Page 62 - Winter2020

All Thumbs Book Reviews

when dietary trends changed and ushered in more processed foods, there because “eating other living things to live is
were marked and measurable declines in health. Just how apparent were unethical,” right? Sacred Cow handles the weak
these changes? The authors report that “The mid-Victorians saw a loss ethical case against meat well. The two authors
of half a foot in average height in approximately one generation” (page point out the important, basic truth—often lost
67). In short, history and nutritional research don’t actually support the on denizens of the modern world—that every-
idea that meat is bad for human health. thing that lives does so because of the death of
For the anti-meat crowd, poking holes in the health arguments other things. Moreover, animals under human
doesn’t matter, because “we know meat is bad for the environment,” care experience a far kinder and cleaner death
right? Here again, we run into an example of how a complicated issue than almost any other death that nature affords.
can give cover for distortions or outright lies. Many years ago, I real- Ideas like choosing actions that cause “less
ized that the anti-meat agenda had no interest in factual dialogue about harm” or “less suffering” do not provide a moral
their whole “how much water does it take to produce a pound of beef?” “out” either, because there is no action that offers
type arguments. Unless someone has created cows that can turn water a no-harm outcome. In fact, many alternatives
into other unknown substances, all the water used to raise a cow merely to meat do far more harm to the animal (and
becomes enriched fertilizer when it leaves the animal! As Sacred Cow plant) kingdoms than meat—even industrial
makes clear, the environmental arguments against beef are indeed dis- meat—comes close to matching.
torted or fraudulent. What is heartbreaking, the authors argue, is that all If you are looking for a one-stop resource
sides of the debate ought to be able to come together and go after the real to give to someone trying to understand the
problems—industrial meat and industrial meat production, along with a mayhem around meat, or you want to better
broken agricultural system that prizes corn, soy and similar crops above equip yourself to understand and defend why
all others to provide unnatural foodstuffs to confined animals. Unfor- meat eating isn’t just good, but vital for both
tunately, in their haste to demonize meat—a traditional, nutrient-dense environmental and human health, Sacred Cow
food group if ever there was one—the meat attackers leave little to no is an excellent choice. Two thumbs up.
room to make the case for better meat. Review by John Moody
Even after someone is able to concede that “maybe” properly raised
meat is “possibly” good for the environment, that will not matter either,

BOOK REVIEWS IN Wise Traditions
The Weston A. Price Foundation receives two or three books per week, all of course seeking a Thumbs Up review.
What are the criteria we use for choosing a book to review, and for giving a Thumbs Up?
• First and foremost, we are looking for books that add to the WAPF message. Dietary advice should incorporate the
WAPF guidelines while adding new insights, new discoveries and/or new therapies.
• We are especially interested in books on the fat-soluble vitamins, traditional food preparation methods and healing
protocols based on the WAPF dietary principles.
• We look for consistency. If you talk about toxins in vaccines in one part of your book but say you are not against
vaccines in another part of your book, or praise fat in your text but include recipes featuring lean meat, we are
unlikely to review it.
• We do not like to give Thumbs Down reviews. If we do not agree with the major tenets expounded in a book sent
to us, we will just not review it. However, we feel that we have an obligation to point out the problems in influential
or bestselling books that peddle misinformation, and for these we will give a negative review. We also will give a
negative review to any book that misrepresents the findings of Weston A. Price.

• If you want us to review your book, please do not send it as an email attachment. Have the courtesy to send us a
hard copy book or a printout of your ebook or manuscript in a notebook or coil binding.

60 Wise Traditions WINTER 2020