Different
disciplines of study can combine to spin a story that is elegant in terms of
confronting convention wisdom -- in this case, regarding saturated fat.
Certainly, journalists like Gary Taubes are tirelessly writing about this,
advocacy organizations (like the Westin A Price Foundation,), too. And just
what kind of voice is palatable enough to offer alternative stories? The
consequences of privileging certain common-wisdom foods over others in this
country are staggering for U.S. agriculture and consumers. We demonize
cholesterol and saturated fat, and elevate convenience foods (high in PUFAs,
sugar, and refined salt). We become obese (due to deficits of fat) and lose our
memory, our ability to think. Whither that cultivated life?
Personally, and
it probably is no secret, I like the saturated-fats-are-good argument. In my
world of critical consumers, I’d emphasize traceable saturated fats and
deemphasize sugar of all sorts. So less soft drinks and Twinkies, more sun, be
open to taste and smell, and slow down. But finding affordable, healthy
saturated fat is not necessarily easy. We are talking livestock products folks,
and land for pasture and feed is not cheap.
Saturated fats
are unpopular in our highly processed foodshed. We are inundated by
polyunsaturated fats, and can easily find some of our favorite monosaturated (like
olive oil), but saturated fat is illusive – for its cost, if nothing else. For
dairy, consumers lust after non- or low-fat products. For meat, they tend
towards lean. Butter has been margarinized (pun intended) for decades.
Certainly, American agricultural production is dominated by the production of
cereal and legumes (unsaturated fats). Further, few these days have experience
cooking with good, saturated fats – artisan, and otherwise.
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