Here's the Skinny

Over time I’ve read several books that delve into the disgusting practices of Big Food. Animals are injected with hormones to make them fatter faster, they are kept literally on top of each other to save space, and in the case of cows especially: they are fed corn as well as other animals, even though they are herbivores and should be eating just grass. Mad cow disease developed because ranchers thought “protein is protein” and fed cows other cows- which made them “mad.” This practice was banned in 1997, but it does still continue. I don’t have any objection to eating meat from healthy animals that aren’t full of hormones, but the current agricultural practices do bother me. There are plenty of other practices that could really make your stomach turn, and if you are interested you could read the books yourself (Fast Food Nation, Don’t Eat This Book, The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter, The Omnivores Dilemma). One book I suggest you stay away from is Skinny Bitch.

This book got a lot of hype, basically for it’s “no frills” approach to telling women “how it is.” Two women, one who used to be a model and another who used to be a model agent, preach veganism- claiming that meat, dairy, and anything non-organic food will basically kill you and/or make you fat- although according to them food making you fat seems to be the bigger crime. They write that you shouldn’t trust any overseeing government agency (FDA, USDA, EPA). In fact, they write, “Trust no one,” so many times you think you might be reading more about government conspiracies than “healthy” eating. The fact is you really just shouldn’t trust them.

I will admit I bought this book because of the hype: I was a victim of a culture that loves shock value. But I realized my mistake early on, and without reading any of the previous literature on the food industry, I would have really been taken by these ladies, and taken most of what they said seriously.

For the first few chapters they write a lot that I have either read before or could easily believe: meat is full of unhealthy hormones, pesticides in the vegetables. Then they discussed how the purpose of milk is to make babies gain weight quickly when they are young (both cows and humans), which I could also believe to be true. They discussed that milk actually sets a trigger off in the brain that almost makes children addicted to it so that they drink more and grow more: hence why it’s so hard for people to give up cheese. I also will buy that, I certainly love my cheese.

I read through the chapter on pooping, tilting the book just enough so that the stranger on the train next to me wouldn’t judge me, but it wasn’t until I got to the chapter on fasting that it hit me: these women are no experts.

They suggest doing a fast, in fact, they suggest doing several. Starting with “beginner” fasts and moving on to more difficult ones that just include drinking water. They do warn: do not become anorexic! But then they harp on all the wonderful aspects of fasting: savor the hungry feeling in your stomach; think about how all the toxins are leaving your body. Be happy that you are hungry. Think about how good it is for you! That sounds like the anorexic mantra to me. One insightful tip:
“Donate blood. You can save a life and lose weight at the same time.” I did give blood only once, but I don’t remember my pants being any looser afterwards.

They suggest not to eat breakfast until you are “truly hungry,” although you might feel somewhat hungry, “After a few days, you’ll grow to love that empty feeling in you stomach and know that the initial headaches, nausea and hunger were just your body’s cleaning crew.” Oh, how ignorant I’ve been! All this time I thought headaches and nausea were your bodies warning signs for low blood sugar and vitamins! How silly of me.

Then there is of course the title, Skinny Bitch. I read a review of this and Michael Pollan’s new book, In Defense of Food, (he is the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma) on Salon a few weeks back. A young woman was quoted saying something along the lines of: “I don’t know what an omnivore is, but I do know what a skinny bitch is, and I want to be one.” Ah, one point for feminism.

I’m assuming the title is one of those third-wave feminism attempts at turning negative words towards women into positive ones, but it’s just not happening. The authors of the book say that although you will become a skinny bitch, you shouldn’t act like a bitch. If this makes sense to anyone, please do enlighten me.

I’ve heard nutritionists say that there is no reason for fasting or cleansing: your body naturally gets rid of chemicals in your body that are bad for you. Nutritionists have said a popular fast, the Master Cleanse diet, is not necessary because your body naturally gets rid of toxins. You need to eat. It is a basic part of survival. Although I do lack medical training, I am under the impression that people in most cases do not need to fast for nutritional purposes.

The sign should have came when I read that the authors of Skinny Bitch used to be models and have no formal training in medicine or nutrition (one has a masters in holistic nutrition). They are just vegans, not an authority. They worked in an industry where the thinner you are, the better, and they took that concept and applied it to our imaged obsessed culture. The real truth is that if you are serious about being a vegan, it has to be because you have very strong feelings towards it that can’t be wavered, because it isn’t easy. If you’re doing it just to be thin, then once you lose the weight it’ll be harder to continue such a strict diet that keeps you from not only from meat, but also from any animal-derived products. They do make a pretty good case about how bad meat is for you, but it’s not done in a very intellectual manner. It would take a lot more research and conviction on anyone’s part in order to fully accept and practice veganism.