The Makers Diet and Pork--I'm confused

[daisymommy]

Just for kicks I checked out The Makers Diet. I'm only on chapter 3 so far. I like it pretty well. But I'm confused about his explanation of why pork is bad for you, talking about their digestive system versus a cow's. It totally made me scratch my head and feel dumb

Is there anyone who has the book and can explain it in a way I can understand it? Even if I don't end up agreeing with him, I'd at least like to understand what he is trying to say on the subject.

Thanks!

[FairyRae]

Just found this from here:

Quoting Dr. Rubin, “Pigs will chomp on pails of you-know-what and not be bothered in the least. They will derive nutrition from human excrement dredged from a latrine pit, eliminating a sanitary problem for their rural masters. Even their own waste tastes fine to them. Pigs have a simple stomach arrangement. Whatever a pig eats goes straight into a simple stomach, where it’s rudimentarily digested and pushed out the back end. Total transit time: 4 hours.” Compare this to the sophisticated digestion process of a cow or buffalo. These animals eat grasses, alfalfa, and hay, a vegetarian diet. These animals take a leisurely twenty-four hours to digest their food. Remember when you eat the meat of animals, you’re actually eating what they ate.

Sounds like b/c pigs are kind of scavengers and will eat almost anything. But don't chickens do the same thing?

Cows have multiple stomachs, so the digestion process takes longer...

I personally love my pastured pork and think his reasoning is more religous/cultural than anything else. I found the book interesting and valuable, but sort of ignored stuff that ddidn't work for me...

[daisymommy]

Thanks for your reply. I understand it better now. Like you, I only eat pastured pork as well, so I don't think the same thought still applies. Off to read the link you posted--thanks!

[Llyra]

I think it's because of the Biblical basis of that book. He's positing that a diet based on the Old Testament is the one best for our bodies. And the Old Testament forbids eating pork. If he didn't say pork was bad, he would be accused of being inconsistent. And so he goes looking for some reason why pork is not healthy to eat, regardless of how the pigs have been raised.

And yeah, a chicken, properly raised, is also quite the scavenger. So the argument doesn't hold any water, for me.

[Casey44]

I don't have the book with me but doesn't he also say that it's because pigs eat pigs? I think part of the theory is that anything that will eat their own is considered "unclean."

[serenbat]

Sounds like b/c pigs are kind of scavengers and will eat almost anything.

and so do lobsters

[AJP]

Chickens and many kinds of fish will eat their own kind, as well.