Primal/Paleo gurus. page 3

[RichMahogany]

In the defense of the initial sentiment, it does get easy to keep saying "grass fed beef" and "pasture raised pork" when you are more financially comfortable. (Actually I think that we should be eating those animals for humane reasons ahead of the health reasons.) But some of us have already made cutbacks: I drive a 10 year old car (just spent $600 on repairs, but still better than a monthly car payment), I have NO smartphone or e-reader (just a landline and a refurbished desktop) and can't cover the initial expense for a 1/2 or 1/4 beef or pig (or the quantity required for a better price per pound). There's really nothing left to cut out! Oh, and as soon as I think I'm in the clear, one of my dogs/cats needs vet care, or the HVAC breaks down.
I have read Mark's posts regarding eat what you can afford and 80/20, so I know he's not pressuring us. But I really want to buy grass fed beef and humanely raised pork and chicken. I want to do support this way of farming/ranching not because it's trendy, but because it's the right thing to do! I just don't have the income.
Don't assume everyone who's following this WAO is "keeping up the Jonses" - really? And $200 cable bills? People do that? I was using an antenna till everything went digital - arrggg...

Plenty of people spend $200 on cable, or $500 on a car payment, and then refuse to spend the extra $1 per pound for organic produce or $2/lb for grass-fed or pastured meats. Not_on_the_rug's point was entirely valid.

There's a lot of whining going on here for no good reason. Mark Sisson and Robb Wolf don't owe you the caveat that buying CAFO meat is ok if it's all your budget every time they talk about good meat in order to spare hurting your feelings.

On that note, if you want to eat better food and can't afford it, find some expenses you can cut, or get another job. Or just admit that it's not that important to you. Crying doesn't solve anything. We all have choices to make. I choose to keep my heat on 55 throughout New Jersey winters so I can spend the money on the cheapest cuts of grass-fed beef. I hang dry most of my clothes. I make my own laundry detergent. I iron my work shirts. I change my own oil. I taught myself to average 40+ mpg in a car that's rated for 30.

It was worth it to me, and I made it happen. There isn't an item on any "how to save money list" on the entirety of the internet that I haven't already been doing for years (except eating less meat and more beans). Believe me. I've read every one of them.

Excuses are for losers.

[iniQuity]

Plenty of people spend $200 on cable, or $500 on a car payment, and then refuse to spend the extra $1 per pound for organic produce or $2/lb for grass-fed or pastured meats. Not_on_the_rug's point was entirely valid.

There's a lot of whining going on here for no good reason. Mark Sisson and Robb Wolf don't owe you the caveat that buying CAFO meat is ok if it's all your budget every time they talk about good meat in order to spare hurting your feelings.

On that note, if you want to eat better food and can't afford it, find some expenses you can cut, or get another job. Or just admit that it's not that important to you. Crying doesn't solve anything. We all have choices to make. I choose to keep my heat on 55 throughout New Jersey winters so I can spend the money on the cheapest cuts of grass-fed beef. I hang dry most of my clothes. I make my own laundry detergent. I iron my work shirts. I change my own oil. I taught myself to average 40+ mpg in a car that's rated for 30.

It was worth it to me, and I made it happen. There isn't an item on any "how to save money list" on the entirety of the internet that I haven't already been doing for years (except eating less meat and more beans). Believe me. I've read every one of them.

Excuses are for losers.

Amen to this.

I don't really go for grass fed, etc. I try to always get organic stuff and GF when I can. I DO own a cell phone that's way too expensive, and drive a car, have cable etc. I honestly don't skip on GF due to cost, I just look for opportunities to buy in bulk rather than get ONE steak for $30 or some shit. I buy mostly GF ground beef to be honest, good thing I love ground beef to death. I mostly eat organic poultry and lots of canned wild caught fish.

I used to skip on other stuff, like I'd get conventional eggs and such, then I realized I was spending money on bullshit like alcohol and decided to switch that up. Now I get good eggs and don't drink much at all. That's a choice I'm very comfortable with. Getting rid of my phone would be too much, especially because I use it for the camera (photo and video), GPS, note-taking, banking, net-surfing, etc. I barely make calls with this thing.

[Badkty22]

I haven't read enough from the other paleo gurus to have an opinion on them, but I've read through quite a bit of MDA and Mark seems fairly reasonable about this way of life as a whole, which is what hooked me in the first place. I don't care for zealots of any type, generally speaking, and Mark provides what I find to be a balanced mix of information and guidance. He seems aware of the fact that most of us are on budgets, and has advised repeatedly to just do the best we can with the resources available.

FWIW, I think you can absolutely consider yourself paleo/primal even if you are not able to afford grass-fed/pastured meats, eggs, and dairy. Those things to me are more like the icing on the cake (paleo cake, of course!) versus the entire point of the diet. I'm fortunate that my crossfit box has an agreement with a ranch in Utah, so we get quarterly deliveries. I can't buy a whole or even half a cow, but I can get 20lb of beef for $125, which is just about $6 a pound. Approximately half of that is ground, the rest is roasts, steaks, short ribs etc. My local market also offers GF beef, so I keep an eye out for sales and grab it when the price is right. Now if I can just find where to get pastured pork in the desert I'll be set!

[Hedonist2]

Mark has said several times, EAT WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD. It doesn't take rocket science.

Actually, he has said it many times. And given lots of ways to afford being primal.

[KimchiNinja]

When Sisson et all have sold that many books and are successful with their supplementation range, thus being financially (very) well off, then it's easy for them to shout from the rooftops that we should all be eating (expensive) grass fed/pastured/wild caught meat and fish.

LOL, the peasants have the eat the rice, just like it has always been.

Which links it to the question: are they out of touch with reality?

They aren't out of touch with their reality, cause they have money and are eating the non-peasant food.

Just go get a job.