Eating for Peace

I was something of a picky eater when I was a kid. I didn’t like fish. I could skip most vegetables. If it was red and sticky, it looked like a good drink to me. You get the picture. America, and American food. The kind kids like me grew up with in the 1960’s.

As I’ve gotten older, my food preferences have expanded and contracted. I used to drink one diet soft drink a day. It’s been years since I could stand the taste of the chemicals. I was a true believer in “the pink stuff.” A friend talked me out of artificial sweetners in a hotel in Atlantic City. I love fish, and most vegetables. Again, you get the picture.

The last page of Ode Magazine grabbed me with its headline a couple of months ago. It read:

“Healthy food is the recipe for peace.”

What?!

It turns out that Bernard Gesch, who is director of Natural Justice, a British research institute that studies the causes of anti-social behavior did an experiment in a British prison. They divided 231 prisoners into two groups. For 18 months, one group was given supplements and the other was given a placebo.

Those that were given the supplements committed at least 26% fewer offenses and 37% fewer violent assaults than the placebo group.

Dr. Gesch says of the study, “Research suggests that nutrition is a cheap, humane and highly effective way to reduce anti-social behavior. It could be the recipe for peace.”

I know you’re not surprised. It’s all connected. The whole world and all that’s in it. What we eat matters to peace. Of course.