By Diana Rodgers and Robb Wolf
I discovered this book after listening to the authors being interviewed by Danny Lennon on Sigma Nutrition Podcast Episode 340. This was part four in Sigmas series on the Ethics of Veganism vs Omnivorism.
Joe Rogan also spoke to Diana and Robb in JRE #1784 on 26th February 2022.
Sacred Cow is all about the case for sustainable regenerative farming. Explaining in statistical detail why these practices are much healthier for humans, and better for the environment than any other practices out there. Without being dogmatic or preaching, they put the case for regenerative farming directly up against the militant vegan case, with a clear victory for regenerative farming and eating this type of meat. I have to state “militant vegan case”, simply because many vegans are reasonable and balanced in their views. But the market generally sees the worst side of veganism which is put out by the vegan propaganda machine. It is these vegans I refer to as militant.
Since the Second World War, governments have been focused on maximising human feed and calories, rather than food and nutritional value. This has led to the terrible situation we find ourselves in now. Single crop farms producing soy, corn and wheat under a subsidised format. With a focus purely on volume and calories, with no consideration for micronutrients of the food or soil. Arguably it is this which has led to the obesity and health crisis we see today.
The rise of obesity and auto-immune diseases can be correlated directly to this subsidised strategy. Blame for obesity was laid firmly at the feet of saturated fats due to the highly contentious Ancel Keys report of the 1960’s. Since that report, big food companies using cheap soy, grains, corn and sugars have flooded supermarkets with highly palatable, poor nutrient dense, high calorie foods. Whilst at the same time, fats have been demonised.
All of this alone should be enough for us to question these practices. But when you add the high levels of pesticides and chemicals used on these crops which find their way into our bodies, clearly something has gone very wrong. Governments need to make changes fast to rectify the poor decisions made in the name of financial growth, rather than optimal human health.
This has in turn led to an uprising in veganism, spurned by propaganda documentaries such as Cowspiracy and Game Changers.
There is no doubt that factory farming practices had to change. This is where such programs actually did some good. By highlighting these practices and making people think about their food choices. But clearly this has gone too far when normal omnivores, which humans have been for millennia, are accused of being murderers simply by choosing to eat meat like they have always done.
A long time friend of mine turned vegan after watching Cowspiracy. After trying to have a rational debate with him back in 2018 about the possibility of regenerative farming and animals being treated respectfully. He outright told me there is no such farm which treats animals kindly.
This got me thinking about how such an intelligent person, somebody who I have known for a long time and respected for rational debate and discussion, was so militant in his view and could not believe there are farmers who actually care for their animals. If you immerse yourself into one side of a debate, and close your mind to any other views, even the most open-minded of people can become closed and blinkered in their biases. This is what had happened to my friend and thousands of others who joined the vegan bandwagon.
Let me categorically state, if an adult chooses to be a vegan or vegetarian, this is absolutely their choice. It’s when these adults become dogmatic and try to push their agenda onto others that something is wrong.
Diana and Robb work very hard to ensure they are not pushing their beliefs and agenda onto others. They also believe it is an individual’s right to make their own choices. What they show here, in detailed and statistical format, is that there is another solution to the health epidemic, environmental impact, and ethical care of animals raised for human consumption.
The solution is regenerative farming, where multiple crops are grown, and animals are used to feed the soil and graze on the land.
What I find so incredibly frustrating, is the glaring proof that this is the right way for us to move forward as a species. To return to practices we discovered at the turn of the agricultural revolution. Where crop rotation and leaving land arable for animals to feed and live on was normal. Keeping soil fertile and crops high in nutrients.
This is a book the world has been crying out for. Another side of the meat-eating debate to bring rationality to the discussion, and show there is another way for humans to feed ourselves. The problem we have is governance, politics, big business and greed. Luckily some farmers are seeing this for themselves, with farms such as Belcampo in the USA who are a 100% sustainable and regenerative farm. Listen to more about Belcampo and their practices on Max Lugavere’s podcast no.137.