6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2018 EDITOR GILLIAN HAMES Paleo contrary to common sense hile working at a health food store on Vancouver Island for five years, I saw a lot of fad diets come and go. When I first started working, the Atkins diet was on the way out and the raw diet was taking over. The past year or so had more and more of my co-workers excited about the so-called Paleolithic, or caveman diet. The main problem I have with fads like these is they tend to make us lose our common sense approach to eating healthy. This is replaced with a kind of diet dogma. For example, I recently had lunch with a friend of mine who at the time was strictly adhering to the Paleo diet. It was all she talked about. She refused to share my quinoa salad with me, but then proceeded to eat six slices of bacon fried in butter. Another Paleo friend binge-drinks almost every weekend, but makes absolutely sure the vodka she consumes isn’t grain-based. I’m not saying this is necessarily typical of all the Paleo enthusiasts out there. And I would agree that as a society we have lost touch with where our food comes from, but these types of extremely restrictive diets can cause unhealthy obses- sions and counter-intuitive eating habits. Like it or not, the agricultural revolution gave rise to the society we continue to occupy today. The abundance of food made available from harvesting grains and crops like potatoes and le- gumes, which are strictly prohibited for those attempting to eat Paleo, directly contributed to the popula- tion boom during the 17th and 18th century. Mass production of agricul- tural crops left us free to pursue our preferred activities. Hunting for food did not leave our predecessors a lot of free time. With our population ever on the rise, a com- pletely Paleo society just isn’t sustainable. As it stands today, it takes approxi- mately 16 kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of meat. Proponents of the Paleo diet argue that maladies such as heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes were not a problem for our cavemen ancestors. True, these hunter-gatherer kg pai OPINION GILLIAN HAMES societies failed to suffer these so-called diseases of civilization, but this was due to a variety of factors, not just diet. A shorter-than-average lifespan meant many of our ancestors just didn’t live long enough to develop these diseases. Our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have inarguably been a major factor in the overall rise of these diseases ~ let’s face it, all that hunting and gathering must have been such good cardio. Overall, a common sense ap- proach to health remains our best bet for our bodies and our minds. Try to cut down on your intake of processed foods and make sure you eat your vegetables, but there is little point to eating healthy if you’re not able to have any fun. As the saying goes, everything in moderation — including moderation. Voter apathy goes against our Interests angara students are uninformed politics around the college. The latest example is the Education Council’s election involving two student positions. Students either do not pay attention to school elections, or they simply don’t hear about them. But they need to realize that these elections are important because they impact the way the school is run. For those who don’t know, the Education Council is responsible for policies including student evalua- tions, academic standings and curriculum content. These are all things directly impacting current Langara students. So why do a large majority of students fail to vote in elections? There are four student positions in the council compared to 10 faculty positions, and this imbalance of student represen- tatives contrib- utes to voter apathy. If the numbers were a little more even, say eight faculty members to six students, the students would feel better represented, more involved and more likely to vote. Langara needs to do a better job of making its students aware of issues that impact them. Other than the odd email, it’s difficult to find any information on such events. Another reason students don’t care about voting is because many people consider Langara a stepping- stone to a more glamorous post- secondary institution like SFU or UBC. This attitude has a negative effect on everyone involved. Even if students know they won’t be at Langara for a long time, they should still want to leave the school in the best possible position. Although decisions made by the Education Council may not directly impact them in the future, because they are important to the school and the next wave of students, these elections should be regarded as significant. p> OPINION JESSE ADAMSON = ae r GAME ON Cackeon By: BRALW Horstead PATRICK Colutn Bullying issue finally addressed topic that was taken as seriously as it is now. From my experience growing up, young girls were told that if a boy picks on you it means he likes you, or, as I was always told, “boys will be boys.” Kids normally wouldn’t do anything about the school bully who tormented them during recess or took their lunch money. Over the years, no one has done much to put a stop to it. Bullying remains one of the main reasons for teen suicide and depression in children. Finally, bullying is being taken more seriously. Boxer Evander Holyfield is here in Vancouver to teach kids about the tragedies that can result from bullying and how they can be prevented in the future. During my time at elementary school up until my early years at high school, I was picked on for being different. I was a skinny girl who wore nerdy glasses. I was not considered cool. I hated being so small, and I got T: years ago, bullying wasn’t a made fun of by other kids. I was constantly uncomfortable in my own skin, and wished to be like the other girls who were considered normal. After I grew out of my awkward stage, I noticed I was treated a lot better. I was one of the lucky ones. For some, the bullying never stops. The suicide of Amanda Todd, a B.C. teen who was bullied relent- lessly, left thousands of people horrified. Todd’s death was areal eye-opener to the seriousness of bullying. Her self-harm was a cry for help that was wasn’t heard by anyone until it was too late. That is why Holyfield is here. He is teaming up with Franco Kickboxing Pankration Mixed Martial Arts to speak at a fundraiser for the Amanda Todd Foundation in Vancouver. OPINION SERA AKDOGAN Believe it or not, Holyfield was also bullied as a child, and he’s here to warn kids about the consequenc- es of bullying and what to do when it does happen. This is a great thing to finally happen in our city, and I hope it helps kids take a stand against bullying and put a stop to it once and for all. We want to hear from you Did we get a fact wrong? Tell us. Got a different point of view? Write to us. Problems with something we've said? Let us know. Journalism instructor Nicholas Read oversees The Voice. Email him at nread@langara.be.ca The Voice is published by Langara College's journalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. All letters must be signed. They may be edited for brevity. Names may be withheld in special cases, but your letter must include your name and phone number. HOW TO REACH US PHONE 604-323-5396 FAX 604-323-5398 E-MAIL thevoice@langara.be.ca DROP-IN Room A226 Langara College There is a mailbox at the entrance to the journalism rooms. SNAIL MAIL The Voice 100 West 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. VSY 226 WEBSITE wwwilangaravoice.com EDITORIAL STAFF THIS ISSUE: MANAGING EDITOR/ PAGE 6 Gillian Hames PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Ryan Banagan PAGE 2 Judy Chem PAGE 3 Steven Chua PAGE 4 Katja de Bock PAGE 5 Annie Ellison PAGE 7 Kevin Hampson PAGE 8 Tanya Hill WEB EDITORS Sam Reynolds Brandon Kostinuk Simone Pfeiffer REPORTERS Richard Hodges Michael Letendre Bronwyn Scott Jesse Adamson Sera Akdogan Brenna Brooks Ben Bulmer Deanna Cheng Patrick Colvin Jesica Cunningham Marie-Andree Del Cid Puneet Dhami Garin Fahlman Kristen Harpula Angela Holubowich Brian Horstead Kayla lsomura Warren Jané Jacqueline Langen Hailey McDonald James McLaughlin Kelci Nicodemus Niall Shannon Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice