Discussion Board

Do you also think it's of no concern who funded a study? The findings on studies on milk funded by the dairy industry should be treated with equal weight to those funded by the Environmental Workgroup, WHO, or Vegetarian Society?

Do you think it would have been honest or fair for Mingher and Masterjohn to keep their identities secret?

The source of funding should be taken into consideration. But it's not the only issue of importance.

I think it would have been honest and fair if Denise Minger and Chris Masterjohn had wanted to keep their identities secret. They might as well have kept their identities secret because they are really just "folks" with no real qualifications. So, let's assume that the author of these videos has no qualifications. Neither do Minger or Masterjohn. So?

It's actually been exposed that industry funded research in almost any category is so bias towards favorable results for the industry, that the data shouldn't even be considered. It's basically fraudulent.

It's possible that the 71 part video series was funded by the butternut squash industry.

And, why isn't this guy the source of his funding? No one is arguing that the anonymity is the only issue of importance, but it is one.

Anyway, I do consider him as someone with no qualifications, and am moving onto better resources.

The videos do serve and important purpose: clearing up misinformation given out by the proponents of high-fat diets (Masterjohn, The Weston A Price Foundation, Dr. Eades, Taubes)

About a year ago, one member of my family sent other members of my family (including me) a copy of a DvD titled "Fathead."

A comedian was the main focus of the film and the film showed this comedian losing some weight in 28 days while eating at McDonald's every day.

The film demonized scientist Ancel Keys as someone who rigged the Seven Nations Study and fooled the whole world into thinking that saturated fat was bad for our health. The film showed a graph of 22 countries and implied that had Ancel Keys relied on the 22 countries, our perspective regarding fat would be much different from what it is today.

I had wondered about that 22 countries study for a long time. So, had other members of my family. I know that one member of my family had actually become convinced that Ancel Keys was a dishonest scientist. She was pretty convinced that Dr. T. Colin Campbell's book "The China Study" was "debunked" by Denise Minger, even though this relative of mine had never read "The China Study."

I believe that the 4 videos on Ancel Keys (Primitive Nutriton 36-39) and the 4 videos on the China Studies (Primitive Nutrition 62-65) do a great job of giving people an alternative point of view of both Ancel Keys and Dr. Campbell.

Yes. The advocates of the high-fat animal based diet probably don't appreciate this 71 part video series. They probably think the author of these videos is being dishonest by hiding his identity. But many people will learn what a scam Denise Minger and Chris Masterjohn have been playing on people.

I've seen "Fat Head", and understand your frustration. The problem with it is despite its over-simplistic reasoning and faulty conclusions, it's a good movie. The comedian is funny, the graphics and audio are cute, the movie is entertaining, it presents its arguments clearly, it's superficially transparent, it encourages the audience to use their own experiences to draw their own conclusions, and it absolves people of their guilt.

I've often wondered why there isn't a vegan/vegetarian counterpart to this movie. I've watched many of the pro-veg movies - Supersize Me; Forks Over Knives; Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead; Earthlings; Food, Inc; Food Matters; etc - and none of them have a good balance of entertainment and information. They tend to be overly dramatic, not very amusing, use scare tactics, focus on the ethical aspects, ignore younger populations, lack clear instruction on how to make the changes suggested, and/or not be very convincing. None of them are movies that are worth watching for reasons other than the message, so they don't capture the attention of people who don't share at least a bit of the same bias.

However, this Primitive Nutrition series isn't the answer either. In part, because people who base their diet decisions on a movie like "Fat Head" aren't basing their decisions on scientific research or support. They're looking for simple answers to a complex problem, and this Primitive Nutrition series provides nothing like that. It's very long, monotonous, desultory, hypocritical, and it seems to focus more on the people behind the diets than the arguments. It seems to be answering the question, "Why shouldn't I listen to these people?"rather than, "What's wrong with this nutritional advice?" or better yet, "Why plant-based nutrition?"

I enjoyed Forks Over Knives. But I actually enjoyed the 71 part Primitive Nutrition video series even more. The reason is that one of my relatives has had these arguments:

What about the Masai?
What about the Eskimos?
Didn't human beings evolve as meat eaters?
The Seven Nations Study was a fraud.
The China Study book has been debunked.

Jeff Novick had already discussed the Masai on his forum. But this video series does a good job of examining each one of these assertions, not just one of them.

I agree that this video series doesn't provide a "quick fix" to people who want to lose 100 pounds in 20 days or people who want to stop taking their high blood pressure medication, their diabetes medication and their cholesterol medication without having to give up their cheese, meats and ice cream. It doesn't provide "entertainment" nor does it provide the popular argument that "We all have to die eventually. We should just eat what we want."

But for those interested in understanding the full picture, this series is excellent.

Now the guy has added ten new videos. For example (so far) six-part response to Denise Minger. Check them out:

Uploaded Videos

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Four more videos responding to Anthony Colpo. Interesting stuff.

Edit:

Seems there is more to come later today:



(From the comments of Minger Response 6)

Great videos. Thanks for posting about them and providing the link to them.

About half of the 22 new videos watched. Great stuff.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to recall Dr. McDougall mentioning that this person will be one of the guest speakers at the next Advanced Study Weekend. He is listed only by his first name, but certainly his anonymity will be greatly reduced after that.

You are correct. At the last ASW Dr. McDougall announced he was trying to get him as a guest speaker for September. He clearly knows enough to establish a speaking relationship so who knows. The other thing is that when Dr. McDougall wants someone he pursues untill he gets them!
f1jim