The question to explore here is: Why do we all believe that we must eat meat to get enough protein? Lets go back many years ago to the year 1914. In 1914, two men by the names of Osborn and Mendel experimented with rats. They discovered that rats grew faster when they ate protein from animal foods than when they ate protein from plant foods. Based on this information, these two men classified meat protein as class A protein and plant protein as class B protein. Those classifications automatically categorized animal protein as superior to plant protein. To this day, many Americans still believe that animal protein is superior to plant protein. From these experiments on rats, these two men made the assumption that rats and human beings required the same amino acids or proteins for growth. In fact, it was later discovered that rats and human beings have different requirements for protein. In other words, just because rats grew faster with animal protein, didnt mean that people would also. Fast forward to the 1940s. More experiments were conducted on rats. The conclusion was made once again that rats grew faster eating animal protein, specifically from eggs, than from eating plant protein. The egg industry got wind of these experiments and made the assumption that if eggs and all animal products were the best sources of protein for rats, then they must be the best sources of protein for human beings. Now mind you, the researchers still regarded these experiments as only theory, not fact. But the egg industry didnt care if the information was fact or fiction. As the saying goes, the rest is history. Even though there was not one shred of evidence that human beings required outside sources of protein from animal products, the egg, dairy, and meat industries banned together. They lobbied the United States Department of Agriculture, and, in 1956, convinced the government to officially endorse the birth of the one and only: Four Food Groups. Protein found in meat was officially declared by the government to be superior to the protein found in plants. And as we all know, the Four Food Groups consists of meat, dairy products, refined grains, and fruits and vegetables; the fruits and vegetables are thrown together into one categoryrelegated to a minor role or a side dish in our meals. How much protein do we need for human health and fitness? Lets find out in Part 2 of: Shattering the Meat and Protein Myth. |
