Whole Life Times: For Better Body Image, Don’t Blame the Ads

August 2007 | Letters from Readers

For Better Body Image, Don’t Blame the Ads

I was pleased that you opened a discussion about body image in the media (“A Pound of Flesh,” June 07). A big problem with body image is not only that ultra-skinny models bombard us on TV and in magazines, movies and ads, but there is also a sense of guilt, self-consciousness and shame that pervades the American psyche. Blaming the ad companies is valid, but does not solve the problem.

We are ill equipped to deal with our issues, and constantly looking outward for solutions, thinking Well, if I didn’t see so many beautiful, skinny women, I’d be happier with my body and myself. The change does need to involve a focus on healthy bodies rather than body fat percentage, but it also needs to be a personal one, where we stop looking outward (to magazines and actresses) for validation and start looking inward for self-worth. Would these issues still be here if we had more “average-sized models” than “rail-thin” ones? I think yes, because the advertising world is not centered around making people happy — it is there to convince you that you’re not good enough, pretty enough, thin enough, clean enough, etc.
— Charlotte Banks, via email

Keep WLT Cruelty-Free
I love Whole Life Times. But, I can’t help but cringe when you post articles on health that use animal studies as their reference. In this month’s WLT’s Body Talk, the article “Not Just For Violet Beauregarde” was disturbing in that it suggested studies done in rats correlate to humans. Human clinical trials will show a more accurate correlation. As a reader of a magazine that shares information about health, well being and compassion for the environment, the earth and all its creatures, I would like to read articles that still report on good health findings, but are based on studies of human clinical data and not animal vivisection.
— Jennifer Argenti, Santa Monica

Mad About Brad
Brad Warner (“You Can’t Be Deceived”, June 2007) certainly got one thing right: he is an idiot! He had nothing interesting to say and his sarcastic tone was most unbecoming. I’d rather hear from the REAL Buddhist masters like Thich Naht Hahn or Pema Chodron. Please inform Mr. Warner I think I’ll continue supporting the publishing industry, thank you very much.
—James, Los Angeles

Enter the Meatrix
Thanks for your article detailing the abundance of vegetarian food choices at The Dutch (“Cook’s Double Dutch,” July 2007). Anything we can do to decrease our consumption of meat will benefit the increasing number of animals who are confined within American factory farms.
Each year, nearly 10 billion farm animals endure miserable lives and are slaughtered in often shocking ways. Factory farms routinely inflict abuses on these animals that would result in felony cruelty charges if the victims were the dogs or cats we welcome into our homes.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that animal agribusiness is responsible for global warming to a greater degree than even automobiles, making our meat-based diet even more problematic than many had previously known. Whether for the animals, the planet, or our palate, there’s never been a better time to incorporate more compassionate, healthy plant-based foods into our diets. For more information, visit HumaneSociety.org.
— Erin Williams, Communications Director, Factory Farming Campaign, The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC

Challenging Veganics
I just read an article in the recent issue of WLT, “How Green is Your Diet?” I strive to find information that doesn’t potentially hurt consumers and wanted to point out some “danger zones” in this particular article.

A vegan, raw food diet is not a sustainable choice as it doesn’t respect the sacred relationship between animals and soil. The solution to the factory farming situation is to buy sources of animal protein from local farms that pasture their animals. There are some very good points in this article, but please be careful about the illusion that a vegan diet is healthy or that it supports sustainability. I’ve seen far too many people get sick from removing animal protein and fats from their diets (and, I’m not drawing from a small sample after being involved in the field of nutrition and natural health for 20 years). Furthermore, given the loss of our precious topsoil, it is important to resuscitate small family farms that practice what I call “authentic agriculture.” Slowly, then, we may see the reduction of factory farming and the return to healthy sources of animal protein.
— Pam Killeen, co-author of The Great Bird Flu Hoax , via email

Don’t Kill Our Buzz
Nice bee article (“Buzz Kill,” July ’07). However, the cartoon at the end of the story is ill-conceived. First, the one bee talks about the disappearance of bumblebees. What? The problem is with honey bees. The two are not interchangeable. And the story is about honey bees, not bumblebees. Second, the assertion that “some spontaneously combust” is complete fabrication. It seems that the cartoonist sacrificed any hint of accuracy for the sake of the pathetic last frame. Finally, the two bees are represented as males. Eighty percent (at minimum) of the bees in a colony are female, as the greater population are worker bees which are always female. The workers are fully responsible for the health and smooth functioning of the hive. The males (drones) only live to eat and go out on mating flights. I doubt they would be much concerned about colony collapse disorder.
— Ross Thompson, Chicago

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