Introduction

While there are far too many issues with current dietary trends to delve into them all in detail, I've separated my argument into three sections.

My main argument is that clean eating has more to do with nurturing a huge growth sector in the consumer market than the noted health benefits of a said lifestyle. 

In the same way that owning a pair of Nike Air Jordans used to make you believe that you could shoot hoops like Michael Jordan, the same can be said for spending three days on a Juice Cleanse to wind up resembling like the darlings of the Antipodean Hunger Games; Julia and Libby. This brings us to second part of my argument; that the health and organic food industries profit from an inaccurate portrayal of a healthy lifestyle. 

This consumer driven market relies on the continuing reinforcement that organic and natural food will make you look younger, weigh less and live longer. Inversely, if you eat conventional foods, the inference is that you will look older, weigh more and die early. There is little scientific evidence to support this theory.

"Why Green Juice Is the Best Thing I Do Every Day" - www.mindbodygreen.com

And so, if the 'Whole Foods' industry is growing at an unprecedented rate, simple economics should tell us that the price of natural and organic foods should go down. So why isn't consumer demand driving down the price of health foods? The third part of my argument illustrates the gap in price between conventional and organic foods and the correlation between paying more and receiving better quality goods.

A Manifesto

My name is Rebecca and I have never been on a diet. To be fair, even if I had the self-control/will-power/lack-of-hobbies to pursue one, my childhood in a suburban Afakasi safe haven have moulded me into the ultimate foodie (Nigella meets the Cookie Monster). Sunday night Pot Luck with the cousins sends me into an inevitable catnip frenzy that usually ends with a my-top-button-is-undone scenario. And I'm not sorry.

In a world with a heavy emphasis on appearance, wealth and material possessions, the most recent phase of the Diet Fad sweeping the world is the Clean Eating Movement. This most recent step into fiery pits of Detox Hell is wreaking havoc on generations of women who want to look like malnourished celebrities on top of the unrealistic financial and social pressure that these fads impose.

I am absolutely not endorsing a life of sloth and gluttony, nor am I writing to encourage a mass purge in the confectionary aisle. The aim of EAT CLEAN: DIE BORED is simply to illustrate that these problems born from fads have a tendency to morph into dangerous obsessions.

I would just like everyone to chill out a little bit.

"Nourish your body, mind and soul with locally sourced organic ingredients that cost you 

significantly more money but entitle you to full bragging rights and a 

glow only you and personal life coach can see."

EAT CLEAN: DIE BORED is about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and showing an interest in what you're consuming, NOT forcing yourself to slurp through a Paleo-vegan-local kale, cayenne, gogi berry smoothie. Life is too short to count the calories between your fourth and fifth high-protein-low-GI meals of the day. 

Rise up against the machine and sink your fangs into your first baked good since Bush Senior was in office. It won't kill you. It may not extend your life, but neither will clean eating.