Letters to the Editor
-
Vegetarians
lay gnarly dumps.
(No cruelty was used in illuminating this elephant in the room.)
Pew!
-
A culture of abuse?
It's really pathetic that swearing at and insulting people is supposed to be "funny" or "helpful."
-
Sounds like a marketing gimmick that's at the same time more genuine than any other diet book
I'm a vegetarian who respects vegans, and to whom cries of "sanctimonious!" sound like the cries of the slacker kids in school against the smart kids who actually work and try things that are hard.
It's pretty obvious, through the examples mentioned in this piece, that the angle and tone the book is taking is just another variation on modern and edgy marketing--it stands out, it grabs your attention.
To single it out as having some kind of sinister agenda seems a bit unfair, though, especially when you stop and think about what the "agenda" really is. The book's "agenda" is to get you to consider where your food comes from, what processes are involved in creating it, and what effects that has on those people and creatures involved in those processes.
In other words, its agenda is to put your consumption into a larger, honest context, instead of solely focusing on what makes you fat.
Viewed in this light, it seems to me that most other diet books come off looking bad, because they're completely selfish and self-obsessed in nature: what is good and bad for me, what will make me look good, and so on. No talk about anything beyond the opening of your own mouth and the supermarket.
So, which is a worse agenda: educating people about what actually is involved in the food they eat, or an author's pursuit of personal profit by focusing solely on the narcissistic vanity of someone who'd rather remain ignorant of the messy realities behind our sanitized food consumption?
The writer seems to have fallen into the same knee-jerk reaction that much of society has to truths it doesn't want to have to deal with--demonize the source, reject the notion that what we do unthinkingly can be wrong, and make hapless victims out of people who are perfectly empowered but prefer to remain ignorant.
It's only natural to feel this rejection reaction--it's the same thing that addicts feel when confronted--but it should be a signal to open a door of understanding, not to slam it shut and blame the messenger.
-
To Anonymous of 9:50 am.
What you fail to understand is that men are not told in a million ways -- by the media, by parents, by crappy women's magazines -- that being thin and pretty is the highest and most satisfying goal to which they can aspire. While there are male models, men simply are not held to the same standards. Many men can achieve fame as actors and other public figures with an "interesting" or "unique" look, which really does not work often, if at all, for women.
Yes, it's a vicious cycle in which we participate, but we are not born into a world without stereotypes and expectations. To call women with eating disorders or body issues weak is a complete simplification.
-
i'm a newly skinny bitch
i don't get the problem--it IS a diet and lifestyle book. if you do as the book suggets, and cut out processed foods, refined sugar, corn syrup, aspartame, dairy, and meat, and work out a few days a week--you'll lose weight. i know because i read it and i have. the book does happen to be vegan, yes, but i don't understand why it's "hiding" as a diet book and even if it is, why that's a problem.
so it doesn't state on the cover that it recommends veganism. but atkins, sugarbusters, the perricone prescription, somercise, or any other inane weight loss book doesn't put its central idea on its cover either--that's why you buy the book, dummy. if the information was on its cover, well, we wouldn't need to read it.
i never would have considered being vegan before i was "tricked" by this book. but i tried it, and liked it. i feel better, have lost weight, and am doing right by the environment. so what. stop whining.
-
DRIVEL
I'm kind of appalled that salon takes articles from comic hacks who are terrible writers, and glaring self-promoters. she's not interested in writing- she's reviewed a hugely popular book, that's not worth the trees killed to print it, in order to gain notoriety for herself. i wouldn't have googled this klausner if not for the fact that one letter writer called her fat and i just felt like checking. But she (JK) is an obvious self-promoter and this superficial rant, this useless screed, this unoriginal rip off that she's published in salon does nothing for anyone. it is not intellectual, it is not enlightening. it is unoriginal. it is the kind of thing that reminds me NEVER to pay for reading salon, even if they will give it to you for free if you send yourself $40 flowers. i thought about that one, and this kind of mind-eroding tabloid essay reminds me not to waver in my conviction that salon is not worth a cent! it's just wrong to publish this douche, period.
and klausner? i'm fairly certain paglia would find your piece extremely tiresome, like i did. Paglia actually has an original idea once in a while. try going for that!!!!!!!!!
-
Come On!
Come on, Klausner. Get over yourself!
Just because the book made you feel bad doesn't give you an excuse to go harping on veganism in general.
-
Best for Diabetes
Actually, the two BEST diets for diabetes according to research is either low fat low carb diet or a low fat vegan diet. You can find the information at diabeteshealth.com or diabetes.org.
I think that says something.
-
Skinny bitch
No one would try to argue that this is a literary masterpiece. It is written half joking, but with a lot of reality about our food choices. I would argue that most people stuff their mouths without ever giving a second thought about where the food came from, or what it is doing to our bodies. I became a vegan 2 years ago and I have to admit, I have never felt better. In the end Rory admits she doesn't care about being skinny, it's about being healthy. I truly do believe that a well-balanced plant based diet is much healthier for you. I know that eating a little meat isn't going to kill you, but then again, someone else had to die for you to enjoy something that you can live without. Most people are very naive about what animals go through prior to and during slaughter. In fact, many more people would become vegans if they knew, but they choose to bury their heads in the sand. If it takes a little raunchy language to get people to listen, good for her.