US Presidential Candidate Sterling Allan wrote to the Salt Lake Tribune yesterday commenting on the PETA billboard. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not surprised by the letter given past conversations I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve had with him regarding the Word of Wisdom; however, I do have some thoughts on something he said.
[The] University of Utah School of Social Work did a study about 20 years ago concerning cancer rates, and one of the findings was that Utahans are among the highest in the nation in meat consumption.
Firstly, how accurate can a twenty year old study be in portraying today?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s society? Are Utahans still among the highest meat consumers in the United States? Was this only a product of the early 80s?
Secondly, I assume Allan uses this citation to illustrate that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints eat a lot of meat. However, I would be interested to know what the proportion was at that time (and even now) of Utahans who are LDS and those who were not and the consumption of meat for each.
Lastly, did the study give meat consumption as a whole for Utah, or did it give it per capita? Does it suggest Utahans eat lots of meat because they gorge themselves or because they have large families? Did it include only citizens of Utah or all the millions of tourists who visit as well?
Sometimes it bothers me when someone interprets a study, bases an argument on that interpretation, and then expects everyone else to accept it despite the absence of all other facts.
