GR:  All people need the same nutrients. This story explains why that’s true and it debunks the “bio-individual” myth. The subject is important because switching to a vegetarian diet is one of the ways people can help stop converting wildlife habitat to monotonous rows of cattle feed.

Illustration from The Princess and the Pea.

“Increasingly, there are many institutions and professionals who teach a “Bio-Individual” approach to nutrition. But what does this mean, and does it hold any merit?

“Bio-Individuality basically translates to: “There’s no one-size-fits-all diet – each person is a unique individual with highly individualized nutritional requirements.” The Bio-Individual Diet paradigm holds that “Personal differences in anatomy, metabolism, body composition and cell structure all influence your overall health and the foods that make you feel your best. That’s why no single way of eating works for everyone. The food that is perfect for your unique body, age, and lifestyle may make another person gain weight and feel lethargic.” Proponents of this idea also often believe that “men eat differently than women, children eat differently than adults, and… our personal tastes and inclinations, natural shapes and sizes, blood types, metabolic rates and genetic backgrounds, all influence what foods will and won’t nourish us.

”Bio-Individuality & Nutrition: Breaking It Down

“1. Bio means “life” in Greek. Individuality means “the particular character, or aggregate of qualities, that distinguishes one person or thing from others; sole and personal nature.”

“Bio-Individuality lends itself to mean that each of us has “unique life.” Is this true? Of course it’s true, but “unique” is relative. As humans, we are very different from one another in many ways if you compare two people. But if you compare a human to a Jamaican Rock Iguana, those two humans begin to seem pretty similar and, as it turns out, they are.

“2. So is there a “one-size-fits-all” diet for humans?

“Yes. When born healthy, humans are anatomically very similar, warranting a natural diet [lifetime food, not a weight-loss plan] intended for human anatomy & physiology.” –Carla Golden (Continue reading:  Bio-Individuality & the Myth That Some People ‘Just Need Meat’.)

“The global demand for meat and animals products is wreaking havoc on our planet. Find out how going vegan helps the environment.”  From: www.peta.org.uk

GR:  Great graphics and discussion. According to the article, a vegan diet releases about one-third as much CO2 as a heavy meat diet. Moreover, to produce the same amount of protein, beef requires 32 times more land than soybeans. Unfortunately, the article relates the savings to the greater number of people that Earth could support on vegan diets rather than relating the savings to the greater amount of land that could be left for wildlife and ecosystems.

“Meat production is one of the main drivers of environmental degradation globally, and the crisis is rapidly growing worse.  That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity launched our Earth-friendly Diet campaign.”  More at:  www.takeextinctionoffyourplate.com

GR:  Without population control, and if we continue with our meat diet, the Earth will soon become a factory farm for feeding humans. Other species and their habitats will be gone.  Join the CBD effort to improve our diet.