Post: #1

'The womanization of protein consumption': Canadians quickly turning away from meat, study finds

"According to a new survey, 6.4 million Canadians have already restricted or eliminated meat from their diets, while a third of the population intends to do so.

Canadian men, more than women, consider meat one of life’s greatest pleasures and older men in particular think nothing compares to a good steak, a new survey finds.

For beef farmers, that’s about where the good news ends.

According to a new survey on Canada’s “protein wars,” 6.4 million Canadians have already restricted or eliminated meat from their diets, while a third of the population intends to do so in the next six months.

But the survey paints a conflicting picture of our attachment to meat and willingness to embrace chickpeas over sirloin, with three-quarters strongly or somewhat agreeing that, “as humans, it is natural to eat meat” and that eating meat is part of “a natural and balanced diet.”

“It appears that Canadians are still somewhat attached to meat consumption, generally speaking,” said principal investigator Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University. “But more and more Canadians are reconsidering their relationship with animal-based protein,” he said.

The findings come as Health Canada prepares to debut the latest iteration of its food guide in November, one that had been expected to lean more vegan than omnivore. In its “guiding principles” for the food-rules rewrite released earlier this year, Health Canada urged a shift to a “high proportion” of plant-based foods, without necessarily excluding animal foods.

The preliminary recommendations also encouraged replacing foods that contain mostly saturated fat with foods containing unsaturated fats (like nuts, seeds and avocados). Dairy and red meat are the primary sources of saturated fat.

Canada’s dairy and meat industries have pushed back against any serious dumping of meat, milk or other radical changes, and it’s not clear whether Health Canada will wilt to pressure from that juggernaut. The meat industry says it has been assured by the government the food guide won’t go low-meat.

But other countries are trending in exactly that direction, helped along in part by a declaration by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency in 2015 that bacon, sausage and other processed meat is a carcinogen to humans, and red meat “probably” too, a proclamation that raised fresh criticism over how the WHO communicates risk — and uncertain science — to the public.

“People said, ‘how could you possibly put processed meat in the same category of asbestos’,” Charlebois said. “But since then you have seen several governments around the world adjusting their food guide and policy around meat consumption, and we are expecting (Canada’s) food guide to be way more plant-based friendly.”

For the study, researchers surveyed 1,027 adults over three days in September. Charlebois conducted the study along with Simon Somogyi, of the University of Guelph and Janet Music of Dalhousie’s faculty of management. With a sample of this size, the margin of error is three per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of those surveyed said they consume meat or meat-containing products daily; 40 per cent said they eat meat once or twice a week. Two per cent considered themselves vegetarians, one percent vegans (no animal-based products, including honey) and one per cent lacto-ovo vegetarian (no animal flesh, but eggs and milk products permitted).

Fifty-one per cent said they would be willing to consider reducing meat some time in the future.

Both genders identified health benefits as reasons for doing so, though women and younger people were more concerned about animal welfare.

“The younger generation is not so interested in the health but the humanitarian approach to the way we’re feeding ourselves,” said renowned nutrition scientist Dr. David Jenkins of the University of Toronto. “You don’t mind a cow in the green field with the blue sky above and the tree and the sun — what every kindergarten kid draws,” he said.

“But when you come to a mechanized abattoir, that’s not such fun. There’s no blue sky, no happy, prancing (cattle). And I think that’s a big grassroots change among the young.”

Women were more likely than men to agree meat is replaceable by other sources of protein, and men who are not overly educated were more likely to agree “I am a big fan of meat in general.

“Eating meat is a manly thing, let’s face it. It’s always been portrayed as a manly thing to do,” Charlebois said.

Overall, the survey found that, “If you earn more, if you are a woman, if you are more educated, you are less likely to be attached to meat,” said Charlebois, who believes we’re experiencing “the womanization of protein consumption.”

He’s currently mentoring 10 plant-based food start-ups, from Montreal to Calgary. Women lead nine of them. “Last week in my MBA class I had Sobeys CEO (and president) Michael Medline and seven of his top executives. Three of them were women. The influence of women in the industry is becoming more and more apparent,” Charlebois said.

Canadians have reduced their meat intake since 2004. Today it is similar to that in Mediterranean countries, “places where diets are widely recognized as being amongst the healthiest worldwide,” said Marie-France Mackinnon, of the Canadian Meat Council.

Canadians consume, on average, 41 grams of cooked fresh meat like beef, pork, lamb or veal a day, she said — “that’s about half the size of the palm of your hand.”

“There’s been lots of speculation” about the new food guide, Mackinnon said. “In May, we met with the Health Minister (Ginette Petitpas Taylor) who assured us that they will not be telling (Canadians) to consume less red meat in the next edition.”

Jenkins, who is currently running a cross-Canada randomized trial testing whether a lacto-vegetarian diet can stop or even reverse plaque buildup on coronary arteries, said the science supports moving to more plant-based eating.

“No one has said ‘eat more beef and grow strong’, which is what they said in the 1930s,” he said. “No one is saying that anymore.”

Among the survey’s other findings:

• 63 per cent of vegans are under age 38 (millennials and Gen Ys);

• 42 per cent of “flexitarians” (flexible vegetarianism, with the odd serving of meat) are boomers;

• Younger and more educated are less likely to love meat;

• Few consider insects an appealing alternative to meat, although Atlantic Canadians and Quebecers seem more open to eating bugs."

https://nationalpost.com/life/food/the-w...tudy-finds
_______________________________________________________________

I thought this article and study was worth discussing. The title of the article is really fitting. There is a dietary war on men as they globalists are demonizing meat and pushing crap like soy.

So red meat is apparently cancerous and we should eat insects, plant-based protein and soy.

What nonsense.

Post: #2

I remember going to the Smithsonian as a kid and seeing life-sized silhouettes showing how tall people were on average at various stages of human history. Notably the shift from meat-based stone age diets to agriculture coincided with everyone turning into little hobbits with bad teeth since once the population shot up all they had to eat was grain and there wasn't enough game or livestock to go around. Then as technology improved people got taller until modern times when industrial food production allowed everyone to eat as much meat at they wanted.

I wonder if we're going to see another shift towards little gremlin people again as the population explodes and the powers that be decide we should only be allowed to eat bugs and soybeans in order to be "environmentalist".

Post: #3

I think people only want decent meat. Proper steaks. That means grass fed

When you only eat high quality meat of course your overall consumption drops, just like if you only eat high quality chocolate or drink premium whiskey

Post: #4

The Vegetarian Food Pyramid:



Look at all that soy!

Post: #5

Red meat is pretty expensive over here, which may partly explain this phenomenon.

Post: #6

People kill me with the "saturated fat is bad for you" argument. Ancel Keys' research is so outdated yet million of Westerns cling to that erroneous idea with the tenacity of mid-20's woman clinging to her iPhone or Venti Frappuccino. What is Health Canada? Is that the Canadian equivalent of the FDA in the US?

Human breast milk is around 45 to 55 percent saturated fat, yet babies across the world don't die of massive heart attacks. It's almost like saturated fats aren't that bad and are essential to humans . Sure there are a lot of thing wrong with commercial meat, like nitrates, antibiotics, etc, but I can see no reason to completely avoid eating if you don't have an allergy.

Post: #7

Are these 6.4 Million Canadians immigrants who were already vegetarian to begin with?

Post: #8

I've gotten into internet arguments with retarded vegans and vegetarians, either practicing or proponents thereof, and they dither and shriek endlessly about how meat is carcinogenic without understanding any of the science behind it. They don't understand how math works, and they think every statement is binary.

They believe that nitrates are dangerous, which is only half correct. It's impossible that all nitrates and nitrites are dangerous - since while bacon and processed meats contain nitrates, beets have 10-20x more per weight, or more. Not to mention, that human saliva itself contains far more nitrates than bacon ever can. Roughly 70-90% of daily human exposure to nitrates is caused by your own saliva.

After a lot of looking into the scientific studies that support meat being carcinogenic - what they bitch about is a substance called 'heme iron', which can slightly increase the risk of colon cancer. About five percent of the American population (basically the same between men and women) will get colon cancer in their lifetimes. Higher incidental consumption of heme iron due to red meat increases this risk about six percent - but only within that particular population. Six percent is considered statistically significant, so the "red meat cancer hurdur" stuck. Other studies done afterwards claim as high as 20 percent.

So eating red meat is only going to increase the rate of colon cancer by one sixteenth of one twentieth, or as high as one fifth of one twentieth - to a grand total of a .3 to 1% risk increase over the average individual's lifetime.

Post: #9

(10-30-2018 04:25 PM)Labienus Wrote:  Red meat is pretty expensive over here, which may partly explain this phenomenon.

Fruits and vegetables can be comparable in cost to some meats. To get the near absolute macro-nutrient density, you need to thrive based solely on plants is very expensive as you have to consume lots of costly nuts and seeds. Most vegans cheat with tons of carbs or soy to act as filler and chronically under-eat.

Big vegan rage now is wheat gluten - Seitan. All ironic because it was only a few years ago when everyone and their sister was gluten intolerant and now with the vegan trends people are gobbling down ultra-processed wheat gluten as it is a texture that closely mimics meat flesh.

Post: #10

(10-30-2018 04:42 PM)Goldin Boy Wrote:  People kill me with the "saturated fat is bad for you" argument. Ancel Keys' research is so outdated yet million of Westerns cling to that erroneous idea with the tenacity of mid-20's woman clinging to her iPhone or Venti Frappuccino. What is Health Canada? Is that the Canadian equivalent of the FDA in the US?

Human breast milk is around 45 to 55 percent saturated fat, yet babies across the world don't die of massive heart attacks. It's almost like saturated fats aren't that bad and are essential to humans . Sure there are a lot of thing wrong with commercial meat, like nitrates, antibiotics, etc, but I can see no reason to completely avoid eating if you don't have an allergy.

Exactly.....It's as if Sugar was the culprit.....

Post: #11

So in time, Canadians will become so soft, they will become the meat for wolves & bears?

Post: #12

Reading this thread north of the border while enjoying a nice slab of flank steak au poivre with a bottle of Sicilian red.

Post: #13

This is gonna make it even easier for Peterson's daughter to cash in on her dad's fame

Post: #14

They must have conducted this survey in liberal cities because non of it rings true with me. Growing up on the east coast I ate a ton of fish because it was cheap, fresh and healthy. I could go down to the wharf and get halibut, haddock, cod, herring, lobster, etc. Now that I live in Alberta, I eat way more beef since this is cattle country and if I can get some wild meat like moose or elk then I’ll eat that too but overall I’d take fresh fish over red meat any day.

I don’t know any Atlantic Canadians who eat bugs, WTF is this nonsense? I don’t even know any vegetarians, everyone I know eats tons of meat, likes to hunt and thinks vegans are faggots. Maybe I should get out more and leave my blue collar bubble and interact with some of these soy eating, CBC supporting, NDP voting lefty weirdos who think eating meat is bad.

Post: #15

delete

Post: #16

That title would make one think Canuck women have finally learned to swallow and are disgusted by the taste.

Post: #17

The "beyond meat" burger at A&W sells out, faggots,lesbians and soyboys are going crazy over them.

Post: #18

With one exception, the women in this ad all have larger biceps than the men. Again, look at all that soy!

Post: #19

Quote:With one exception, the women in this ad all have larger biceps than the men. Again, look at all that soy!

Beyond Burger contains no soy. However, it does contain nearly as much fat and calories as a beef burger, so that might explain the big biceps on the ladies in the ad.

Soyboys in the spot might be getting their estrogen elsewhere, but it is not from the Beyond Burger.

Post: #20

If this many Canadians will not eat meat, how many RVF Canadians still eat meat? How expensive are we talking about here? Are you talking about grassfed or regular?

Post: #21

My gf is vegan, not a liberal hippie dipshit vegan (thankfully), just really health-minded and loves animals. She has made me some crazy good shit for me before, always soy free, because no soy for this boy. A week or so ago she made me some vegan hot dogs (made of seitan) with fake cheese and it tasted like a regular hot dog.

Anyway, I can kind of see the appeal, bc a lot of meat comes from questionable sources and is shitty quality. Grass-fed farm to table makes the most sense, but finding a source and ponying up the cash if you're on a budget could be tricky.

Post: #22

Great quality specialty sausages are like $1-$2 a pop, no need to cut corners there.

Beef isn't all that expensive in Canada, the key is not to shop in chains, but in local supermarkets, where the produce is also cheaper. A steak is $3-$7, depending on the cut, often cheaper than a Big Mac. Those markets tend to be owned by Italian, Greek or Portuguese. They also know their seafood.

Post: #23

(10-31-2018 07:56 PM)911 Wrote:  Great quality specialty sausages are like $1-$2 a pop, no need to cut corners there.

Beef isn't all that expensive in Canada, the key is not to shop in chains, but in local supermarkets, where the produce is also cheaper. A steak is $3-$7, depending on the cut, often cheaper than a Big Mac. Those markets tend to be owned by Italian, Greek or Portuguese. They also know their seafood.

I live in Canada, I don't eat much meat.

When I do, I buy good steaks that are $20 each minimum.

I have never seen a $7 steak, not even at Walmart.

Post: #24

(10-31-2018 04:37 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  If this many Canadians will not eat meat, how many RVF Canadians still eat meat? How expensive are we talking about here? Are you talking about grassfed or regular?

The article and thread is BS.

I may not eat much beef, for reasons I don't want to even get into here.

We have a ton of restaurants and fast food places, that serve a lot of meat and they are always busy. In fact, we have a few high end steakhouses that have opened up in my city during the last few years.

Post: #25

Veganism has spread through an entire half of my family by my cousin marrying a militant vegan girl a while back. And their kids are little soy boys already.

Prices vary by however fancy your tastes are. You can stock up on cheap pork and chicken that goes on sale for $2/lb regularly. Ground beef is $4-5/lb normally. Premium steaks go on sale for $8-10/lb regularly Or grass fed ribeyes for $35/lb. Salmon is $11/lb.

Organic/grassfed meat is 2-3 times more expensive and often appears to be older meat and there is far less selection. Is it worth the extra $200+ a month to switch over? I'm just not convinced it isn't mainly hippy shit for sucking money out of yuppies. Should I rethink?

I already am switched over to organic butter, coconut oil and premium olive oil exclusively, for cooking. But that's only like $10/month extra.