I am not sure how many of you have heard of the book The China Study, it is a book about the rise of certain illnesses in China and their correlation to the rise in animal product consumption over the last 20 years. I personally have not read the book, though I have it on my requests at the library, but I have talked to some people in China about this issue.
While in Shenyang, I had the privileged to meet some medical students studying at the local university. One day when a group of us were out to lunch, one of the girls brought up this very topic. She explained how she saw a huge problem with how Chinese people are eating now. Before people were unable to afford meat and, therefore, it was not a huge part of their diet. And when meat was eaten, it was usually fish, pork or poultry. Now, however, because people are making more money and meat prices are cheaper, the general public is able to consume more meat, especially new meats like beef and mutton. My friend expressed that she didn't think this was a good thing. She felt that Chinese people were eating too much meat and were going to have more health problems than past generations.
This is exactly what The China Study explains. They link the increase in cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, to name a few, to the increase in animal product consumption. An article in Newsweek also points out with life expectancy on the rise, Chinese people are now living longer with these diseases.
If this sounds all too familiar, it should, China is starting to deal with the same things that Americans have been dealing with for the last 50 years.
I am sharing all this to help back up my feelings on meat consumption.
My Opinion:
I don't think it is wrong to consume meat. I can agree with people who argue the Christian Biblical perspective that God has given us animals to eat from Genesis 9:3.(Though I won't bring up that this was after the flood because that is another discussion for another time) But I also don't take lightly what was said in Proverbs 23:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
I would love to return to a day when eating meat meant that it was a special meal. When Thanksgiving had real value because we celebrated the true blessings of being provided for, not just over-eating like every other day. If you didn't eat meat at every meal, how much more value would you place on the turkey or the pork roast?
Which of these has more value?
I would hope the chips have a lower value because of the time and effort spent on making the deliciously crafted meal on the right -- this coming from someone who use to have a rather substantial addiction to Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles.
I am no longer desirous to put specific dietary restrictions on my life, but rather to focus more on putting value on my food. Meat in China is losing it's value, just as it has been lost here. I wish that more people would understand the gravity of that, for our health, and for our culture.
If you are nerdy like me and like research, I found two really interesting research studies done on meat consumption in China: Determinants of Meat Consumption in China and Meat Consumption in the Home in China: An Empirical Study.
I came to US from China in 1996. I remember vividly that before I was a teenager, meat (poultry as well) was rare and expensive. We only had meat once a few weeks or during Chinese New Year. I was so excited if I knew my mom bought a pound of pork.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went home from college for summer break or Chinese New Year, my mom would cook a young rooster to give me a treat. It was unbelivably tasty. I do not think I ever will feel that again for two reasons: one is that we eat chicken/meat more often if not too often, another reason is that in old days chickens were raised loosely (not in cages or coops) certainly without any anitbiotics, etc (somehow the organic chicken does not taste that good).
We mainly ate whole grain, multi grain, and vegitables. In winter, we stored the Chinese cabbages, radishes, etc. underground covered with dirt and dug them out every a few days for consumption.
Starting 1990s, things began to change. Economy took off, people have more money, meat is readily available and affordable, and people have been eating more meat. And people's heath profile began to change accordingly.