Now there is a controversial ad if I've ever seen one. Let's discuss some of the various points of view at work: One could say that it's not the meat that is bad for kids... it's the processed, fried meat that is bad for kids. Another would agree with the photo. Someone else would say that fat is simply hereditary. Where do we think the truth lies?
I have many friends in the veg world, I was one of them for many years and loved being vegan. Two of my closest friends are raising their kid vegetarian and he's the healthiest, most energetic kid I've ever known. Plus, one of the skinniest times of my life was when I was vegan--but it isn't necessarily true for all because I have many heavy friends who are veg also. I tried to make healthy decisions for every meal and be vegan at the same time, but it's not true for everyone. It isn't cheap or easy to not eat animal products (especially in the great state of Texas). Furthermore, eating healthy is making healthy decisions (i.e. being "veg" doesn't mean you get to eat brownies and mozz sticks all day, unfortunately). A veg quesadillia could have upwards of 1200 calories where a 5oz sirlion and side of brocolli could have between 700-800 calories...which is really better? Allowing an advertisement to suggest that going veg will fight obesity is a falsehood.
The bottom line is that there are multiple sides to every story. I believe we need ads like these and ads like the cattle ranchers would put up portraying the benefits of beef. Both are important because they push the envelope to each end of the spectrum so that the rest of us can fall into the middle category and be happy, healthy partakers of whatever we desire. But don't blame your weight on cows--they're vegetarian too.
I think habit is another factor lead to obesity. I've been in some other states in America, but not of them has obesity rate as we do in Texas. I hadn't seen one fat person when I visit Seattle the past summer, nor had I seen a obese person in San Fransisco. Moreover, people in China rarely study nutrition, they don't care how much calories they consume daily, yet, obese people are rarely seen. I think food might be a big contributing factor, but things like habit can also affect one's body growth.
ReplyDeleteI think that is basically a false correlation. I've known plenty of long time vegetarians, vegans, and even one raw vegan (more if you count the internet) who are overweight. Some people see these 'diets' as a panacea, that's a potentially dangerous attitude. I've been enjoying a vegetarian diet for about 7 months now, and as you said, it's totally possible to just eat potato chips and drink coke all day.
ReplyDeletePeta is great with the shock factor in advertising.
I dont totally agree with the ad because i feel it should be feeding kids too much meat is child abuse. obesity is a major problem in the United states Because of overeating. As Americans we consume more than anyother nation. Now raising kids as vegetarian I dont know if i agree with that. Now from what i have seen most "vegatarians" are smaller than most "meatatarians". Which is because meats tend to carry a lot of fat in them. so my stand point is stop feeding kids excessive amounts of meats.
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