>Muriel has been
> on  this list since it formed, and if you find her posts offensive, then
> DON'T READ THEM.  i find her to be a wonderfully informative person..

> JoAnn.
> -sick of the self-righteous, 'paleo-er than thou' bickering here.

I joined the paleofood list a few years ago. I received email from the list
and posted replies for a few months. List members from that time period
(such as Todd Moody) may remember my posts as sometimes being strident,
confrontational, and inflammatory. I cancelled my subscription to the list
because I was tired of thinking and arguing about nutrition. I never stopped
following paleo nutrition. I just stopped preaching about it.

I've been subscribed to the list only a few days now and I've posted a few
messages. All I want to do is contribute valuable information based on my
experience. Unlike my first experience with the list, the foremost thing in
my mind now is to contribute valuable info and be of help when possible.
IMHO confrontation isn't always a bad thing, but the current problem between
Kendra and Muriel should be handled strictly through private email. Using
the list to publicly air what should be a private dispute only serves to
clog every member's inbox with extraneous messages.

I've visited the Dr. Mom web site. There is some interesting information
there, but I'm bothered by Muriel's claim to be a nutritional
"consultant"--especially in light of some the recommedations she makes after
claiming to be an advocate of the caveman diet. A Bachelor of Arts degree in
Biology with some postgraduate studies does not a nutritional expert make.
Neither does having 5 "special needs" children. These things make one an
interesting person to have as a paleofood list member and contributor but
not an "expert" (a title one should claim if one also presents oneself as a
"consultant").

In doing research for NEANDERTHIN, Ray Audette and I have spent time talking
to the likes of Loren Cordain, Michael Eades, and S. Boyd Eaton (of
PALEOLITHIC PRESCRIPTION fame). I've read Barry Sears' ZONE books (even the
most boring parts) and Artemis Simopoulos' THE OMEGA PLAN. If I ever
considered myself a paleo-nutritional expert (I know I used to act the part
of the expert), now I believe myself to be an educated consumer at most.
Cordain, Eades, Eaton, Sears, and Simopoulos and their ilk are the experts.
I would like to see people on this list keep in mind that most of us on this
list are not "experts." We're just a group of educated folks trying to help
each other in good faith.

Those who choose to present themselves as "experts" or "consultants" should
be prepared for negative reactions when their advice runs counter to
everything to which this list is devoted. Telling someone to "Fuck off" is
hardly a meaningful contribution to any debate. Ad hominem attacks (you're
young...you don't have kids--what do you know?) are just as distracting and
counterproductive. Again, let's try to raise the quality of discourse back
up to the informative and useful level that is the norm for this list.

Troy Gilchrist
Co-author, NEANDERTHIN