Comments on: Of Rats and Junk Food Junkies

By: Dr. Kaplan

Dr. Kaplan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:20:03 +0000

You make some good points Alex. I’ve only seen how this experiment referred to in the popular press but I do assume that there were controls. Saw Supersize Me and agree it illustrated if not proved that these foods are addictive. I’m interested in Dr Ryde’s observations though I have heard it said by a geriatric psychiatrist that ‘the reward for living a clean life is to become old and mad’. Interesting was his view that vegans LIVED LONGER and DIED QUICKLY. My work at the Nature Cure Clinic (only employed vegetarians and I now do eat meat) for 15 years would verify the first observation but I’m not sure about the latter. Interested to see stats on that.

By: Alex Bourke MSc

Alex Bourke MSc — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:28:23 +0000

1. This is not science. Where is the control for group 1? The rats could just be eating all the food available.
2. Animal experiments from thalimomide to Vioxx do not tell us what happens in humans, only what happens in that particular animal.
3. Promoting the flawed model of animal experimentation is not the way to advance knowledge of humans. You don’t test medicine for your horse on your sister. See for example
http://www.animalconsultants.org/consultants/knight_andrew.htm
The only way to know what happens in humans is to observe humans. In this case that is so easy.
4. We already know from observation of humans that McDonald’s food is addictive. Supersize Me is an amusing example of this.
We didn’t need 40 years of forcing beagles to smoke to make the obvious obvious, and we don’t need any more animals killed to make clear the obvious causes of obesity, diabetes type 2 and most heart disease that shorten the length and quality of life of over half the people in the rich world. Dr David Ryde, Britain’s lowest prescribing GP, told me that his non-smoking patients lived for around 80 to 90 years, but the meat-eaters would spend the last 10 or 15 years (depending on whether a man or a woman) in and out of his surgery, whereas the vegans would be in excellent health right to the end then go down quickly in the last few months. He cancelled a few heart bypass operations treating with diet alone. Now that is good medicine.

By: Stefan Chmelik

Stefan Chmelik — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:47:12 +0000

I was heaertened to hear that McD’s are pulling out of Iceland, as it is ‘economically unviable’ for them to continue there since the crash. Lets All Go to Iceland!