Stirring the Pot.

So, as of late 2015, processed meat, beef, lamb, and pork are the new things to fear.
I'm not surprised, to be honest. We have known for ages that processed meat is not good for us, and we have also been told that too much red meat is bad for us.... but Cancer???

The World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) is a very respectable institution. These are the people that oversaw and monitored the eradication of Smallpox, and they have been warning of the resurgence of Polio and Tuberculosis, so they are working for the good of Mankind, but I wonder if they are becoming a part of the problem. Which problem? The problem that is infecting Western civilization; the problem of Attitude towards Life.

We, in the First World, have a very unique approach to Life. We regard long life as a great reward and almost a Right, these days. We are living longer than at any other time in history, and we are doing it in better health, too. We live our working lives planning for a retirement in which we can (hopefully) enjoy unlimited leisure time, with a pleasant outlook for many years to come. Living to age 85 these days is not uncommon, and if you are fortunate enough to retire at 65, then almost 30% of your life-span is theoretically yours to enjoy as you wish.

Unfortunately, this scenario is not universal in our elderly. Many older people are in nursing facilities, with failing health, little opportunity to get around, and with few visitors. Instead of living long, happy lives, they are just living long.

We have another problem which seems unrelated to the elderly, but it is even more devastating. The suicide rate among the young people of the First World nations is growing alarmingly. More people under the age of 25 are committing suicide than at any time in recorded history. Why? We have a good society, with reasonably fair laws, education and opportunity is provided to the vast majority, and our medical research is keeping us safer from diseases than ever before. What then, is driving a sense of hopelessness among our Youth?

Putting these two problems into the pot, adding the latest W.H.O. findings, and giving it a good stir, has made me wonder about something.What if we, as a society, are looking at Life the wrong way, and what if it doesn't really matter that things are Bad For Us?

There are many people who do not eat red, or processed meat, or any meat at all, in some cases, and they have a range of reasons for not doing so. I think that is great, if it works for them. Health reasons are as good as any reason to not eat animal protein, if that suits you. The evidence shows that these people are more likely to live healthier trouble free lives for a few years longer than the omnivores among us. Good for them. Of all the other reasons not to eat meat, I don't understand a few of them, but that's just my opinion, and if they are happy, then also; Good for them.

What I have a problem with is the "blanket" attitude toward red and processed meat. Has it been proven that processed meat can cause cancer? Yes. Is it as bad as tobacco, or radiation exposure? The answer is no. Can red meat cause cancer? Yes. Is it as bad as processed meat? No. If processed meat is as bad as the media reports, then Colo-rectal cancer would be the leading cancer among Italians, Greeks, Germans, and most Slavic people. It's not.

The knee-jerk reaction from the general media, and certain interest groups fails to take these subtle inferences into consideration when they report this story, and I think this harms society in the long run. If people are continually told that a long life is better, when there is nothing to fill that life in the later years, then aren't we doing ourselves a disservice? I have no desire to be trapped in a wheelchair in a home for the frail, simply because a lifetime of manual labour has left me too poor to afford to travel, and too crippled with injury and arthritis to move around as I wish.

The young are being told constantly that their world is being destroyed, polluted and corrupted. they see that every food group can be a detriment to their health if they do not treat it correctly, or if they over-indulge. Sugar is bad, Fat is bad, too much eating is bad, too little is worse. Everything is dangerous, unless it is sterile and completely organic.

Does it have to be this way? Can't we look at things a little differently? Wouldn't it be a more positive approach if we allowed people to have a few bad things without making them pariahs, or at least guilt-ridden? You've made it to 75? Good on you! Eat and drink what you like! You've earned the privilege of letting loose! If you want to continue to live healthily, well that's okay too. You can enjoy life however you choose. Perhaps we can tell the young that Life is Good, rather than Life is Scary. Perhaps they will see the joy in the little evils, rather than the Evil in the little joys.

I have eaten some truly memorable steaks, and my list of favourite meals is red meat heavy. I love Chorizo, Kransky and ham. I would hate to lose my enjoyment (and occasional over-indulgence), of them through a sense of guilt. Don't let Not Dying replace Living.