Once upon a time there was a culinary virtue called “Mediterranean diet”, consisted of plenty of vegetables, salads and olive oil and the Greeks were leading the world in it. Nowadays, the Mediterranean diet is still in effect – just not for the Greeks. They have replaced it with lots of souvlaki and other kinds of meat.
Yesterday was international chemistry day and three university chemistry departments made a presentation with data about modern Greek culinary habits and the results are shocking. In the country where light food was practically invented, the people eat more meat than the infamous Americans.
Every Greek consumes an average of 100 kilos of meat a year. That’s 12 kilos more than the average US citizen does. The invocation of American meat consumption is no accident; given that US citizens are considered meat fanatics and obesity rates, particularly among young people are notorious.
In one of his most hilarious stand-up sets, the brilliant comedian Denis Leary said it all: “Meat is murder and murder tastes f*****ing good, but good luck explaining that to your colon”…
To get a sense of measure, average meat consumption in the island of Crete in the 1960s was at a mere 32 grams a year, while the average annual olive oil consumption was 120 grams and 29% of everyday energy for the Cretans came from monounsaturated fats. Fifty years ago, olive oil was the main source for fatty acids. Meat, fish, seafood, dairy products and egg consumption were scarce due to economic hardship and religious fasting.
What happened in the last 60 years was processed food and junk food production which, along with more busy schedules, altered everyday culinary habits. As a result, obesity settled in both minors and adults, reaching the average levels of northern Europe and the US in the past 40 years. Moreover, fat content in processed food has been proven responsible for many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular deficiencies and most kinds of cancer.
Many things have changed for the better in the last half century, but the eclipse of the Mediterranean diet wasn’t one of them. Tourists from all over the world are visiting Greece every year for, among other things, its food, oil and salads. Greeks are preparing them, serving them, make a living out of them, but don’t consume them anymore. And that is not only a crime, it is just silly.
In one of his most hilarious stand-up sets, the brilliant comedian Denis Leary said it all: “Meat is murder and murder tastes f*****ing good, but good luck explaining that to your colon”…
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