDonalds diet.  I figured it would capture the attention of those who deal in human interest stories, but was unprepared to be seen eating a McGriddle Sandwich on Good Morning America and enjoying a Yogurt Parfait on Fox News.  Apparently, I have struck a very sensitive nerve, and people are really responding to it.  Food issues weigh heavily on our minds (as they should) because that is the key to our health, even our very survival.

Pardon me if I laugh at the notion that “organic” or “natural” foods are better or even healthier for me much less “safer” than other types of food.  Have any of you out there ever really had a “free range” chicken, you know one that’s actually been running around the barn yard, picking up anything it can find along with it’s regular feed?  I have and it’s anything but tasty, perhaps if I had cooked it longer, but I doubt it. 

I’ve been drinking cow’s milk for almost half a century now and suffered no ill effects.  I don’t feel I’m any worse off because of my many years of whole milk consumption, and my decision to drink skim milk at this time of my life is that I now have more choices and the freedom to make the choice I feel is best for me. 

How about my favorite “food group,” chocolate?  This food is so demonized people are advised that the consumption of any type of chocolate could be instantly fatal to pets.  In fact, the chocolate that actually poses the toxic threat is known as Baker’s Chocolate.  If a pet should ingest a limited amount of chocolate in the form of say a candy bar or cookie, there is no need to panic.  I’ve seen far too many animals needlessly rushed into the local vet’s office to endure procedures intended for severe poisoning cases after the poor animal innocently ingests the holiday chocolates carelessly left within reach. 

All this controversy about food is wrong, it’s confusing and causes needless stress in our society.  I want real facts about food, not information disseminated by government groups, businesses, and individuals who have a financial or other interest in the sale and consumption of certain foods and discouraging people from eating other types of food.  Unlike “organic” and “natural” food proponents and their limited worldview, I’ve never heard representatives from McDonalds or any others in the restaurant industry discourage us from eating any type of food, and often they will adjust their menus to reflect current food preferences.

 It’s really a simple choice, we can choose to listen to people who want to tax, regulate and tell us what we can or cannot eat or we can side with the people who believe that freedom of choice and personal responsibility are more important to both our well being and the future of the planet.  I know where I stand on this issue.