In last night’s debate President Obama had the opportunity to discuss the new NATURE of our military due to the advancements in research and development and technology.

His ability to note that we do not NEED to have a lot of “stuff” aka battleships to prove our power was genius.  And when Schieffer asks Romney “Where are you going to get the money for increased military spending?”  Romney doesn’t have an answer.

The concept of Pork is an interesting one.  Especially considering the Divine guidance advising us not to eat it; combine that with the political association when government funds are spent to benefit a certain politician’s constituents and we have an interesting conversation.

However, among those who consider themselves Physically Elite; the debate about which type of meat is best for your health has some controversy; especially regarding the facts surrounding consuming PORK.  We can see this controversy with the rising new fad of the Paleo Diet claiming that it is the healthiest way you can eat because it is the ONLY nutritional approach that works with your genetics. However, it doesn’t include excluding pork. Why?

I’m not sure it’s the ONLY nutritional approach…but that’s a different discussion.

Human requirements for protein have been thoroughly investigated over the years (FAD/WHO 1985) and are currently estimated to be 55 g per day for adult man and 45 g for woman. (There is, however, a higher requirement in various disease states and conditions of stress).

The pig or swine is a very popular food item with many people. However, the condemnation in the religious doctrines is based on some very sound biological principles.

The meat and fat of a pig absorbs toxins like a sponge. Their meat can be 30 times more toxic than beef or venison. And, when eating beef or venison, it takes 8 to 9 hours to digest the meat so what little toxins are in the meat are slowly put into our system and can be filtered by the liver. But when pork is eaten, it takes only 4 hours to digest the meat. We thus get a much higher level of toxins within a shorter time.

And, unlike other mammals, a pig does not sweat or perspire. Perspiration is a means by which toxins are removed from the body. And, since a pig does not sweat, the toxins remain within its body and in the meat.

Although people claim that cooking pork ensures the safety and quality of the meat there is actually no safe temperature at which pork can be cooked to ensure that all these parasites, their cysts,and eggs will be killed.

And, in fact, the pig is so poisonous and filthy, that NATURE had to prepare him a sewer line or canal running down each leg with an outlet in the bottom of the foot. Out of this hole oozes pus and filth his body cannot pass into its system fast enough. Some of this pus gets into the meat of the pig.   GROSS! I KNOW!

But, I wanted to make a point.

Meat is not an essential part of the diet but without animal products it is necessary to have some reasonable knowledge of nutrition in order to select an adequate diet.

Even small quantities of animal products supplement and complement a diet based on plant foods so that it is nutritionally adequate, whether or not there is an informed selection of foods.

Side by side with these known benefits of including meat and meat products in the diet are problems associated with excessive intakes of saturated fats, risks of food poisoning from improperly processed products, residues of chemicals used in agriculture and animal production and other potentially adverse affects.

Within these concepts is the major problem of meat production under conditions that avoid food poisoning and satisfy the economic demands of profitability with the traditional, cultural and religious concerns of the community in question.

“ Kindness is the one commodity of which you should spend more than you earn. ”

Unlike other mammals, a pig does not sweat or perspire. Perspiration is a means by which toxins are removed from the body. Since a pig does not sweat, the toxins remain within its body and in the meat.

There is no safe temperature at which pork can be cooked to ensure that all these parasites, their cysts,and eggs will be killed.

And, in fact, the pig is so poisonous and filthy, that nature had to prepare him a sewer line or canal running down each leg with an outlet in the bottom of the foot. Out of this hole oozes pus and filth his body cannot pass into its system fast enough. Some of this pus gets into the meat of the pig.

Some suggest that the reason that God wanted clearly to differentiate between men and animals was so that there was a clear reminder that there is not “evolutionary continuity of life in all flesh” and to ensure that we would not equate man and animals.

Once a pork barrel scheme is started, nothing in heaven or on Earth is likely to stop it. Like barnacles on a ship, too many vested interests will glom onto it and fight to protect it.

In folklore terms, eating the meat of the pig is said to contribute to lack of morality and shame, plus greed for wealth, laziness, indulgence, dirtiness and gluttony.  We can insult a person by calling him or her a “PIG” when they demonstrate these characteristics.

With the increasing mechanization in industrialized communities the steady fall in human energy expenditure and consequently in per capita food consumption poses a potential problem in achieving an adequate intake of nutrients even where there is an abundance of food available.

Meat consumption is based largely on availability, price and tradition. Meat production is a very complex operation depending not only on demand (which is usually based on price and income) but on many social and economic influences such as official policy, price support mechanisms, and interrelations such as the interaction between beef and milk production, the availability of animal feedstuffs and competition for food between man and animals.

In the industrialized countries where food of all kinds is plentiful and cheap there is concern.  Whether or not misplaced, the potentially harmful effects of a high intake of saturated fat from animal foods emphasis on continuous development of regulations dealing with hygiene in slaughter houses and during subsequent handling, concern about hormones administered to cattle, what is perceived as excessive addition of water to some processed products and other concerns can scarcely be afforded in developing countries when balanced against food supplies.

“You are what you eat”

What would happen if we had food and agriculture policies that sought to benefit the environment, public health, and rural communities rather than serve industrial agribusiness? What if we made factory farms, rather than taxpayers, pay to prevent or clean up the pollution they create? What if we subsidized healthy foods rather than unhealthy ones?

Either way, whatever we are talking about we deserve to know the truth about what we eat, where it comes from, and what its impact it has on our life and on the world. The more we know, the more power we will have to take effective and meaningful action. The more we know, the better able we will be to bring your food choices into alignment with our purpose and our passion. Our minds will be clearer, Our hearts will be more at peace, and Our bodies will thank us for the rest of our life.

Live and Learn. We All Do.

Thanks for reading. Please pass this on to someone who means something to you.