Page 11 - Winter2010

Caustic Commentary

Sally Fallon Morell and Mary Enig take on the Diet Dictocrats

CARBON TRADING which they can cash in at a bank. If they aren’t frugal and
You thought carbon trading was all about reducing depen- produce a lot of carbon and consume unhealthy [fatty] foods,
dence on fossil fuel? Think again. A proposed trial of a per- then every year they will have to buy extra units” (www.
sonal carbon trading scheme will also aim at getting people to sunshinecoastdaily.com.au, October 28, 2010). Looks like
reduce consumption of “fatty foods” in the name of targeting carbon trading is morphing from a plan to “save the planet”
obesity. The three-year project will involve giving everyone into a social engineering and public policy scheme. If carbon
on Norfolk Island, a small island in the Pacific Ocean located rationing becomes widespread, the same system can be used
between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, a card to ration food and make government nutrition objectives
pre-loaded with “carbon units.” They will pay for their power mandatory.
and gasoline with carbon units—and from the second year
also their food. “If people are thrifty,” says Professor Garry ADVANCES IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Egger, an organizer of the program, “and don’t buy a lot of For those trying to reduce their consumption of saturated
petrol or power or fatty foods, they will have units to spare, fat, as per the USDA dietary guidelines, the food industry

USDA DIETARy GUIDElINES – NoT EvIDENcE BASED

linda van Horn, chair of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory committee and editor of the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, seems a little defensive these days, insisting that the Guidelines “do improve nutrition.” Since the Guidelines
have paralleled an increase, not a reduction, in obesity and chronic disease, one would hope that the new Guidelines
are substantially different from the lowfat, anti-cholesterol USDA dietary prescription that has been with us since 1980.
“There are distinct and defining differences” in the 2010 report insists van Horn. . . . what might these differences be? A
decrease in saturated fat consumption from 10 to 7 percent, and a reduction in salt consumption to 3.5 grams per day.
Plus, the guidelines will encompass all ages, from birth onwards, rather than start from the age of two.
van Horn admits that “a large proportion of American people at all ages are overfed and undernourished,” but con-
tinues to promote more of the same malnourishment with the following
tortured logic: reducing saturated fat consumption hasn’t worked so far,
but if we reduce it even more, and start at birth rather than the age of two,
then people will not overeat, get fat or suffer from cancer, heart disease
and other modern ailments. Smarting from criticism that USDA has ignored
mounting evidence showing that its lowfat, high-carb prescription has fu-
eled the obesity epidemic, van Horn insists that the current guidelines “are
the first to be entirely evidence-based” (Journal of the American Dietetic
Association 2010 Nov; 110, (11)1638-1645).
But many scientists disagree. A report entitled “In the face of contradic-
tory evidence: Report of the Dietary Guidelines of Americans committee,”
published in the october, 2010 issue of the journal Nutrition, notes that
the Dietary Guidelines committee excluded many relevant studies from
consideration. In addition, many studies cited by the committee as sup-
portive actually contradict the committee’s conclusions.
The Weston A. Price Foundation has issued its own Healthy 4 Life di-
etary guidelines based on four food groups, one of which is healthy fats. A
colorful 84-page Healthy 4 Life booklet with easy-to-understand guidelines
and simple recipes is available from the Weston A. Price Foundation online
ordering page, or by calling (202) 363-4394. It sells for $10, or $6 each for
ten or more.
Wise Traditions WINTER 2010 WINTER 2010 Wise Traditions 11

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