Paleo And Politics page 3

[JoanieL]

I think it's kind of a mutual leash. Corporations pay politicians to pass laws that further their agenda and politicians hold their legislative power over corporations for pay. All you have to do is look at the revolving door between Monsanto and the Fed'l governing agencies (FDA, USDA, etc.) to see that it's collusion to screw the consumer. Parasites gone wild.

It's funny how a product can be labelled "non-fat" even though there isn't any proof that fat is unhealthy, but it can't be labelled "non-GMO" even though we have no idea what GMO products are going to do to us ten to fifty years down the line. If I knew nothing else about the relationship between BigFood and the Fed, I'd know how corruption worked.

[SouthBeachPrimal]

Could somebody, please?! Nobody in government is smart enough to screw us the way Monsanto and ConAgra can. Just because the lackeys in government are sucking the corporate d!<£ doesn't mean they are the ones actually pulling the strings.

Large corporations would not exist but for a powerful regulatory state. The two go hand in hand, feed off each other, and there is often a revolving door between government posts and top corporate jobs- especially in the most highly regulated industries such as finance and food. People in government are not smart, no, but they don't have to be smart to be dangerous. I doubt President Obama read a single line of the horrific Food Safety and Modernization Act he just signed, and wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails of it even if he had. But that bill, passed on by a bunch of equally unqualified clueless nitwits in the House and Senate to reach his desk, is nonetheless the law of the land. Power need not be "smart" to screw us, it only needs to be powerful.

[Kata]

Paleo/primal has not effected my politics, but I have found that there seem to more libertarians amongst us than in the general population. Even a few of my friends, who I was already friends with because of shared politics (or anther interest - but also happen to have shared politics with), I found out are paleo too.

I was libertarian before, but it's quite possible that my personality (and political beliefs) made it easier for me to discard the government's idea of a good diet (influenced largely by politics, rather than science, and the heavily subsidized grain industry) given the distrust I already had in their ideas of what's good/right for my life.

This has been my experience too. It's funny how paleo seems to attract libertarians the way veganism attracts liberals.

[saturnfan]

This has been my experience too. It's funny how paleo seems to attract libertarians the way veganism attracts liberals.

I’m weird in the sense that I have always viewed paleo/primal as being somewhat academic, putting my health on the line to validate scientific concepts that are notoriously under researched and seldom understood.

But politically, it seems to make sense that libertarians would flock to paleo due to their extreme anti-governmental views. Similar to the fact that I haven’t noticed too many religious people here, who probably stopped reading when the word evolution came up.

[canio6]

People in government are not smart, no, but they don't have to be smart to be dangerous.

Smart enough to get thousands/millions of people to vote for them. It makes me wonder who the idiots are here.

It seems they have perfected a way to get wealthy and powerful with minimal effort, while setting themselves up for large pensions and corporate positions/lobbying gigs after they leave office. Meanwhile I work 50 hours a week for the privledge of supporting them (and others) in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. Looks like they are a damned sight smarter than I am, even if not even partially as ethical.

As for my politics, well, I was a cynical sonofab!tch before and am now. I think I have a better chance of riding a unicorn than finding an honest politician. I am far more aware of food issues though, whether they be GMOs, organics, recalls, or the like.

[OutdoorAmy]

I’m weird in the sense that I have always viewed paleo/primal as being somewhat academic, putting my health on the line to validate scientific concepts that are notoriously under researched and seldom understood.

But politically, it seems to make sense that libertarians would flock to paleo due to their extreme anti-governmental views. Similar to the fact that I haven’t noticed too many religious people here, who probably stopped reading when the word evolution came up.

Not so weird as you think - since I think many libertarians become libertarians because they are big thinkers - and that thinking lead them to investigate the way our lives are being run and to subsequently discard big government.

But there are probably more religious people within the community than you think. I've found many paleo recipes through the homemaking blogs I follow (which include a lot of religious ladies, conservative religious ladies at that) . . . I'm a religious person myself. Believing in science doesn't mean I have to discard God, science, in my opinion, doesn't explain him away, just helps us better understand how he works. In the end, whether you believe it's the food you were designed to eat, evolved to eat or both - the results are the same.

Speaking of which - Stossel has two episodes that cover both topics quite well with a libertarian slant - one on food politics and one on religion vs. science - both very worth watching! (And I think still free on Hulu)

[Scott F]

Ya'll should read Throw Them All Out If you want to dig deeper into the interplay of political legislation, the legislators, and big business.

Here's an interview with the author

[Rojo]

Not so weird as you think - since I think many libertarians become libertarians because they are big thinkers

I've seen little evidence of this "big thinking". Libertarianism largely stole its precepts and rhetoric from anarchism, stripped away the Marxism and re-purposed it to quash democracy.

[kenn]

I've seen little evidence of this "big thinking". Libertarianism largely stole its precepts and rhetoric from anarchism, stripped away the Marxism and re-purposed it to quash democracy.

Stalin would approve

[JoanieL]

Libertarianism largely stole its precepts and rhetoric from anarchism, stripped away the Marxism and re-purposed it to quash democracy.

Huh? Do you know what anarchism is? Or maybe I don't. I don't get how one can strip Marxism from a philosphy that doesn't recognize any government authority.