Dr. Joel Fuhrman - Fast Food Genocide

The End of Heart Disease

The End of Dieting

Eat to Live Cookbook

The End of Diabetes

Super Immunity

Eat for Health

Disease-Proof Your Child

Fasting and Eating for Health

Eat to Live

Eat to Live Quick & Easy Cookbook

This book is dedicated to the thousands of people that give back to others across the globe; people who encourage compassion for others in their work, sacrifice their own comforts, and even take personal risks to aid others. This country was founded and built on people fighting for every persons rights, dignity, and pursuit of happiness.

It isnt that they cant see the solution. Its that they cant see the problem.

G. K. CHESTERTON

We are facing a tragic and unprecedented destruction of human lives in the United States and much of the developed world. Processed, fake, and fast foods have become the primary source of calories in this country, and theyre on track to become the same in other countries. This attachment to fast food over natural foods and fresh produce is moving us toward widespread chronic disease, mental illness, and shortened life spans. I believe that the growing fast food addiction in this country and abroad is a genocide, as these foods destroy life with frightening efficiency and this damage is worsening. The food industry has evolved to effectively feed the majority of our citizens with mass-marketed, factory-produced foods that do not have the biological and chemical properties of natural produce. The result is the destruction of human potential, along with an explosion of chronic illness, human suffering, and the premature death of millions.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines genocide as the deliberate destruction of an entire race or nation.

On the surface it may seem that we are in control of our food choices and therefore genocide does not apply here. We typically think of genocide as a crime that one group commits against another. But that is not always the case; sometimes we are participants in our own destruction. Multiple factors combine to remove choice from the equation, leaving all of us in peril.

In an effort to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness, food companies have developed ways to feed a great many people with highly processed, highly addictive foods. These foods are designed to hook us and impair our taste buds in the process. Despite the wealth of the nation, many people live in parts of the country where fresh ingredients are difficult to get. When healthy foods are simply out of reach, individuals have no opportunity to make informed choices about what they eat. Furthermore, the medical establishment offers quick-fix surgery or a lifetime supply of pills in place of a simple dietary regimen that can reverse and prevent disease and save millions of lives from medical tragedy and premature death. The harm of these medical interventions is glossed over, and the benefits are exaggerated, while this food-induced health care crisis continues to grow. Last but not least, the idea that unhealthy food leads only to weight gain and not unhappiness, disease, and death remains a permanent myth that permeates society. We need to make clear that the issues are far more than just about waistlines; they are about lifelines.

Despite the tremendous evidence coming from the worlds of nutritional and social sciences, these Frankenfoodsor unnatural, human-made, processed fast foodscontinue to destroy the fiber of our society, creating new social problems and damaging the health and happiness of a large proportion of our population. Modern science reveals that this pervasive and serious damage to our health can even damage our genes, resulting in severe harm being passed on to future generations. This is information that everyone must know.

Most health problems facing Americans today are the direct consequence of Frankenfoods. Heart attacks, strokes, adult and childhood cancers, our growing epidemic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, allergies, and autoimmune diseases all have their basis in the common dietary practices that are ubiquitous across the United States. According to studies, our diet, not just during pregnancy but even before conception, has profound effects in determining the health, intelligence, and immune systems of our children. The problem is deeper, more serious, and more pervasive than anyone imagined, and no one is safe. It is widely accepted that mental illness, antisocial behavior, reduced intelligence, and most life-altering chronic diseases are primarily genetic; that is, they are not the result of dangerous foods. But this assumption is dead wrong. Further, this false belief perpetuates bigotry, contempt, and a growing, but generally ignored atrocity occurring right under our noses in urban communities.

By itself, a single pebble is harmless. However, put enough small pebbles together and start them rolling down the side of a mountain, and suddenly you have an avalanche. An avalanche doesnt just move earth and rocks from one place to another; it destroys everything in its path. We are already experiencing an expanding crisis of physical and mental health deterioration from an avalanche of commercially prepared convenience food. There is compelling evidence that the modern epidemic of learning disabilities, poor school performance, depression, aggressive behavior, and despair are all influenced by the avalanche of fake food that has invaded our nation and taken over our cities.

Malnutrition caused by the lack of natural food and fresh produce has troubled humanity for eons. Today, malnutrition is no longer the exclusive problem of underdeveloped nations that have poor economies and inadequate food distribution networks. It is increasingly being experienced throughout the entire modern world as people eat foods that lack the micronutrients humans need for good health. In other words, excess-calorie malnutrition is spreading disease to all parts of the globe.

However, this new widespread malnutritionwhat I call fast food malnutritionis not as obvious as it would be without the influence of conventional medicine. Fast food malnutrition creates chronic inflammation and causes weight gain, but subtle micronutrient deficiencies disproportionately target the brain. Fast food malnutrition goes largely undetected because conventional medicine has developed its quick-fix solutions that allow us to destroy our bodies with fast food even as we appear perfectly healthy. Prescriptions and pills have created a new normal; our blood vessels and organs are routinely damaged by our chemical- and calorie-dense diets, but the medical establishment persuades us that our health is beyond our control and we need its pharmacologic solutions in order to thrive.

But the truth is this: Our diets are the primary driver of our health and longevity, and the medical community is doing us a disservice when it entices us to pop pills in answer to all that ails us. Disease is not inevitable. People are now enslaved to their illnesses and food addictions, accompanied by years of chronic suffering and medical dependence before a premature death, and this problem has become ubiquitous. The wrong food damages the brain, too, and is destroying lives and the American dreams of liberty and success.

Fast food malnutrition is resulting in fast food genocide.

Americas future is being threatened by pebbles.

The choice to eat unhealthy foods may seem inconsequential. Yet this choice doesnt just make us fatter; it also contributes to an avalanche of health and social problems, including chronic disease, diminished intelligence, attention deficits, reduced educational and occupational opportunities, and even increased drug addiction, violence, and crime. In the following pages, I share the details of how unhealthy food has affected our nation and the devastating consequences that have followed. Escalating health tragedies are worsening in all demographics and regions of the country, and more so in younger people and in impoverished communities with poor access to fresh produce.