'Moderate Vegetarian' Goes To Extremes In Her Mock 'Interview With A Carnivore'

Allena Rose Tapia claims to be a "moderate vegetarian," but...

Looking at that picture of Allena Rose Tapia, she looks to be your average, everyday mom with a devoted husband, two kids, and a partridge in a pear tree. But this freelance writer from Lansing, Michigan describes herself as a "moderate vegetarian" which seems a bit odd if you stop and think about it. How many vegetarians do you know who are "moderate" about their diet?

After all, I've had my fair share of negative experiences dealing with some rather radical characters who claim to be vegetarians and vegans, including a group of them who tried to have my podcast show removed from the Internet because of this show I did on vegetarians, another one who questioned my support for the Atkins lifestyle, a truly whacked out vegetarian supporter who went off on so many tangents it was hard to keep up, those who regularly resurrect the debate over how Dr. Atkins died, the smugness from e-mails like this one, authors of the Skinny Bitch book calling people who go on the Atkins diet a "moron," members of the group PETA wrapping themselves in cellophane and calling meat-eaters "cannibals"...NEED I GO ON? Just a wee bit cuckoo if you ask me.

So is Tapia bucking that trend and truly moderating her viewpoints about vegetarianism by remaining rational and accurate with what she writes? Well, if this mock interview with a carnivore she posted over at Diet Detective (where I too am a contributing writer) is any indication, the answer is a big fat NO!

Read her "Interview With a Carnivore" and then come back here...

Can I just say what a dopey "interview" that was Allena?! Come on with the satirical and sassy answers from the supposed carnivore already. If that's not a mamby-pamby, self-serving distortion of the truth, then I don't know what is. And it's ANYTHING but "moderate," my friend. Let's try the interview again with a real carnivore--ME!

Here are my responses to your questions:

Question: What's the one thing that keeps you from being vegetarian?

Answer: You NEED animal fat in your diet to be healthy, so a veggie-only diet would leave you nutrient deficient.

Question: What about the fact that alot of these tastes can be replicated by meat substitutes?

Answer: If you mean tofu, then NO THANKS! There are a lot of unanswered questions about soy that still linger out there and these concerns are being substantiated by the research. Give me a steak instead!

Question: I notice you have children. Do you worry about the environment you're leaving them?

Answer: I'm MORE worried about a world where a truly healthy diet of fats and proteins is shunned and they'll be forced to eat bean sprouts and tofu for sustenance. We've become too bassackwards nutritionally these days and it's getting worse.

Question: Why aren't you worried about it?

Answer: Because quite frankly civilization has lasted for many years longer than the past hundred or so on a high-fat, low-carb diet consisting of meat, a little bit of vegetation, and a few berries. The whole low-fat, vegetarian fad has only been around the past few decades and has not stood up to the test of time. It'll pass soon enough when people realize they can manage their weight and health on a diet with 60-70% fat--even saturated fat!

Question: You're familiar with some of the methods by which meat animals are killed and tortured. How do you get past that when you bite into a burger?

Answer: I care about the humane treatment of animals, but I don't care that they are slaughtered to become food for me and my family. It's the way God intended. The real outcry is how people can get all worked up over a cow becoming hamburger meat, but millions of unborn babies are sacrificed at the altar of inconvenience each year when they are aborted. That's the REAL travesty in this country.

Question: How much do you worry about your health in connection to what you eat?

Answer: It's the reason why I went on a high-fat, low-carb diet in January 2004 and have continued to eat that way ever since. My health has never been better than it is RIGHT NOW thanks to eating this way despite the fact that it goes against everything I've ever heard to be true about a healthy lifestyle. But I challenge anyone to tell me that I'm worse off today than I was four years ago at 410 pounds. Anyone?

Question: Would you be willing to reduce your meat-eating days to 3 per week, plus one fish day?

Answer: Why the %$&*# would I want to do that?! Meat not only tastes good, but it is good for you, too! Do you WANT me to be unhealthy?

Leave your own personal comments for Allena and tell her that you don't particularly appreciate the way she misrepresented carnivores in her column. It's one thing to call yourself a "moderate vegetarian." But then, you really should act accordingly.

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 55: Oh My Gosh, Posh Spice Gets Into The Diet Debate

Victoria Beckham (aka "Posh Spice") made dieting news last week

We live in an entertainment-driven society now and that point was made abundantly clear just last week when a famous British pop singer and wife of a popular professional soccer superstar. In Episode 55 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," we get the dirty details about how the diet book industry went completely nuts after the super-thin "Posh Spice" bought a copy of a raunchy pro-vegan book entitled Skinny Bitch.

Since I had previously reviewed that book here at my blog, I decided to share my book review in spoken form in today's podcast. Hear it for yourself RIGHT NOW:

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 55 [11:18m]: Play in Popup | Download

Victoria Beckham, former member of the Spice Girls and spouse of soccer sensation David Beckham, probably had no idea she was going to be at the center of attention when she decided to buy that copy of Skinny Bitch last week. But that's exactly what happened and sales of this disgusting book zoomed up Amazon UK charts to #10 as well as #200 on Amazon.com.

Episode 55 gave me the chance to reveal exactly what this book written by two militant anti-meat women who have never had to deal with a weight problem in their life are all about. The fact that they describe people who follow the Atkins low-carb diet as a "moron" is indicative of their vile and despicable nature.

Are you a "moron" and want more low-carb podcasting? Get it by:

1. Listening at the official web site
2. Going to iTunes
3. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
4. Subscribing to the RSS feed

Have you seen this absurd book from former models Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman? What do you think about celebrities who can make an obscure diet book like "Skinny Bitch" and instant overnight bestseller? Share your feedback about this and why you think our society has become to dependent on what actors, singers, and athletes have to say, especially on the subject of diet and health.

As has been the tradition on Thursdays for the past few weeks, I will be airing yet another interview from the Nashville obesity conference in the next podcast show from a man named Dr. Kurt Kraft. While he is not a low-carb supporter, per se, Dr. Kraft is at least respectful and open to the possibility that this way of eating can help with obesity. Tune in on Thursday for that engaging conversation!

Vegan Couple Jailed For Starving Their Baby On Diet Of Soy Milk And Apple Juice

I'm welcoming the scorn of vegans again, but this story cannot be ignored. I may even have one threaten to sue me for challenging their diet. But this is whacked!

Did you see this Associated Press story about the vegan couple who was sent to prison for literally starving their newborn baby to death? Oh my goodness, this is so heartbreaking and further exemplifies why veganism is downright dangerous as a dietary approach.

Confirming the study that found vegans are brainless, Lamont Thomas and Jade Sanders were given mandatory life prison sentences for failing to provide ample nutrition to their precious little one named Crown Shakur.

After being fed a high-carb, low-fat diet with no animal products--mostly soy milk and apple juice--in the six short weeks of his life, Crown passed away due to starvation after shrinking down to 3 1/2 pounds prior to death.

This happened three years ago, but a judge found the couple guilty of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children earlier this month. Although their attorney said the vegan parents had no idea their extreme lifestyle choice was killing their baby until just before he died, the jury was convinced they were guilty of nutritional neglect.

Prosecuting attorney Chuck Boring said the parents made bad choices.

"The child died because he was not fed. Period," he said.

Despite the ruling, Sanders remained in denial to the end.

"I loved my son—and I did not starve him," she said.

Vegans are an interesting breed of human being that claim to be eating the "perfect" diet that is most sensitive to the welfare of animals. But what are they doing to the people--and BABIES--who are eating this way?

While vegans want to be convinced the Atkins diet is healthy, I think it's high time we turn that question around. It's hard to believe vegans are envious of low-carb and they'll never admit it in public, but they are. They KNOW we are eating healthy and they are not.

These people are evil to the core as I shared in this recent podcast which instigated a hateful reaction to have my head on a platter wanting to have my show discontinued. It didn't happen because these people are a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

It gives me no pleasure to see life being destroyed because of veganism, but we need to look at the obvious. This diet killed Crown and robbed him of the opportunity to enjoy a long and healthy life. Remember that the next time a vegan starts spouting off how his diet is saving the planet while keeping him healthy. You'll know the truth!

Is it any wonder this vegan is a member of the Communist Party? Coincidence? I think not!

Vegans Go For Jugular On Low-Carb Podcast

Uh oh. I've REALLY done it now!

When I recorded Episode 32 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" late last week on the subject of veganism, I knew I was inviting controversy. But I had no idea it was going to come to this--THE VEGANS HAVE GONE FOR THE JUGULAR AND WANT ME GONE!

The enormous feedback from all those wild and wacky vegans has been so intense since that podcast show was posted on Thursday morning that my Executive Producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien decided to release this statement on GNMHealth.com today in response to their "increasing pressure" for Grasshopper New Media to "sever" their relationship between me and my podcast show.

HA!! Now THAT is funny! Whatever happened to freedom of speech, ya silly vegans? I have just as much a right to speak out against veganism as you do to tell me how supposedly cruel I'm being to animals by choosing to eat them. If you don't want to eat animals, then more power to ya. But don't tell me I can't. Isn't it laughable how these people would try to take my podcast show away from me because I hurt their feelings? Awwwww, poor wittle babies.

You'll be pleased to know that Kennedy-Spaien and GNMHealth are not backing down to the pressure and have come out stating they "fully support" me and my right to express my opinions about livin' la vida low-carb just as boldly and proudly as I have been doing since October 2006.

"While we at GNMHealth do not necessarily agree with every point of view espoused by our contributors — in fact, that would be impossible since we cover opposing voices on several topics regularly — I do hold one belief very firmly. It is a great American value, too often forgotten by people of all creeds and causes in these highly charged times. It goes something like this: 'Although I may disagree with what you say, I will defend unto the death your right to say it.'"

As an olive branch to those vegans who feel their message has not been adequately portrayed at GNMHealth, Kennedy-Spaien said he would love to have any vegans or vegetarians who "want to share your articulate and empirical thoughts on why any given dietary system is best" to submit their blog posts and/or audio feed for a rebuttal podcast.

"I would say to those who object to Mr. Moore's views, we at GNMHealth are willing to grant you the same respect we grant Jimmy...We encourage you to make your feelings known to the world and we will give you the soap box to do so. And we will continue to do so for Jimmy Moore as well."

Please visit GNMHealth.com for more information.

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 32: Feasting On Them Tasty Vegans

Here we go with my most engaging and controversial podcast yet in Episode 32 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." If you thought I stirred up the pot before, then you ain't seen nothing yet! Click on the play button below or the "Play In Popup" link to see what I did (unless you're some wacko radical vegan, then I think you're gonna LOVE it!):

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 32 [20:58m]: Play in Popup | Download

Want to have a good laugh today? Watch this video of "Steven the Vegan":


ROTFL! You know, we laugh at a humorous video like this, but can't you just see a vegan reacting that way with such fire-breathing anger that anyone would dare ask WHY they would ever eat that way? No wonder recent study found vegans to be less intelligent than their meat-eating counterparts. They could really use some animal fat in their diet! :)

The most interesting aspect of veganism to me is the fact that so many of them have become so deeply entrenched in their hatred for anyone who would even think about eating an animal product that they have lost sight of why they eat that way to begin with. Instead, they simply want to get all upset and whine whenever they are challenged on their diet.

But, I'm not opposed to hearing from dissenting voices about what I said in my podcast show about vegans today, so please share your reaction to Episode 32 today. If you support a vegan or even vegetarian lifestyle and think you can clearly articulate why you do without making some derogatory comments about the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins and the low-carb diet that he endorsed (like calling people "morons" for doing the Atkins diet), then I'm all ears. Hit me with your best shot, baby!

Want more ways to catch the show? Here's how:

1. Listening at the official web site
2. Going to iTunes
3. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
4. Subscribing to the RSS feed

To go vegan or not to go vegan really isn't a question in my mind. It's a no-brainer to me because there is no way I would have EVER lost over 180 pounds had it not been for all those delicious and nutritious animal fat-laden meats I have consumed over the past three years. Mmm mmm!

That's just a fact that the anti-meat activists are gonna have to deal with. While these people want low-carbers to convince them eating meat is healthy, I simply respond to that by stating convince me it is not.

So what do you think about this? Provide your comments and share your thoughts. You can also share your reaction to today's show by calling our listener comment line at (206) 203-4192.

I appreciate you listening to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" today. A special welcome to the people visiting today from the Greenville/Spartanburg, SC area who saw my podcast show featured on the news last night. I'm not usually THIS fired up about a topic, but sometimes it takes a little passion to stir people up a bit so they'll stop and think about what is most important to them. That's something you'll always get from me!

This podcast show airs on Mondays and Thursdays right here as well as on iTunes and I invite you to come back again next week when once again we will dive head-first into the wonderful world of livin' la vida low-carb! SEE YA!

Study: Vegans Brainless, But Vegetarians And Almost Vegetarians Are The Smart Ones?

A rather startling column appearing in the British newspaper The Evening Standard cites the results of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) claiming vegetarians tend to be smarter, female, and have higher positions of authority in society than their meat-eating counterparts. Oh really! Let's just see about that one.

Dr. Catharane R. Gale, Senior Research Fellow at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Resource Center in Southampton, Great Britain, and her fellow researchers observed 8170 adults over the age of 30 who had participated as youngsters 20 years ago in the BCS70 to see what relation, if any, there was to being a vegetarian as a 30-year old adult with the IQ level of the participants when they were tested at 10 years old.

Of course, the researchers had to rely on self-reporting from the participants about whether they adhere to a vegetarian diet now and 366 of them, or 4.5 percent, allegedly were vegetarian. Nine of the ones in the vegetarian group were actually vegans and another one-third of these self-described "vegetarians" admitted that they also eating fish and chicken (technically making them NON-vegetarians).

So the actual number of true blue vegetarians should have been 234, or 2.9 percent of the total group of study participants. But the researchers included these meat eaters in the group anyway for some odd reason. Shall we call them "almost vegetarians?"

Okay, what exactly did Dr. Gale and her researchers find so fascinating about those in the vegetarian group? Here are the results of the characteristics of the "vegetarians" in the study:

1. About 3/4 of them are female
2. Over 2/3 had parents who were professional or semiskilled workers
3. Over 3/4 became professional or skilled workers as adults
4. 45 percent have a college degree or vocational diploma
5. The higher their IQ was at 10, the more likely they became vegetarian
6. Even the "almost vegetarians" who ate fish or chicken had a high IQ at 10
7. Vegans scored much lower on their IQ test than their fellow vegetarians

For those of you playing along at home, here are the actual average IQ scores assigned to each group in the study:

- Meat eaters not in vegetarian group - 95.5% of the study - 100
- Vegetarian group without vegans - 4.3% of the study - 105
- Vegan subgroup from vegetarians - 0.1% of the study - 95

But there's just one problem with the results of this study. Actually there are TWO MAJOR problems that I have with the results of this study. Let's look at why this study doesn't make a lick of sense at all.

- There was NO DIFFERENCE in the IQ level of those who were true "vegetarians" and the "almost vegetarians" who ate chicken or fish. If it was the vegetarianism that made them smarter, then wouldn't the meat eaters in that group score lower on the IQ test than their genuine vegetarian peers?

But there's an even BIGGER question to ask.

- What's with the substantial drop in IQ of the vegan group--the most extreme kind of vegetarian there is? Actually, a vegan is nothing more than a vegetarian who chooses not to eat any food that comes from an animal, so why was there such a wide disparity in intelligence dipping below even the meat eaters? Isn't that the REAL story of this study beyond everything else?

Can anyone explain how a meat-eating "almost vegetarian" can have the same IQ as someone who is a real "vegetarian," but then a vegan is more brainless (don't come after me again, vegans, I'm only quoting this study!) than the people who eat meat?

Is your head spinning yet?! 8-O

As crazy as this study is, Dr. Gale has her theory about the end results.

"One explanation for the link between higher IQ and vegetarianism may be that brighter children grow up to think more about what they eat, which in some cases has led them to become vegetarians," Dr. Gale theorized.

Translation: If you're smart you eat vegetables and care about animal welfare, if you're stupid you eat meat and act like a savage beast slaughtering innocent life. But wait a minute! What about those brainless vegans (shall we call them the REAL "total moron" now?), Dr. Gale? Aren't they the prime example of people who tend to "think more about what they eat" and yet their IQ results were anything but stellar? Can somebody explain this monkey wrench in the equation?

Interestingly, Dr. Gale and all but one of her fellow researchers who participated in this study are vegetarians. The lone carnivore in the group was Professor Ian Deary from the University of Edinburgh who said "the link [between IQ and being vegetarian] we have found might not be causal." Ya think?

How, Mr. Deary, have you been able to survive all these years being in an intellectually comatose state of mind and then find yourself working around a bunch of high and mighty vegetarians with an IQ five points higher than yours? How have you been able to hold your ground in the presence of such mental agility all around you? How indeed!

This study appeared in the December 15, 2006 issue of the British Medical Journal.

Dr. Gale wasn't finished with her extrapolation of information that she derived from this extremely suspicious study.

"Although our results suggest that children who are more intelligent may be more likely to become vegetarian as adolescents or young adults, it does not rule out the possibility that such a diet might have some beneficial effect on subsequent cognitive performance," she retorted. "Might the nature of the vegetarians' diet have enhanced their apparently superior brain power? Was this the mechanism that helped them achieve the disproportionate nature of degrees?"

Can you be any more smug and giddy in your rhetorical questions, Dr. Gale? I think it's a bit presumptuous to describe a vegetarian as having "superior brain power" just because a portion of them became educated and successful. It's not universally true across the board as I've eaten meat my entire life (and PROUDLY so!) and consider myself to have above average intelligence. I graduated high school near the top of my class just a few months after my 17th birthday, finished my Bachelor's degree with a double major in just three years at the age of 20, and completed my Master's degree work while still in my 20s.

How can all of this be from a man eating beef, pork, chicken, turkey and fish?

Plus, keep in mind that I not only advanced my education while stuffing my mouth with meat, meat, meat, but I also became morbidly obese in the process weighing in at over 400 pounds just three years ago. Of course, getting fat wasn't from eating the meat, but the excessive amounts of sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Now that meat is helping me keep my weight off forever as I am livin' la vida low-carb. I eat some vegetables as part of my healthy diet, but I'm not ashamed to tell anyone that meat is a big part of my dietary habits and is keeping me heart healthy better than a vegetarian or vegan diet ever would have. The low-carb lifestyle saved my life, so I suppose you could say it was a pretty intelligent decision on my part to go on that plan starting January 1, 2004.

I especially enjoyed reading the response to this study from Dr. Rameet S. Uberoi at the University Hospital Lewisham. His letter to the editor of the BMJ entitled "Intelligent Vegetarians" was too juicy not to share with you.

Here are some snippets of what he wrote:

...Brushing aside the fact that there was no difference found in IQ’s between those who were vegetarian and those who ate meat/fish, I am surprised that such claim [that vegetarians are smarter] is possible! Surely consuming meat is not all that bad? It is already know that incidence of dementia is the same in both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, but who are we to argue with the diets of famous meat eaters such as Buddha, Jesus, Aristotle and even the mighty brain of Bill Gates...As a meat eater it gives me great pleasure in avoiding problems such as a lack of essential amino acids, anemia and subacute combined degeneration of the cord. Even the highest rates of food poisoning are attributed to greens based salads. I eagerly join Denmark and New York in turning to animal fats as industrially produced trans-fats have become the new source of all our problems. Eating meat is not all that bad after all.

You gotta love it! Dr. Uberoi, you speak for many of us with your poignant comments about Dr. Gale's study. Truth can be ignored for a while, but one day it will need to be acknowledged by those who oppose it. While this study was a good try at attempting to create evidence of the benefits of eating a vegetarian diet, Dr. Gale, the unfortunate fact of the matter is it was too full of illogical scientific contradictions to be taken seriously.

Would you like my educated advice to you (that is if you feel my meat-eating IQ qualifies to give you a suggestion)? Go back to the drawing board in your research using that high IQ of yours on something useful for a change. How about a head-to-head study comparing the impact of a vegetarian diet with a low-carb diet, hmmm? Are you brave enough to take on that challenge or are you smart enough to know the results will NOT be in your favor? We'll see who the intelligent one is now!

You can encourage Dr. Catharane Gale to conduct that study I suggested and tell her what you think about this one claiming vegetarians have higher IQ's by e-mailing her at crg@mrc.soton.ac.uk.