A war is brewing, and the various sides are recruiting
with vigor. Leaders are raising their voices and
launching missiles left and right. Things are getting
heated. And here I am, officially waving my white flag.
I’ve fought in the dietary wars—many times. I’ve fought on different sides
at different points in time. I’ve seen what the combination of anger, self-
righteousness, and misinformation can do to an entire group of people. We
humans are hard-wired for tribalism, coalescing with those around us who
share similar views and painting everyone else as “the other.”^1 And as social
psychologists know, this separation enables a kind of mutual dehumanization
that allows for us to be downright nasty to one another. When we believe we’re
right and they’re all wrong, or that we’re inherently different from them or
better than they are, we feel justified in criticizing, poking fun, or being cruel.
Spoiler alert: There is no “them.” There is no “us.” And most importantly,
none of us are doing this human thing perfectly. Especially when it comes to
our food.
Over the last few decades, the war over the perfect diet has gotten out of
control. There is so much conflicting information out there, and everyone seems
to be vehemently on one side or another. I get it. I’ve taken up arms and labeled
myself as many things: ethical vegan, vegetarian, conscious omnivore, Paleo,
primally inspired, raw foodist, plant-based... you name it, I’ve been there. And
while it felt good to be accepted by my tribe of the moment, all that black-and-
white thinking, along with the outright disgust and derision we harbored for
other people’s viewpoints, wore me down.
We like to shift blame to “the other.” This psychological phenomenon is very
common, played out to an extreme when it comes to, for example, climate issues
and their relation to diet. People are so busy fighting against other individuals
and their choices that they lose sight of the real offenders (more on this in a
minute). We love to say that “these people over here” are the ones responsible for
deforestation, or that “those people over there” are causing the pollution of our
oceans. All the while, we’re sitting pretty, as if we aren’t contributing to those
atrocities, too.^2
But here’s a truth bomb for us all: There is no such thing as a blameless diet.
There is no such thing as “zero-waste living” in our current global system.
There is no realistic way to eat food, work a job, take a vacation, wear clothes,
or maintain a home without having a negative impact on our environment. To
quote author Neil Gaiman, “Our existence deforms the universe.” Just by being
alive and breathing air, we are taking up valuable space and putting a strain on
the planet.^3 Don’t worry—I’m not advocating that we all off ourselves in order
to save the Earth.^4 We just have to stop the self-righteous blaming of other
people and start focusing on the things we have in common.
No matter which side of the dietary aisle we prefer, all of us want the same
basic things in life. We all want to be healthy and feel our best. We want our
kids to grow up safe and happy. We want to breathe clean air and drink clean
water. We want to have the energy to do the things that bring us joy and to
live long, full lives. We want to be loved, accepted, and acknowledged for our
contributions. We all want to belong. But we have differing opinions on how to
reach these ends. And that’s okay.
People have been brainwashed into thinking that various diets are organizable
into a strict moral hierarchy and that theirs (of course) is at the top.^5