When I started this research, I actually set out to find positive unbiased evidence of vegetarianism to support some of my own family members vegetarian habits, but found very little actual proof to support none meat eaters. In my search to find nutritional facts, all truths lead to the indisputable findings of Weston Price, whose findings would be difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate today.

But before I go further, I would like to point out a few undisputable of facts:

(1) The findings of Weston Price have been proven and fortified since 1930 by other noted researchers and anthropological data, establishing that all our ancestors were meat eaters. (2) Most of us in western societies will die of heart disease or cancer, while very few of our ancestors and people in other societies did not and will not suffer the same end. (3) Heart disease and cancer in western societies have only run rampant in the last 40 years of the established modern nutritional guidelines of vegitable oils, margerine and carbohydrates at the expense of lard, butter and red meat.

Weston Price was a dentist who traveled to various parts of the world in the 1920s and 30s (his book was originally published in 1939) to try to determine why modern societies had so many health problems, especially of the gums, mouth and teeth. His findings went far beyond dentistry.

His method was to visit and study relatively primitive people in remote areas who had not yet been exposed, or were only partially exposed, to modern society. These people acted as his "controls" for scientific purposes. A sampling of the people/places he visited: Swiss in remote Switzerland mountain valleys, Gaelics on islands northwest of Scotland, Alaskan eskimos, North American indians in northern canada, Seminole indians in the southern Florida everglades, over 10 African tribes, Australian Aborigines, Peruvian indians, etc.

Price noted that nowhere were people doing entirely without som

These two beautiful girls were born to mothers whose nutrition had not been optimal during their growing years. However, they were able to reverse the trend of physical degeneration by eating a rich diet during pregnancy and by feeding their daughters whole, nutrient-dense foods including animal protein, whole milk products, butter, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and cod liver oil. This diet allowed these girls to reach their optimum genetic potential. Both mothers had crowded teeth, while these two girls have naturally straight teeth, needing no orthodontics.

e form of meat. Out of necessity, all of these people had been eating according to what they had available to them for centuries. Dr. Price noted (and photographed) many times the fine health that these folks enjoyed. Great bone structure and teeth , absence of chronic disorders, great physical prowess even at advanced ages, etc. With very few exceptions, Price was also able to confirm the healthy skeletal structures of their ancestors (several pictures here also).

Price found that when these people started consuming modern foods (refined flour, processed foods, sugar, etc.), their health started to deteriorate. This happened in EVERY location (dozens). Offspring in subsequent generations fared even worse. Some of the problems that started occurring were skyrocketing cavity rates, tuberculosis, lowered reproductive capability, birth deformities and INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS. Dr. Price provides photos of both healthy and diseased/deformed people to substantiate his findings.

Lest you think Dr. Price made all of this up, he was sure to take along with him one modern invention that would forever chronicle his research and startling conclusions: a camera. Dr. Price and his wife took pictures — 18,000 of them. Many of the pictures are contained in Price's masterpiece Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (available from the PPNF website). The pictures show native peoples from all over the world smiling, their perfect teeth shining bright.( Centreforce Health Newsletter)

Nutrition writer and Price enthusiast Sally Fallon explains:
His photographs capture the suffering caused by these foodstuffs — chiefly rampant tooth decay. Even more startling, they show the change in facial development that occurred with modernization. Parents who had changed their diets gave birth to children who no longer exhibited the tribal patterns. Their faces were more narrow, their teeth crowded, their nostrils pinched. These faces do not beam with optimism, like those of their healthy ancestors. The photographs of Dr. Weston Price demonstrate with great clarity that the ëdisplacing foods of modern commerce' do not provide sufficient nutrients to allow the body to reach its full genetic potential — neither the complete development of the bones in the body and the head, nor the fullest expressions of the various systems that allow humankind to function at optimal levels — immune system, nervous system, digestion, and reproduction (Nasty, Brutish, and Short? 8).

The "primitive" Seminole girl (left) has a wide, handsome face with plenty of room for the dental arches. The "modernized" Seminole girl (right) born to parents who had abandoned their traditional diets, has a narrowed face, crowded teeth, and a reduced immunity to disease.

And what were the offending foods that these unfortunate people consumed? Why everything we find on our grocer's shelves: sugar, white flour, jams, jellies, cookies, condensed milk, canned vegetables, pastries, refined grain products, margarine, and vegetable oils.Read the whole story her (Nasty, Brutish, and Short? 8).

Dr Stephen Byrnes:
A RETURN TO SANITY, PLEASE?
For many decades, Price's work has been buried and forgotten. Due to the efforts of the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, however, and the republication of Price's book for the public, that is fortunately starting to change.

Price's conclusions and recommendations were shocking for his time. He advocated a return to breast feeding when such a practice was discouraged by Western medicine. He urged parents to give their children cod liver oil every day. He considered fresh butter to be the supreme health food. He warned against pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, colorings, refined sugars, vegetable oils, in short, all the things that modern nutrition and agriculture have embraced and promoted the last few decades. Price believed that margarine was a demonic creation. Let me tell you, with recommendations like these, he was REALLY unpopular! But the result of his research speaks for itself.

Several prominent nutritional doctors have traced their philosophical heritages back to Weston Price and his work. Abram Hoffer, founder and developer of orthomolecular psychiatry, Jonathan Wright, noted author, Alan Gaby, medical columnist, Melvyn Werbach, nutritional author, and other medical doctors all sing the praises of this ingenious dentist. Nutritional anthropologist H. Leon Abrams, associate professor emeritus at the University System of Georgia and author of over 200 papers and 8 books, points to Price as a giant, ahead of his time with a message relevant to us all. Read the whole story her(Politically Incorrect:).

• Assessing Claims and Credibility in the Realm of Raw and Alternative Diets: Who Should You Believe? How do you know who is being straight with you when there is little scientific evidence to be had, and the primary information sources are anecdotal and personal? This approach to analyzing the logic and psychology of those who promote dietary programs should give you a very good idea, along with numerous criteria by which to judge.
• Six Common Vegetarian Problem Scenarios--Does One Fit You? Are you headed for trouble on your diet perhaps without even knowing it? These brief, humorous, but on-target profiles of typical predicaments should give you a pretty strong hint. Plus you'll find these two relevant follow-up discussions:
  • Why "Failure to Thrive" on Vegetarian Diets is Rarely Talked About. More than just a case of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, the reasons include the self-selection effect in long-term successful vegetarians, large numbers of "social dropouts" who divert attention, and moral ostracism that makes it difficult for former vegetarians to be heard or believed.
  • What Happens if Vegetarian Diets Are Not Best for Everyone? The vegetarian movement in the U.S. is now maturing after the three decades since it began mushrooming in the 1960s/1970s. After years of experience, some are finding things haven't worked out for them in the long term as well as hoped. Evolutionary science is also confirming our ancestors were serious omnivores. Where does this leave those in the movement who offer the vegetarian prescription as the optimum nostrum for the ecological and health ills that beset society, and more importantly, where does it leave you? At the Beyond Veg site, of course. Here, we give you our take on the situation, and what the website is all about.
• Idealism vs. Realism in Raw Foods. A call for more realism and honesty in the raw-foods movement so that raw-fooders themselves don't end up getting hurt, with the potential bonus result that outsiders might even start taking what truths and helpful ideas there are in the raw-foods movement seriously when the aura of offputting fanaticism is overcome. Get the message and get real--you have only the chains of illusion to lose, and the marginality of the raw-foods movement to forgo.
• For a plain-English translation of the available data from evolutionary science on humanity's "original" diet, plus a look at how far back in time cooking goes, not to mention a sober appraisal of the results of predominantly raw-food vegetarianism in the real world, don't miss the 3-part Paleolithic Diet vs. Vegetarianism interviews:
  • Setting the Scientific Record Straight on Humanity's Evolutionary Prehistoric Diet and Ape Diets. With the ever-accumulating scientific data of recent years about human dietary evolution, the vegetarian picture of a prehistoric Garden of Eden has become hopelessly outdated. So has the "comparative anatomy" argument for vegetarianism, which is no longer supportable given the advent of modern field studies on apes. And the ape studies are themselves increasingly moot where human diet is concerned, given the availability of the direct evolutionary data now available on early human diet. In looking at these two areas of the scientific evidence, this thoroughly documented discussion also explores the differences between Natural Hygiene's essentially "subjective" model for dietary "naturalism" vs. the "functional" model of science based on evolutionary evidence.
  • Fire and Cooking in Human Evolution, Rates of Genetic Adaptation to Change, Hunter-Gatherers, and Diseases in the Wild. The issue of the potential value of cooked foods and how far back they go in human evolution is not as simple as most raw-foodists like to think. While the question remains somewhat ambiguous given the current state of the scientific evidence, this examination of the prehistoric picture of fire discovery and use--plus other assorted issues regarding diet and health in the wild--digs up many nuggets for consideration.
  • The Psychology of Idealistic Diets and Lessons Learned from the Natural Hygiene Many-to-Many about Successes and Failures of Vegetarian Diets. Real-world experience unsanitized by veggie officialdom confirms that--indeed--raw-food vegetarian diets can get real results and promote healing, as many of us already know: in the short-term, that is. However, in the long-term they can lead to real problems (including deficiencies) for some individuals, which shouldn't be surprising since such diets are a restriction of the evolutionary human diet--a restriction not everyone can handle. Also covered is the way in which efforts to restrict diets based on idealistic concepts of "purity" can lead not only to physical problems, but to a vicious cycle of self-perpetuating, circular mental logic. The end result for those prone to taking things too far can be psychological and behavioral imbalance and fanaticism, which the individual themselves often remains oblivious to, and can become trapped in indefinitely. A conclusion suggests pointers for avoiding such traps and maintaining your sanity and open-mindedness.

  (Note to those who have seen the above interviews previously in Health & Beyond: The versions here on Beyond Veg contain significant updates and additional observations--there are links near the top of each of the title pages to take you directly to them.)

• Troubleshooting: Avoiding and Overcoming Problems in Raw and Living-Foods Diets. Can't figure out what's gone wrong with your diet, and getting too many pat answers that don't work, or that don't honestly address your problem? If you're willing to dispense with the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" attitude that keeps people from discussing the very real problems that often occur on raw-food diets (more often than most will admit), here's some straight-shooting advice and specific tips from a 25-year veteran who has been there himself.

• The Calorie Paradox of Raw Veganism. Eating like a horse but still hungry all the time? Can't maintain your weight no matter what? Tempted by foods not allowed on your raw regime of choice? Can't help yourself from breaking down periodically and snarfing up everything in sight despite yourself? Or perhaps you may be skeptical--if you haven't been able to successfully maintain a totally raw regime yourself--about just how the raw-food "experts" can claim to maintain weight, energy, and muscle on modest daily volumes of raw food that would barely tide your skinny self over through your own bulging sack lunch.
  
        Common questions all, and they all boil down to one common consideration: Calories are important, and in the end no one can avoid the need to get their daily quota over the long run. Total it all up and you may find some of the raw experts' claims about the sufficiency of their daily menus literally don't add up to anything resembling a credible answer. If any of these concerns have troubled you, this telling report takes a close look at exactly how many calories which classes of foods actually provide in a raw-food diet, and delivers the needed solutions to the paradox--possibly the very things you may have been avoiding all along.
• Selected Myths of Raw Foods. Just what the title says, in spades. An abundance of common-sense observations about many commonly proffered "truths" of alternative dietland that simply ain't so--as application of even the most basic logic and knowledge of modern research will show. Much more than just a debunking piece, this article is a plea for honesty and integrity rather than myth-mongering in promoting alternative diets, and for putting practical results before dogma.
• Beyond Denial: Coming to Grips with Reality in the Veg/Raw Movements. (SIZE--103K)
  
  Note: This off-site article featuring an interview with one of our primary site contributors will eventually be reproduced in full on Beyond Veg itself.
  
  With the advent of the Internet, people can now bypass traditional "party line" leaders and directly compare notes on a widespread basis. The result has been increasing evidence that behind previously closed doors, private reality is at considerable odds with the public face of veganism. Though rationalizations are prevalent, the long-term failure of 100% raw-food diets for most who try them is becoming more widely, if grudgingly, acknowledged. At the same time, the common practice of blaming people's efforts rather than the diet itself indicates dogma often takes unconscious precedence over health and compassion. Such denial is also a problem in the more conventional (non-raw-food) vegan community, if to a lesser extent.

  In addition, overidealism has led to trafficking (sometimes unknowingly) in junk science for the sake of making converts, often the result of uncritically accepting or creatively interpreting "facts" with little due diligence. The psychology of denial has thus had a serious impact on the movement's credibility as well as how its ethics are perceived. This article's assessment of the challenges now facing the vegetarian world? "It is always better to live with reality, or without fail, reality will come to live with you."

• Drawbacks to Relying Exclusively on Clinical Studies of Diet. Some opinion leaders in the scientific wing of the vegan community will permit little evidence for consideration other than that coming from clinical studies. But while such studies may be the ultimate way of verifying dietary hypotheses, you can only study what you think to look for. Find out why self-selection effects in long-term vegans, moral ostracism, and surreptitious dietary "exceptions" on vegetarian diets mean that such problems as "failure to thrive" and possible deficiencies can exist, yet fail to be picked up in actual clinical trials. (from Part 8 of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology Brought Up to Date)
• Read the whole story here http://www.beyondveg.com
  

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  American Council on Science and Health
  
  Eating by the Book?
  SDA vegetarianism is rooted in the Bible, according to which for food God gave humans "all plants that bear seed everywhere on earth, and every tree bearing fruit that yields seed" (Genesis 1:29). Meat is said to have become a part of the human diet after the Flood, when all plant life had been destroyed: "Every creature that lives and moves shall be food for you" (Genesis 9:3). Adventists are taught that the introduction of meat into the human diet at that time decreased the human life span from the more than 900 years of the first humans to today's "three-score and ten."
  
  However, the Bible warns against confusing dietary practices with moral behavior:
  
  For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace. (Romans 14:17)
  
  Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink. (Colossians 2:16)
  
  One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables, let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats. (Romans 14:2-4)
  
  It also seems to condemn vegetarianism:
  
  
  The Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some in the church will turn away from Christ and become eager followers of teachers with devil inspired ideas. These teachers will tell lies with straight faces and do it so often that their consciences won't even bother them. They will say that it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat meat, even though God gave these things to well-taught Christians to enjoy and be thankful for. For everything God made is good, and we may eat it gladly if we are thankful for it. ( I Timothy 4:1-4, Living Bible)
  
  East of Eden
  
  It is possible to provide all essential nutrients except vitamin B12 without using animal foods. On the other hand, it is possible to provide all essential nutrients with a diet composed only of meat. Personal dietary appropriateness —including the value of a diet as a source of essential nutrients and its value as a preventative —for oneself and one's significant others is the foremost dietary consideration of pragmatic vegetarians. In contrast, the overriding dietary consideration of ideologic vegetarians varies with the particular ideology. Typically, their motivation is a blend of physical, psychosocial, societal, and moral, often religious, concerns.
  
  A continual problem for SDAs who espouse the "back to Eden" ideology is the absence of a non-animal food source of vitamin B12. A vegetarian Registered Dietitian who wrote a column for a church periodical asked me if I thought vegans could derive vitamin B12 from organic vegetables that were unwashed before ingestion. I opined that it would be better to eat animal foods than fecal residues. She agreed.
  
  One Less "Ism"
  I gave up vegetarianism because I found that commitment thereto meant surrendering the objectivity that is essential to the personal and professional integrity of a scientist. As a health educator, I feel I have an obligation to endeavor to stick to whatever unvarnished facts scientific research uncovers. I can support pragmatic vegetarianism, but I believe that crusading vegetarian ideologues are dangerous to themselves and to society.
  Read the whole story here ACSH advisor William T. Jarvis, Ph.D