Major downsides to the popularity of Keto

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #21

I totally get what your saying, and I do understand how IF could “somewhat” effect how much meat… or for that matter food in general, a person eats. But I think the overall amount of beef being eaten by the total world population, would be increased to a far greater level, by the majority going Keto, than it would be decreased, by the majority of those going to Intermittent Fasting,

(Joey) #22

Totally agree!
More keto => more demand for meat
More IF => less demand for breakfast McMuffins
:wink:

(Todd Allen) #23

I expect we will be spending more on food and less on healthcare and drugs. I think the current pattern is the anomaly and I expect going back to having food as a primary expense will be ok.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #24

One can certainly buy a LOT of food / beef for the cost of one visit to the hospital… Especially if they were paying for it out of their pockets. Either way, somebody has to pay for it.

(charlie3) #25

Whats different this time around is the huge increase in obesity and the varous metabolic illnesses as reported by the CDC. When I first noticed that it took a few seconds to conclude that the common factor had to be diet then it took a week or two of research to decide that low carb was the best response. Then after not so many months I got the predicted and favorablle results.

I think in the past diets were viewed mostly as weight loss stratagies and that seems to be what gets most people interested in Keto but now we know the mechanisms and there are plenty of people reporting, not just weight loss but normalizing bio markers.

Farmers have vast potential to increase production if the demand is there. Modern Americans are only a generation or two away from the farm and suddenly know nothing about farming and accept any stupid BS about farming from any charleten with an axe to grind. Do research about the national and global food supply before repeating things that you can’t defend. In particular let the producers tell their siide of the story.

(Wendy) #26

Not to mention loss of income to days not working.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #27

US cattle production over time:

image https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/93611/cattleandbeefinventories_450px.png?v=3727.2

Cattle herds have greatly reduced from a peak in the 1970’s. Americans are eating less beef now, not more especially considering the massive increases in US population since the 1970’s. The cattle industry keeps production on a supply and demand basis. The recommendations of the dietary guidelines of the 1970’s created a decrease in cattle production and a huge increase in poultry production to meet the new supply and demand that created. They don’t want too much excess (more feed used to make more beef than needed drives production costs up while surplus drives prices down). A big part of the issue is the growing of grain feed to supply food for animals and creating processed foods. While nearly one third of grain grown goes to animal feed it is 90% the inedible leftovers of farming that supplies most of what makes up the feed going to animals. Pigs will eat corn cobs and other inedible parts of crops. Most of the actual grain used is the stuff that is damaged waste that is sorted out mechanically like under sized corn kernels and soy pulp leftover from processing into vegetable oil :nauseated_face:. Beef production can be ramped up when demand is greater. My belief is that the system will evolve to keep things from getting out of hand as demand changes.

More land returning to pasture instead of growing grain, processing and making animal feed and processed junk food makes the system simpler and the food more nutritious. It takes 2.2 lbs of corn to cause a one pound increase of meat weight in cattle. So with meat we are taking a low nutrition crop (corn) and converting it into a much more nutrient dense food. That 2.2 lbs of corn might fill more bellies but at the same time is completely inefficient as a protein and fat source. Grass is arguably the most nutritious plant on our planet. It converts sunlight directly into food that the ruminant thrives on. Cattle are actually ketogenic in nature, they break down the grass and through fermentation convert it to fatty acids. Beef live on FAT. Feeding cattle grains fattens them up quick but they develop the same metabolic derangement that we get from eating grains. Grain finished cattle are getting sick. High insulin resistance forces fat into the muscle tissue and causes cows to get fat the same way it does to humans. That’s why grain finished cattle has more fat imbedded in muscle tissue than grass fed beef, but fat of a much lesser nutritional value than grass fed beef. Cattle are not meant to eat grains anymore than humans, cats or dogs are which is not at all. I believe the return to proper agricultural practices that will build on the healthy ecology of our planet is the inevitable and only way back for us to a healthy ecosystem and life for humans and all creatures living on the planet. Meat requires less processing and packaging than any other nutrient dense foods. The amount of food produced that ends up in landfills is something like 30-40% plus all the cans, clam packs, boxes, and bags that are manufactured for processed food distribution. Since starting keto the amount of garbage I throw in the trash and recycling has reduced by over 90%. I take my 3-4 gallons of trash from my half empty trash can out once per week mainly because if I waited till the can was full it would stink like hell! Instead of a giant bin of recycling and having to remove it from my house a few times per week I now get rid of the small bin of recyclables in my kitchen every 2-3 weeks! We have to look at the bigger picture. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Karla Sykes) #28

I remember when bone marrow was so freaking cheap a year ago you can buy 2 pounds for like 3 but nowadays you can barely buy a plow without pants six or seven dollars

(BuckRimfire) #29

I’ve heard quite a bit about diabetics being concerned with how much they spend on insulin. If/when it becomes more widely known that you can spend way less or nothing if you go low-carb, that might bring people over.

(Karla Sykes) #30

Another downside of Keto is because it’s becoming so popular things that wants cost a little to nothing at Walmart has now skyrocketed in surprise. I remember you can buy bones beef bones at Walmart for like three bucks and you get a whole bunch nowadays there like 9 and $10 because of the bone broth soup

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #31

Yep. Supply and demand.

#32

The main problem is that there are just too many people on this planet. I believe that the increasing number of ketoers won’t really have that much of an effect on food production.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #33

Speaking of which, I used to be a pretty hardcore “zero population growth” proponent. But I have pretty much just given up on that.
Instead of people one day getting smart, I think what will happen, will be some sort of 21st century plague, that wipes out a huge % of the world’s population, basically overnight… Kind of like a self cleaning oven… And that’s only IF we don’t blow ourselves up first.

(Eve) #34

Oh my, what a positive topic XD

For me, the major downside is that the popularity of keto actually distorts all the concept of it. People do not understand the science behind it, which leads to strange things - people buying processed foods because “they are keto”, without learning to look for hidden sugar. This does not guarantee a durable weight loss, as keto (and other intelligent diets) is about learning to eat right. Buying vegetables. Cooking real meat. Understanding one’s body.
Now, this makes people go from “neutral to keto” to “hostile to keto”, seeing it as just another “trendy diet”, and this is socially pressuring.
Of course, this is a smaller downside for one person, but I believe it is a considerable one for mankind^^