Jacqueline Thornley- Outside Reading #1

For my research paper I read a book about the psychology of Carl Jung and his work on archetypes. The book addressed myth and Jung cautioned that myth not only had the ability to inspire opportunities for growth, but that myth could also be dangerous. I started thinking about what makes a myth “dangerous.” Of course the myths Nazi’s used in WWII came to mind but I wanted to find something a little more relevant in our modern and discerning society. For another class I started reading a book called The China Study and in it a nutritional scientist conducted 35 years of research to determine the correlation between protein and diseases of affluence (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc). The book notes that as per dietary guidelines Americans eat on average 3x more protein than is healthy or even safe. Yet because the meat industry has interest in our country’s dietary guideline legislators, we are literally fed this protein myth. I think it’s safe to qualify that as a dangerous myth.