Posted on 09/04/2012 5:15:56 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Say "soul food" and most people imagine a spread of barbecued ribs, fried chicken and pork chops, ham, black-eyed peas and green beans with ham hocks, corn bread, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and a delectable list of desserts.
"That is not 'soul food,' " said Ishmael Shakur. Instead, to him, it is "destroying souls."
A vegetarian for six years, the 38-year-old who works with teenagers at the Zepf Center in Toledo gets upset when such a menu is labeled traditional African-American food.
"A lot of people think a real good, wholesome meal is when you sit back bloated and full and nod off," he said. "To me, soul food is food that adds to your spirit, gives you energy, gives you life, and helps you feel vibrant."
Mr. Shakur is among a rising number of black Americans who are becoming vegetarian and vegan, who eat a plant-based diet as well as grains, fruits, nuts, and seeds and exclude red meat, poultry, and seafood. There are several types of vegetarians: lacto vegetarians eat dairy products but not eggs; ovo vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy products; lacto-ovo vegetarians eat both eggs and dairy products, and vegans do not eat honey or any animal products whatsoever. Also, pescetarians eat seafood but no other flesh.
While there are no firm numbers, anecdotal evidence indicates a rising interest in vegetarianism and veganism among black Americans. In fact, their interest has contributed to the growing list of Internet sites and cookbooks geared to that group, including By Any Greens Necessary by Tracye Lynn McQuirter; Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, & Creative African American Cuisine by Bryant Terry, and The Ethnic Vegetarian by Angela Shelf Medearis.
(Excerpt) Read more at toledoblade.com ...
Compared with whites, Blacks had 51% higher and Hispanics had 21% higher obesity rates
To reduce racial and ethnic disparities in obesity rates we must intensify our efforts to create an environment for healthy living.
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsObesityAdults/index.html
I suspect it is no more a trend than marriage in the Black culture.
Some people just like to redefine things and pretend that their use of language is just universally accepted.
good. more ribs for me!
Our local [Phoenix, AZ] sub shop, Captain Bill’s has outrageous bumper stickers. One of my favorites:
If God didn’t want us to eat animals
He wouldn’t have made them out of meat!
That’s almost identical to the lunch I brought to work tonight. If I had beans and rice, or ribs, or fried chicken in the fridge, that’s what I’d be having!
Jes like my momma usta pick!....
More for me, then.
Meat and dairy don’t make them fat. White bread and sugar do. The first wookie should be telling them that.
Soul food is healthy as long as it is consumed in healthy quantities.......
Not sugar, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.......
She'll tell YOU and ME that, but she ain't gonna tell THEM that, LOL.
Bullseye. I hate to imagine all the people harmed by the American Diabetes Foundation’s advice for decades that carbs should be a main part of their diets. They only recently have been dragged—kicking and screaming—into the low-carb era. They are a dreadful bunch.
BS... Go to a Grocery Store ... stand in line ... get pissed off.
TT
>> Compared with whites, Blacks had 51% higher and Hispanics had 21% higher obesity rates
Make ‘em buy their OWN damn food and I bet they’d lose weight.
"Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease more than fat does—a finding that has serious implications for new dietary guidelines expected this year.
Here is the link:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbs-against-cardio
Sorry that I don't know how to post a link that is clickable to the website.
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