Has anybody read these books?

I skimmed through 'Skinny Bastard, and busted up laughing at the stuff.

Unless I'm totally wrong, it's essentially a vegetarian advocation masked by
some very humorous language. It starts off with the usual damning information
about soda, junk food, and complex carbs. Then goes into detail about fad diets
and how they suck too. But unlike other 'vegetarian lifestyle' books, it doesn't
hit you with a 'whammy' moment several chapters in. It actually tells you right
up front that eating meat is bad for you.

It also debunks the myth of soy being bad for men and linked to cancer because
it has two compounds that mimic human estrogen and 'might' be harmful at mega
high doses.

Anyways the major themes that I picked up from the book are:

1) Soda is evil. It doesn't have one ingredient that is good for you other than water.

2) Diet soda is even worse. Aspartame breaks down in the body and produces toxins like formaldehyde. It's also the #1 reported complaint to the FDA from
consumers for all sorts of ailments.

3) The chicken Mccnuget (and several fast food items) actually contains petroleum products to 'perserve' the product for ages.

4) 70% of antibiotics in the USA are given to cows. In Argentina, cows are fed grass and don't require antibiotics. Although fecal matter isn't permitted to be fed to cows anymore (due to mad cows disease), we're still feeding certain parts of the cow back to cows (because it's a cheap source of protein) and it is absolutely allowed by the FDA/USDA.

5) The USDA was set up originally as a way to help farmers financially succeed--not to protect Americans. Moreover, many of the persons in governmental positions actually have interest in large companies like Cargill, etc. etc.


Anyways, the list goes on and on.

But these books go beyond what the normal 'scare tactic' books do by actually being hilarious as hell. It's almost like listening to 'bar talk' but the subject is very serious.


Anyone read these books?

I have skimmed Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch both were pretty humorous and almost made me want to attempt being vegan...Then I remembered how damn good cheese is

Where is it written that propoganda can't be humorous?

thekidsgirl said:

Brie...

it's my dietary kryptonite...

I just checked out their website and they have a page of links to "Products We Love."

Some of them look really yummy; others I've had and can testify that they're healthy and tasty. I like Food For Life breads and bagels a lot, even though the packaging is like a Bible made out of plastic wrap.

But the prices of *some* of these products are out of fucking control. $30 for a box of 12 cookies? TWELVE COOKIES. THIRTY DOLLARS. Get the fuck outta here with that shit.

Genesia said:

Written vegan/vegetarian propaganda seldom is. I've read quite a bit (China study, Becoming Vegan, etc. etc.). Some of it legitimately informative, and some of it taking great liberties in conjecture, but none of it particularly funny or entertaining.

RenHoek said:

see... just a few hours later and I've had half a wheel of that shit on warm pugliese...

PunkMistress said:

I've been reading a book that details how food goes from the 'ground' to the 'plage', and I've shocked.

Most organic meats you buy at Wholefoods that says "free range" is actually not. For any chicken to be organic the government insist that the chickens have access to the outside world. But the chickens live only 7 weeks before slaughter, and the 'outside' world is available to them only the last 2 weeks. So for the first five weeks they are raised in very cramped (although not as cramped as non-organic) chickens indoors with no access to the outside. On the last two weeks, when the tiny doors in the large factories are open to a fenced yard outside, the chickens are so sufficiently used to their situations that none venture outside.

What makes them 'organic' is that they aren't given antibiotics, nor feed grains that have pesticides in them (they're feed organic food).

It's shocking what passes as 'organic'. It's lead a group of farmers to call themselves 'beyond organic' to indicate they're closer to the 'old macdonalds' arm than the current modern day incarnation of organic.

And despite the factory farming conditions, the meat is still quite a bit more expensive than non-organic.

RenHoek said:

can I have the other half, or is it gone now?!

TheVoid said:

Wikipedia sez:

thekidsgirl said:

oh it's here... but it's hours are numbered...

Ace said:

I know what the FDA and USDA say. They're the ones who also ok'd the feeding of fecal mater to cows before mad cow desease took off. This is not to say they don't have a use, but they're not perfect. The USDA is an extension of the the farming industry in all honesty.

The FDA itself lists 92 'side affects' of consuming aspertame, among them are:
1. admonimal pain
2. memory loss
3. nerve cell damage
4. brain lesions
5. food cravings and weight gain

and the list goes on and on.

It's also the was denied approval 9 times before Arthur Hull Hayes managed to get it approved. The Internatl Department of Health and Human Services investigated Hayes for accepting bribes from FDA-regulated companies (Searle, the maker of Aspertame being one of them), and the two attorneys assigned to the case decline to prosecute Hayes. All 3 (Hayes, and the two attorneys) shortly thereafter went to work for Searle, the company that makes Aspertame.
Donald Rumsfeld also assisted in the approval of Nutrasweet.

Essentially, I don't believe the FDA's concerning aspartame because I've lost faith that they have the American consumer's best interest in mind. They were 20 years behind the ball on hydrogenated oils, and hydrogenated oils are still everywhere despite the fact we know it's killing us.

Coupled with the fact that aspertame hasn't even been proven to reduce weight (and indeed Americans are fatter than ever), the clear case for it's continued use and promotion is that it is so incredibly cheap for companies to use it in their products.


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[Edited 3/9/10 20:11pm]