[ExI] Don't be a locavore fundamentalist

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 10:56 AM, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2009/9/27 Anders Sandberg <asa at nada.kth.se>:
>> Food is the new religion: besides having presumed effects on you (that are
>> expounded by an expert priesthood), it is an effective way of signalling
>> social status, culture and values to oneself and others. And since many of
>> the facts are relatively hard to check, there is little pesky falsification
>> of beliefs. A locavore (or Atkins dieter or organic fan) is very unlikely to
>> hold their views because they are the most rational views given known
>> evidence, but will easily get reinforcement in the form of placebo,
>> selective news and various social feedback processes.
>
> Yes. As a motivated Atkins True Believer, I can testify to that. ;)

### I'd say the Atkins diet is different from locovory or organic
eating - it is not a way of signaling moral superiority but rather a
set of beliefs about losing weight. I started with a dismissive
attitude towards Atkins 10 years ago but after reading about the
studies done I totally changed my mind - now I think that this diet is
pretty good in achieving weight loss (although I never tried it
myself).

Rafal