Meat is for Pussies

"Food is very important to me because I grew up in a broken home and abusive foster home where it wasn't provided for me and my two brothers. That was the catalyst which affected my entire outlook. I know hands down I would have continued in a life of crime if I didn't meet the Bad Brains and had been introduced to a vegetarian lifestyle. This started a spiritual quest that also led to exercise, yoga and Krishna. Once I changed what I put in me, it changed my view about myself, taking care of my body, and my outlook on the environment where I lived. You can say it made me a more at peace person, not that I wouldn't run up on you if I had to ha ha." John Joseph is laughing but he isn't kidding, as muscular front man for the legendary NY hardcore/punk unit, The Cro-Mags, he incited some of the most savage and primal blood letting ever witnessed in a mosh pit. Some twenty five years after the release of The Cro-Mags debut album, Age Of Quarrel, Joseph as a wellspring of vitality is still launching into backflips and backslaps night after night touring with the Mags at the age of 47, putting front men half his age to shame. While many of his peers have succumbed to a "rock” lifestyle or just one of a typical American diet, he is not only an engaging front man but a highly competitive athlete, competing in marathons as well as training for ironman triathlons.

Following his highly successful autobiography "The Evolution Of A Cro-Magnon" (2007 Punkhouse), John has decided to follow it up with Meat Is For Pussies, a play on the popular "For Dummies” instruction manuals. Sub-titled "A how to guide for dudes who want to get fit, kick ass and take names” the tome is far from a dry medical journal, peppered with Joseph's conversational style writing, rough hewn humor and first hand experiences with the subjects. Joseph starts by dispelling all the myths of a meat beneficial diet including his research which supports that humans were not meant to ingest meat on a regular basis as opposed to true carnivores in the animal kingdom and what regular consumption of meat does to your system. He breaks down all the popular diets on the market and why they will ultimately fail you as opposed to a balanced diet, ingesting natural supplements and exercise. He delves into the machinations that the meat industry, big business and bio-tech firms have developed to promote unsafe food and science into our diet with no resistance from the Government. The book also includes a wealth of Joseph's own recipes, daily menus, exercise regiments and resources to obtain products and supplements that Joseph uses in his own life.

Speaking on the motivation for the book Joseph says "My motivation in writing this book was seeing many friends and family members getting sick, even dying from totally preventable diseases. 30% of America is severely overweight, cancer and diabetes rates soaring, we are being used as guinea pigs by the GMO companies and Big Pharma, the shit's got to stop. Who reading this doesn't know someone who's had cancer? I'm here to say we can stop it just by paying attention to what goes in our shopping carts and our bodies. I have been a vegetarian/vegan almost 30 years now, people today are bombarded by advertising for cheap fast food and ingestion of those foods not only wreak havoc on your system but most of the havoc wreaked on the planet is due to the slaughter of the animals.

Though Joseph is not a medical professional, he has spent a good part of the past three decades amassing health information, recipes, nutritional information and examples he learned through trial and error. "In 1981 I was part of a little commune that The Bad Brains had going out of their producer Jay Dublee's store/recording studio 171A. It was there that the Brains introduced me to the practice of a vegetarian diet. However it was Dublee who had the knowledge of the science behind the practice. He gave me books to read and from there I gathered my own resources about meat and what it does to you. I tried to introduce this knowledge to all of my friends and I've been an advocate ever since."

Yes I don't have a medical degree that's why I got world renowned Dr. Fred Bisci (pHD in Nutritional Science) to write the forward, he said he couldn't do it until he read the book, as his name and reputation were on the line. Well, in his words, "This books a real kick in the nuts John, a kick in the nuts these guys need.”

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Tags:  Cro-Mags, John Joseph, Meat is For Pussies  

Jason Fisher    August 19, 2010