Comments on: Oprah, veganism, and the real inconvenient truth http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/ Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:02:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Karen http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-354658 Karen Sun, 25 May 2008 23:10:31 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-354658 Cleansing and toxic are two very popular and important words (marketing) in the alternative medicine/alternative healing/losing weight crowd. It's a hot topic and makes a great sales pitch for marketing products.I mean, one doesn't hear much about the cleansing benefits of using bran and prunes to achieve a good cleanse. It's just not as sexy as other verbage. Cleansing and toxic are two very popular and important words (marketing) in the alternative medicine/alternative healing/losing weight crowd. It’s a hot topic and makes a great sales pitch for marketing products.I mean, one doesn’t hear much about the cleansing benefits of using bran and prunes to achieve a good cleanse. It’s just not as sexy as other verbage.

]]> By: mythago http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-354313 mythago Sun, 25 May 2008 16:53:27 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-354313 And how you should never, ever take "chemicals" for anything. Because they're bad. And how you should suck it up if you have a painful period because menstrual cramps are your body's way of preparing you for childbirth. The crazy, it is endless. Hugo, there you go again with the California Calvinism. Looking younger is a result of your virtuous, meat-shunning behavior? Next you'll be telling us that God blesses you with wealth because you recycle. And how you should never, ever take “chemicals” for anything. Because they’re bad. And how you should suck it up if you have a painful period because menstrual cramps are your body’s way of preparing you for childbirth. The crazy, it is endless.

Hugo, there you go again with the California Calvinism. Looking younger is a result of your virtuous, meat-shunning behavior? Next you’ll be telling us that God blesses you with wealth because you recycle.

]]> By: JW http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351626 JW Fri, 23 May 2008 18:20:11 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351626 What, Mary, you haven't heard of the fish tree? :) And Amanda, you're definitely on to something. Isn't that <i> Skinny Bitch </i> book all about how veganism will make you enviably thin and stylish? The pair of authors is making the talk show circuit these days, I think. What, Mary, you haven’t heard of the fish tree? :)

And Amanda, you’re definitely on to something. Isn’t that Skinny Bitch book all about how veganism will make you enviably thin and stylish? The pair of authors is making the talk show circuit these days, I think.

]]> By: Karen http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351619 Karen Fri, 23 May 2008 18:11:50 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351619 A plant-based diet is healthy and good. I tried going completely vegan at various times and for various reasons. The last time coincided with a serious health-issue and made it worse. I had developed severe critical anemia. My doctor actually asked me if I ate meat, specifically red meat and then told me that she hated to say it, but that iron was more readily absorbed through red meat. So, I incorporated it back into my diet, along with every other type of iron-rich food sources (long story). I wouldn't underestimate geneticswhen it comes to ageing. Also, I think environment a factor, along with exercise. I think exercise key, but also agree with AMG insights... “A vegan lifestyle can be healthy, but you have other positives that factor into your ‘youthful’ appearance. I don’t have children, and according to my friends/family, that will age you! (lack of sleep/worry etc.) You also are in a loving relationship, with a rewarding job…” A plant-based diet is healthy and good. I tried going completely vegan at various times and for various reasons. The last time coincided with a serious health-issue and made it worse. I had developed severe critical anemia. My doctor actually asked me if I ate meat, specifically red meat and then told me that she hated to say it, but that iron was more readily absorbed through red meat. So, I incorporated it back into my diet, along with every other type of iron-rich food sources (long story).

I wouldn’t underestimate geneticswhen it comes to ageing. Also, I think environment a factor, along with exercise. I think exercise key, but also agree with AMG insights…

“A vegan lifestyle can be healthy, but you have other positives that factor into your ‘youthful’ appearance. I don’t have children, and according to my friends/family, that will age you! (lack of sleep/worry etc.) You also are in a loving relationship, with a rewarding job…”

]]> By: AMG http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351532 AMG Fri, 23 May 2008 15:22:10 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351532 "You know, people have been telling me all day that I don’t look 41. I’m not botoxing, and Lord knows, I have weathered skin from so much outdoor activity. I can’t help but feel that my plant-based diet has a lot to do with it. " How long have you been vegan--has this been a life time commitment? Your vegan lifestyle has probably been a factor, but I just turned 40 today, I eat meat/animal products (in moderation--with veggies/fruit) and I also have comments that I don't look a day over 33. However, like you, I run & follow other exercise regimens, do pilates, get lots of sleep, wear tons of sunblock & hats (I'm blond & extremely pale) and drink red wine (good for the heart...). A vegan lifestyle can be healthy, but you have other positives that factor into your 'youthful' appearance. I don't have children, and according to my friends/family, that will age you! (lack of sleep/worry etc.) You also are in a loving relationship, with a rewarding job around youthful people. But hey--there's plenty of time for you to look your age! “You know, people have been telling me all day that I don’t look 41. I’m not botoxing, and Lord knows, I have weathered skin from so much outdoor activity. I can’t help but feel that my plant-based diet has a lot to do with it. ”

How long have you been vegan–has this been a life time commitment? Your vegan lifestyle has probably been a factor, but I just turned 40 today, I eat meat/animal products (in moderation–with veggies/fruit) and I also have comments that I don’t look a day over 33. However, like you, I run & follow other exercise regimens, do pilates, get lots of sleep, wear tons of sunblock & hats (I’m blond & extremely pale) and drink red wine (good for the heart…). A vegan lifestyle can be healthy, but you have other positives that factor into your ‘youthful’ appearance. I don’t have children, and according to my friends/family, that will age you! (lack of sleep/worry etc.) You also are in a loving relationship, with a rewarding job around youthful people. But hey–there’s plenty of time for you to look your age!

]]> By: sophonisba http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351345 sophonisba Fri, 23 May 2008 09:05:48 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351345 <i>a cleanse</i> Because food is dirty? Wacky diets are fine, vegan or not, long as they don't kill you; everybody needs a hobby. But the ideology influencing the language of these things is pretty gross. The anorexia connection Amanda mentions is telling; people who hate their bodies love to find ways to make their insides sound as disgusting as they think their outsides are. Diets don't "cleanse" you or purify your essense or any of that. a cleanse

Because food is dirty?

Wacky diets are fine, vegan or not, long as they don’t kill you; everybody needs a hobby. But the ideology influencing the language of these things is pretty gross. The anorexia connection Amanda mentions is telling; people who hate their bodies love to find ways to make their insides sound as disgusting as they think their outsides are. Diets don’t “cleanse” you or purify your essense or any of that.

]]> By: Amanda Marcotte http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351172 Amanda Marcotte Fri, 23 May 2008 02:38:59 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351172 I dunno. It seems to me that it's just more of the same old problem where veganism is treated like another diet, and therefore a way for anorexics to hide their problem. I dunno. It seems to me that it’s just more of the same old problem where veganism is treated like another diet, and therefore a way for anorexics to hide their problem.

]]> By: Mary http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351142 Mary Fri, 23 May 2008 02:11:17 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-351142 It's not entirely uncommon to see this exclusion of poultry and fish from consideration as meat. In fact, I've seen fish dishes listed under the vegetarian section. It's almost as if they view that if the product is lean or good for you, then it mustn't be meat. Well then, what do we think they are? Vegetible? A sub-category of meat defined by their nutritional value as to human consumption? I must say I don't blame people for holding this view. For so long, Tyson and Fosters Farms have marketed chicken as a healthful alternative to beef and pork. Consequently, people mentally dissociate chicken meat from being meat more generally, when, in fact, there is no justifiable way to draw a distinction between the two. It's just unfortunate that Oprah was so little informed on this subject when she was speaking on subject of veganism. It’s not entirely uncommon to see this exclusion of poultry and fish from consideration as meat. In fact, I’ve seen fish dishes listed under the vegetarian section. It’s almost as if they view that if the product is lean or good for you, then it mustn’t be meat. Well then, what do we think they are? Vegetible? A sub-category of meat defined by their nutritional value as to human consumption? I must say I don’t blame people for holding this view. For so long, Tyson and Fosters Farms have marketed chicken as a healthful alternative to beef and pork. Consequently, people mentally dissociate chicken meat from being meat more generally, when, in fact, there is no justifiable way to draw a distinction between the two. It’s just unfortunate that Oprah was so little informed on this subject when she was speaking on subject of veganism.

]]> By: Hugo Schwyzer http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-350998 Hugo Schwyzer Fri, 23 May 2008 00:41:00 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-350998 I tend to stay away from white sugar and am a lover of agave. Livy, small, organic farms on which animals live contribute only a fraction of the problem, agreed. And you know, as we've talked about on this blog many times, pure veganism is impossible -- the sheer act of ploughing a field kills small animals. The goal is to live as cruelty free as possible. The single most helpful thing that any single human being can do -- as the UN and the Times link make clear -- is not to rethink transportation until they've rethought their diet. How we eat has a greater impact on nature than how we travel, and that's a point that's just not being made often enough. Better to drive a Ford Excursion and be vegan than a Prius-driver who goes through the drive-through at McDonalds three times a week. Better still, of course, to be the vegan Prius driver -- but hey, it's all incremental! I tend to stay away from white sugar and am a lover of agave.

Livy, small, organic farms on which animals live contribute only a fraction of the problem, agreed. And you know, as we’ve talked about on this blog many times, pure veganism is impossible — the sheer act of ploughing a field kills small animals. The goal is to live as cruelty free as possible. The single most helpful thing that any single human being can do — as the UN and the Times link make clear — is not to rethink transportation until they’ve rethought their diet. How we eat has a greater impact on nature than how we travel, and that’s a point that’s just not being made often enough.

Better to drive a Ford Excursion and be vegan than a Prius-driver who goes through the drive-through at McDonalds three times a week. Better still, of course, to be the vegan Prius driver — but hey, it’s all incremental!

]]> By: JW http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-350974 JW Fri, 23 May 2008 00:29:39 +0000 http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/oprah-veganism-and-the-real-inconvenient-truth/#comment-350974 Some vegans don't do (white) sugar and wine because both of those are very often processed/filtered with bone char, an animal product. But yeah, I think O is just "cleansing." Some vegans don’t do (white) sugar and wine because both of those are very often processed/filtered with bone char, an animal product. But yeah, I think O is just “cleansing.”

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