Obesity is an issue of calorie imbalance. Trying to shift blame from personal choice to meat and dairy foods is simplistic and incorrect (“Time is now to stop eating meat, dairy to halt obesity epidemic,” May 19).
At the end of the day weight gain simply comes down to consuming more calories than you burn off — and those calories could come from cheeseburgers or tofu and soy milk. So what could lead the author to single out animal products? Perhaps it’s an animal-rights agenda: The identical letter has run under different signatures in dozens of papers, each time repeating identical smears against meat and dairy. That should indicate how credible these vegan theories are.
J. Justin Wilson
Senior Research Analyst, Center for Consumer Freedom
Washington, DC
sockratties posted at 6:44 am on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
Extracted from Wikipedea:
• The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), formerly the Guest Choice Network, is an American non-profit firm that lobbies on behalf of the fast food, meat, alcohol and tobacco industries. It describes itself as "dedicated to protecting consumer choices and promoting common sense," and defending "the right of adults and parents to choose how they live their lives, what they eat and drink, how they manage their finances, and how they enjoy themselves."
• CCF was set up in 1995 by Richard Berman, executive director of the public affairs firm Berman and Company, with $600,000 from the Philip Morris tobacco company to fight smoking curbs in restaurants. Berman told The Washington Post that CCF is now funded by a coalition of restaurant and food companies as well as some individuals; according to the group's website it is supported by over 100 companies and thousands of individual consumers. Sponsors are reported to include Brinker International, RTM Restaurant Group (the owner of Arby's), Tyson Foods, HMSHost Corp, and Wendy's.
• CCF has campaigned against a number of organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and maintains several websites devoted to criticizing them. The CCF state that "despite their innocent-sounding names, many of these organizations are financial Goliaths that use junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agenda" Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has responded "If you are in the business of putting veal or beef on the tables of America, and slaughtering more than a million animals per hour, and making an awful lot of money at it, you are going to try to neutralize PETA or other animal-rights groups"
Engaged Voter posted at 9:18 am on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
Kudos to sock for exposing J. Justin Wilson as a paid hack.
"The identical letter has run under different signatures in dozens of papers"
And I bet he gets paid to respond to every one of them.
And shame on the Tribune for NOT catching such an obvious sham.
"those calories could come from cheeseburgers or tofu and soy milk"
While not technically impossible, I would like for Mr. Wilson to give an example of obesity caused by soy and tofu. Just one would do. I couldn't find any. ;)
Leon Ceniceros posted at 9:38 am on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
Hey...did you ever see a "FAT".....HIPPIE....back in the 1960's and 1970's.
Heck no.....they spent all of their money on Marijuana and LSD(spinning round and round for hours on end is a great aerobic exercise....try it some times....the pounds come off like crazy...now you may have to the Emergency Room but at least you will "look good" in your hospital gown.
If you have ever been to Europe....you don't see many fat/obese locals.....same for China, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and India.
A ..........."CALORIE" ....is a .....Calorie no matter if it comes from tofu or a filet mignon. No one gets fat who burns of the same amount of "tofu calories" or "filet mignon calories".
Nature (God)....gave man......SLICING, TEARING AND MASTICATING TEETH FOR ONE REASON.................TO...........EAT.........MEAT.
chuckles3 posted at 10:39 am on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
If you want to eat soy and tofu, go for it. Just don't limit my FREEDOM to eat meat and dairy if so CHOOSE(a favorite liberal term for abortion).
If you weigh 300 lbs and want to eat yourself to death, go for it...just don't ask me to pay for your healthcare..oh wait...libs are all for that so now they have a perfect excuse to control what you eat.....see NYC and other fascist cities trying to control what you eat.
Engaged Voter posted at 11:04 am on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
I extend the challenge to Leon and chuckles.
An example of an obese tofu/soy consumer. Just one will do.
Not saying they don't exist, but I cannot find any at all.
Cerulean posted at 3:02 pm on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
“A ..........."CALORIE" ....is a .....Calorie no matter if it comes from tofu or a filet mignon.”
A calorie is a way to describe an exchange of energy. So, for example if you eat a filet mignon (4 oz ) you will have consumed 202 calories. If you eat soybean tofu (4 oz) you will have consumed approx. 96 calories.
People become overweight when they consume excess calories from a fillet mignon cheeseburger and then they sit in front of a computer all day. You are correct a calorie is a calorie, and your weight is a reflection of how well you manage calories consumed and movement, exercise or calories spent.
However, there is no law that keeps you from eating all the food you want.
mrconservative posted at 3:30 pm on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
Leon and Justin are right. Why would we have teeth if not to chew meat? Animals eat animals. Why can't we? Vegetarians don't have to eat meat. But they have NO right to keep me from eating meat.
chuckles3 posted at 4:33 pm on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
I extend the challenge to Leon and chuckles.
An example of an obese tofu/soy consumer. Just one will do.
Not saying they don't exist, but I cannot find any at all.
There is the difference between you and me....you are a busybody know-it-all that wants to know people's eating habits because YOU know better. I could care less what other people eat....
And as to your challenge, I will go to the corner fast-tofu and soy joint and see if any of the pantywaists eating there are fat. Oh, right, there aren't any.....wonder why?
CSalafia posted at 4:36 pm on Fri, Jun 8, 2012.
Thank you paid hack for the McDonalds of the world.
Tell you what, why don't you get those dad-blasted growth hormones out of our meat and dairy supply and then we'll take you seriously. In your pursuit for the almighty dollar, you're poisoning our children, our groundwater, and our food supply.
Oh, and while you're at it, tell your fast-food clients to eliminate anything with high fructose corn syrup, too. You know, the sweetener that the more you consume, the more your body thinks you're hungry, so you end up eating more because it screws up our natural human systems?
Please, hack, go away.
mrconservative posted at 8:44 am on Sat, Jun 9, 2012.
I wonder if those anti-meat people are aware if how many jobs would be cut if meat and dairy consumption are banned? I'm talking hundreds of jobs here: restaurants, groccery stores, farms, and don't get me started on how many jobs would be lost at Disneyland! It's just not worth it.
By the way, Leon, I found a letter printed in the Tribune that you wrote almost two years ago. I knew that, somehow, I had seen your name before, but I couldn't remember where. It was the letter about WWII, and you mention the Bataan Death March. That was a great letter, so I cut it out and put it on my wall. Brilliant! (of you, that is, not me)
Engaged Voter posted at 12:20 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
Poor chuckles3...so desparate to evade his claims that he makes false ones about me. *yawn* I wish I could say I was surprised.
I could care less what others eat. Nor did I ever claim to. Your response is silly.
So, no obese tofu eaters? What happened to "a calorie is a calorie"?
VofReason posted at 1:43 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
For engaged voter on the tofu fatty chhallenge. Have you ever eaten tofu, not really going to go hog wid on that- right? Vegatables are alomst impossible to gorg on, they fill you up faster then the calories they give off can harm your beltline. This is all pooppycock. We live in a society that cannot take responsibility for itself and wants to blame someone else when their decisions go bad. Question for Engaged, have you ever heard of a former fatty who loses the weight and says, " none of why I was fat was my fault". Once they figure it out, they are more then willing to take the responsibility. Tofu is nasty and slad is a great appetizer for real food.
Engaged Voter posted at 3:28 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
"Vegatables are alomst impossible to gorg on, they fill you up faster then the calories they give off can harm your beltline. "
BINGO! (or as close as we're liable to get on this forum)
Now, since you think my example/challenge was "poppycock", here's another:
Find me an obese child - under the age of 12 - with slim, healthy parents.
THERE is the ultimate cause of obesity - parental guidance (or lack thereof).
mrconservative posted at 7:01 pm on Sat, Jun 16, 2012.
I wouldn't eat tofu if my life depended on it. Same thing with broccoli and eggplant.