6–11 servings of grains every single day?! That’s not a nutrition recommendation—it’s a feeding protocol. Since the 1980s, the U.S. dietary guidelines have told us to make grains the foundation of our food pyramid. And what happened? Obesity rates shot from **48% in 1980 to over 75% in 2020.**¹ That’s not a small whoopsie. That’s a public health disaster.
You were never supposed to eat that much bread. Especially not this bread.
Let’s be honest: the food pyramid wasn’t built for your health. It was built for Big Ag, subsidized commodity crops, and global grain markets. The government told you to eat more cereal while the companies making it laughed all the way to the bank. Meanwhile, real foods like meat, eggs, and butter were demonized as “artery-clogging” villains. Spoiler alert: they weren’t.
Meat > Grains. Every time. Here’s why:
1. Cattle Are Fed Grains to Fatten Them Up… So Why Are We Eating Them?
When farmers want to bulk up a cow, they feed it grains. Why? Because grains spike insulin, promote fat storage, and cause inflammation. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what’s happening to the American public—but instead of prepping us for slaughter, Big Ag is prepping us for a lifetime of metabolic dysfunction and prescriptions.
Nobody’s bulking up cattle on arugula and grass-fed butter. They’re using corn, soy, and wheat. So if grains make animals fat… what do you think 6–11 servings a day are doing to you?
2. The Food Pyramid: Brought to You by Lobbyists, Not Logic
Let’s talk about the original food pyramid, the one released in 1992. Grains were the base—stacked proudly at 6–11 servings a day. Meat, eggs, and cheese? Shoved to the tip of the triangle like guilty pleasures. It wasn’t science. It was marketing dressed up in USDA colors.
The pyramid was pushed by committees funded by the grain, sugar, and processed food industries.⁴ You were told to fear cholesterol and saturated fat while breakfast cereal became “heart healthy.” Never mind that ancient humans thrived on animal fat, organs, and red meat for tens of thousands of years before the word “bran” was even invented.
3. Italians Eat Pasta. Americans Eat Pasta Products. There's a Difference.
Ah, the old “But what about the Mediterranean diet?” argument. Look closer. Italians eat small portions of traditional, often homemade pasta, paired with local meats, seafood, raw dairy, and olive oil. Meanwhile, Americans are eating microwave mac and cheese made with seed oils, enriched wheat, powdered cheese, and preservatives.
It’s not the pasta—it’s what comes with it. It’s the culture. It’s the quality. And most importantly, it’s not breakfast cereal at 8am, a sandwich at noon, and pasta at night—every single day. We’re overfed and undernourished, and we keep blaming meat for problems created by Wonder Bread.
4. European Bread vs. American Bread: One Is Ancient, the Other Is a Lab Experiment
European bread is made with four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and wild yeast. American bread? More like a science fair project. The wheat has been genetically modified, the grains are sprayed with glyphosate, and the final product is “enriched” with synthetic vitamins because we stripped the real ones out.
Europe bans many of the additives allowed in U.S. bread. In fact, most of the world does. If your bread comes with a long list of ingredients you can’t pronounce, you’re not eating food. You’re eating an edible product that mimics food. And your gut knows the difference—even if the label says “Whole Grain.”
5. There’s Literally a Yoga Mat Chemical in American Bread
You read that right. The chemical azodicarbonamide (ADA)—used to create foamy plastics like yoga mats and sneaker soles—is also used in American bread to bleach the dough and improve texture.⁵ The World Health Organization linked it to respiratory issues and increased risk of cancer, and it’s been banned in Europe, Australia, and Singapore. Still legal here. Still in your kid’s sandwich.
Why? Because it makes bread fluffier. And because our food system prioritizes shelf stability over human health.
6. Wake Up, America! Your Food Is Banned in 100 Countries
The United States is the only developed nation that still allows so many banned ingredients in its food supply:
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Ractopamine in pork
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Glyphosate on wheat and oats
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Potassium bromate in baked goods
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BHA/BHT in cereals
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Red 40 and Yellow 5 in candies and snack bars
These additives are banned in over 100 countries including the UK, EU, Japan, and even China. But here? They’re in your grocery store—and marketed as “healthy” choices.
Still think it’s about your wellness?
7. “Listen Up! You’ve Got to… Stop Eating American Bread.”
Modern American bread isn’t just bad. It’s a chemical cocktail. Here’s a list of what you might be consuming in a single slice:
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Glyphosate (herbicide)
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Potassium bromate (linked to cancer)
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Azodicarbonamide (the yoga mat one)
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DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid ester of monoglyceride)
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Mono and diglycerides (often derived from trans fats)
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High fructose corn syrup
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Synthetic folic acid
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Aluminum-based dough conditioners
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Soy lecithin
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Sugar—even in “whole grain” varieties
These aren’t ingredients. They’re liabilities. Your mitochondria weren’t designed for this. Your gut lining wasn’t built to absorb lab experiments. And your brain can’t function on glucose spikes followed by crashes.
Final Thoughts: Ditch the Grains. Eat Like a Human.
The average American eats more ultra-processed grain products than ever before—and yet we’ve never been sicker. Diabetes, obesity, fatty liver, depression, infertility, and autoimmune conditions are rising across every demographic. Meanwhile, animal foods—the most nutrient-dense, time-tested foods on the planet—are still under attack by the very people telling us to eat 11 servings of cereal.
You don’t need more bread. You need more beef, fat, salt, and sanity.
Your ancestors didn’t live on grains. Neither should you.
And if you want a travel-friendly, shelf-stable solution that’s free of the junk Big Ag is selling? Grab a Carnivore Bar—the only bar that eats like real food.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Adult Obesity Facts.” CDC.gov, 2020.
- Simopoulos, Artemis P. “Evolutionary aspects of diet and essential fatty acids.” World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 75, 1994, pp. 22–38.
- Cordain, Loren. “The nutritional characteristics of a contemporary diet based upon Paleolithic food groups.” Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association, vol. 5, no. 3, 2002, pp. 15–24.
- Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. University of California Press, 2002.
- Environmental Working Group (EWG). “What Is Azodicarbonamide?” ewg.org, 2014.
- United States Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG). “Banned in Other Countries, Approved in the U.S.” uspirg.org, 2022.
- Vally, H., Misso, N.L.A., Madan, V. “Clinical effects of food additives.” BMJ, vol. 343, 2011, d5786.