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Editorial, Opinion

Sharing Milton-Parc

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Moving away from home, university students experience their first taste of personal freedom. However, having the power to do what they want does not excuse students being disrespectful to others. A drunken fight on Oct. 4 between two students in the Milton-Parc area resulted in $500 in damages to a family’s only car. This incident brought McGill students under fire once again for showing a lack of consideration for their neighbours and shared spaces. Students and organizations at McGill must hold themselves accountable when living and partying in the Milton-Parc neighbourhood and maintain a higher standard of respect for their neighbours.

Milton-Parc has been a student neighbourhood for several decades. Since the 1960s, students have become a significant portion of the area’s residents, leading to corporate gentrification, which sparked increasingly unaffordable rent costs and the replacement of historic homes with fraternity houses and condos. This influx of McGill students shifted the atmosphere of the neighborhood, some residents would say for the worse. Complaints by non-students highlight the sense of entitlement and disrespect by students and organizations toward their neighbours. Residents’ grievances have ranged from students being disruptive into the early morning hours, to excessive littering, and inconsiderate acts like urinating on residents’ property.

Party culture in the area seems to be the root of many disruptions. With several fraternities calling the neighbourhood home, drinking events are an ever-present reality. Moreover, faculty-and student-run events like Frosh, Hype Week, Faculty Olympics and apartment crawls, which often take place in or around the Milton-Parc area, lead to hordes of drunken students wandering the streets, which can result in accidental or reckless damage to others’ property. Party culture also contributes to excessive amounts of littered bottles, cans, and cigarette butts on sidewalks and lawns.

“Students and organizations at McGill must hold themselves accountable when living and partying in the Milton-Parc neighbourhood and maintain a higher standard of respect for their neighbours.”

Event organizers have taken steps to address the issues that arise from drinking events. For example, faculties dispatch Street Teams during Frosh week to manage intoxicated students as they pass through the neighbourhood. The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) also tries to control apartment crawls by requiring hosts to have  liquor licenses and complete server training. However, rather than mitigating disruptions to the community, this restriction merely limits the number of clubs willing to go through the process required to host a crawl by SSMU’s rules.

It is incumbent on student organizations to hold themselves accountable during parties. If a club has a history of damaging private or public property, failing to make changes to their rules or practices is negligent. Some ways student organizations could be more courteous to Milton-Parc residents are by putting more effort into planning crowd control procedures and having stricter consequences if partygoers fail to respect neighbours at drinking events.

It also falls on student organizations to find ways to encourage proper waste-disposal, or at the very least have thorough cleanups after events. A portion of entry or participation fees for larger events like hype week should be reserved for fixing damages and ensuring public spaces are tidied after events.

SSMU should also take steps to address the issue. Incorporating tips on how to be respectful of neighbours and others’ property into server training would give hosts the skills to have more respectful parties. Moreover, SSMU must be stricter when holding clubs accountable. If certain clubs or faculties repeatedly cause serious damage and disruption, SSMU should levy consequences, including revoking alcohol privileges.

Students who do not take part in organized drinking events can still find ways to be better neighbours. In the past, some McGill courses in the Quebec Studies department make students volunteer in Montreal. These types of community engagement projects help students connect with their neighbours and be better citizens.

Simple things like joining a clean-up, finding out when garbage day is to avoid unnecessary trash on the sidewalks, or just saying ‘hi’ to a neighbour can make students better community members. On moving day, students should make use of services like Trash2Treasure to get rid of unwanted furniture in a sustainable way. When hosting a party, students can use online networks like Nextdoor.ca or leave a note in next-door mailboxes to let neighbours know their plans and invite them to share their feedback. Simple acts go a long way in making others feel respected and heard in their communities.

McGill students will continue to cohabitate with others in Milton-Parc. As part of the broader Montreal community, SSMU and McGill’s student organizations have a responsibility to control and mitigate the damages caused to the Milton-Parc community during McGill drinking events. Moreover, beyond McGill-organized events, student tenants should make an effort to engage with their community and be better Milton-Parc neighbours.

For those who are interested in donating, the GoFundMe to help cover the car damages sustained by the Milton-Parc family is still active.

Creative

Know Your Athlete: Isaiah Cree

by Alex Hinton and Zoe Lubetkin on

More in Creative:

Our staff producers visited U0 Lacrosse player Isaiah Cree on the field and talked about growing up on the Akwesasne reservation in New York, Lacrosse’s cultural importance, and his Lacrosse-life balance.

Video by Alex Hinton and Zoe Lubetkin.

McGill, News

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer gives lecture on Gorbachev

by Pascal Hogue on

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Pulitzer Prize-winning author and renowned political science professor at Amherst College Bill Taubman gave a lecture on the life of Soviet Union (USSR) leader Mikhail Gorbachev to a packed audience of McGill students and professors on Nov. 1. Drawing from his 2017 biography, Taubman presented the head of state as an idealistic, but flawed leader and suggested that his personal character was instrumental in explaining the successes and failures of the Soviet Union in its final years.

Taubman’s lecture, “The Rise and Fall of Mikhail Gorbachev—And Some Lessons for the Putin Era” was organized by the Research Group on Transitions and Global Modernities in collaboration with the Russian Studies Department at McGill.

In his introductory remarks, Taubman acknowledged that Gorbachev has had a contentious legacy, lauded abroad for his instrumental role in ending the Cold War, but fiercely criticized at home for his role in the economic collapse and dissolution of the USSR. For these reasons, Taubman said Gorbachev was a ‘tragic hero.’

“He was a hero because he laid the basis for democracy [in the USSR], conducted the first free […] elections to create the first functioning parliament, [and] ended the Cold War more than anybody else, [reducing] the threat of a nuclear holocaust,” Taubman said. “Why tragic? […] He wanted to save the Soviet Union and its new democratic form, but it collapsed, and in the process the economy crumbled, creating a […] disaster for many Soviet people.”

During his lecture, Taubman tied Gorbachev’s personal character to the successes and failures of the Soviet Union. Taubman contrasted Gorbachev’s idealistic reforms to the USSR’s staunchly inflexible governing body, the Politburo, and to a nation wary of change. He suggested that the Soviet leader’s hubris might have been the main cause of his undoing.

“How could he have thought that a country that had never known democracy for centuries could be democratized in a few short years?” Taubman said. “He was optimistic, extraordinarily so, probably excessively so. He was confident—too much so it appears in retrospect.”

For Henry Atkins, a Master’s student in political science, Taubman’s focus on Gorbachev as a person was nuanced and differed from most contemporary approaches to history, which prioritize long-term trends over the actions of important individuals.

“[It was] certainly a more sympathetic view of Gorbachev than I’m used to as a political science student,” Atkins said. “[He gave] a very agential view of history, the idea that what the person in charge does matters, [which is] not something I’m used to in [mainstream] political science models.”

However, for Sheena Li, an undergraduate student in pharmacology, the lecturer’s greater focus on character rather than on context made the topic accessible and informative.

“Since [it was] a lot about [Gorbachev’s] personality, [it was] easy for someone who doesn’t really know about [his] background to understand,” Li said.

In his concluding remarks, Taubman noted the rise of authoritarianism in Russia in recent years and his diminishing hopes for a democratic Russia. Having interviewed Gorbachev eight times for his biography, Taubman said that the former leader has had moments of optimism for his country, but that most of the time, Gorbachev has been more realistic.

“It may take the whole 21st century for Russia to find its way to democracy,” Gorbachev once told Taubman.

Features

Climate justice is racial justice

by Abeer Almahdi on

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“The future is hotter than my imaginary boyfriend.”

“Clean up: It’s our future, not uranus.”

“Why go to school if we don’t have a future?”

The clever and creative signs featured at the Montreal Climate Strike focussed on protecting ‘our future.’ Even the #FridaysForFuture movement, started by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, is about striking now to survive later. This rhetoric, however, can be alienating, especially for Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour (BIPOC). For many individuals, the present day is hotter than any ‘imaginary boyfriend.’ For example: My family lives in Kuwait where it has already reached dangerous temperatures. This summer, the country reached 52.2 degrees Celsius, and 63 degrees Celsius under direct sunlight. Kuwait is one of the hottest places on Earth, and temperatures are only continuing to rise. In this way, many BIPOC are striking for today, not tomorrow.

Editorial, Opinion

The time for Indigenous allyship is now

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Last week, in our Oct. 29 issue, The McGill Tribune published an open letter written by Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Indigenous Affairs Commissioner Tomas Jirousek. In the letter, Jirousek explains the events that  led him and other Indigenous student leaders to ask for the resignation of SSMU Vice-President (VP) Internal, Sanchi Bhalla. In addition, Jirousek’s letter describes the institutional failures of SSMU to provide adequate allyship to Indigenous students. The letter closes by outlining a three-step plan for increasing the autonomy, support, and mobility Indigenous students have when advocating for themselves on campus. The steps include increased fiscal autonomy, giving the Indigenous Affairs Commissioner role independence from the SSMU executive, and greater resources to facilitate rapid mobilization.   Following the letter’s release, Jirousek posted screenshots of hateful comments he had received in response to his activism in a Facebook post on Oct. 31. Some of the comments were from a recent r/mcgill Reddit post made in reference to Jirousek’s most recent open letter. Without exception, the comments present in Jirousek’s post are staunch examples of targeted racism and invalidate the work he has done as an Indigenous activist. In light of such comments, both SSMU and the McGill student body are falling short of their professional and moral obligations to support and provide allyship to Indigenous students on campus, especially Jirousek. 

The Tribune condemns the comments and responses shown in Jirousek’s Facebook post, as well as the hateful sentiments that they stem from. Further, the Tribune fully endorses the points and messages communicated by Jirousek in his most recent open letter. It is disappointing that following both the publication of Jirousek’s open letter and his Facebook post showing the racist rhetoric he continues to endure—including comments calling him aggressive and accusing him of having a ‘victimhood mentality’—SSMU has refrained from making any kind of official statement in response. While VP University Affairs Madeline Wilson has made a Facebook post on the SSMU University Affairs page supporting Jirousek, this is far from constituting an official response made by the entirety of SSMU.

“The McGill Tribune condemns the comments and responses shown in Jirousek’s Facebook post, as well as the hateful sentiments that they stem from. Further, the Tribune fully endorses the points and messages communicated by Jirousek in his most recent open letter.”

The initial call by Indigenous student leaders for Bhalla’s resignation is a complex situation, and the SSMU executive should take their time in deciding how to proceed further. However, a statement of support and solidarity for Jirousek and Indigenous students as a whole does not require that SSMU resolve the bureaucratic tangle involving VP Bhalla. A statement saying that SSMU have read, recognized, and are considering the propositions that Jirousek made in his open letter would also be beneficial. SSMU’s institutional silence on this issue is deafening and the message it sends about the priorities of the current executive body is disheartening.  

McGill’s student body also has responsibilities when it comes to providing allyship to Indigenous students. Allyship incorporates many different behaviors and practices, but its purpose as a whole must be focused on more than mere marginal changes for Indigenous students. One of Jirousek’s calls-to-action in his open letter was to provide full financial autonomy for Indigenous students advocating for themselves, instead of a fee through SSMU. The Motion Regarding Creation of Indigenous Equity Fund and Fee was submitted on Sept. 26, and will be put to a student vote from Nov. 12-15. The Tribune strongly encourages students to vote ‘yes’ to the fee. 

It is also incumbent upon everyone in the McGill community to call out the type of language directed at Jirousek for what it is: Racist and unacceptable. If students feel uncomfortable engaging with toxic individuals online, there are less direct methods of countering hate speech such as deplatforming users, reporting them, and flagging hateful comments. While online vigilance is necessary, Indigenous-focused allyship includes much more than intolerance to internet hate speech. 

McGill University is built upon land that was stolen from the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations by European colonizers. Allyship with Indigenous students is crucial; this involves educating oneself about the history of land which we currently inhabit, recognizing the genocidal practices and human rights violations that built up areas like Montreal, and understanding the ways in which this history systematically manifests itself in the present day.  However, the responsibility to educate does not lay with Indigenous student leaders or activists. Rather, it is the responsibility of those in positions of privilege to educate themselves. 

If students are able to help amplify the voices of marginalized groups and recognize the ways in which their own privilege functions on an everyday basis, this will foster better allyship for Indigenous students. This means participating in Indigenous-led protests, calling out your peers if they say something insensitive, and likely, recognizing aspects of one’s own lived experience which may be uncomfortable, including privilege and benefits one receives as a result of Indigenous oppression. Being a good ally is not necessarily easy, but it is absolutely vital. The Tribune also urges the SSMU executive to use this experience as an opportunity for learning and growth, and to use their position of power to help create meaningful change for Indigenous students.

competitive ice dance
Sports, Winter Sports

In Conversation with Tedy Markova

by Shaun Lalani on

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Tedy Markova, U3 Psychology, is not one to back away from fear. As the 21-year-old Bulgarian figure-skater hangs up her skates on a successful international career, she recalls her journey and the lessons she has learned along the way.

“When you have to go out on the ice, all by yourself, especially at the big competitions where there are a lot of people, that’s scary,” Markova said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “It’s just me on the ice, and they’re all judging me. It’s frightening, yes, but it also gives you this weird thrill, this rush.”

That rush, an endless tango of fear and courage, became a theme throughout her life, from the time she first stepped on to the ice to her final competitive appearance at the 2019 European Figure Skating Championship in Minsk, Belarus. The 14-year-long journey earned her the nickname “The Bulgarian Swan”; however, like most great sports stories, this one’s beginnings were humble. 

Markova’s love of the ice started when she was just five-years-old, during a visit to the skating rink in her hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria. 

“I remember when I started, I would spend most of my time on my butt, just rolling around on the ice [with] people yelling at me to get out of the way,” Markova said. “But, when I started to finally stand upright, it was just so satisfying.” 

While Markova experienced falls and tumbles in those early days, she was quick to appreciate the people who were around her to pick her up. Her mother, in particular, played a key role in the beginning of her skating career. 

“Whenever I got off the ice and went, ‘I’m never coming back!’ [my mother] was the one telling me, ‘Tedy, pull yourself together, this is important to you, you got this,’” Markova said. “She taught me to go after my ambitions.”   

Relocating to Montreal in 2017 was a big step for Markova. In addition to adapting to a new country and culture, she also had to balance the workload of being a university student and a professional athlete. But, with the added burden came new opportunities: A chance to learn and train with the very best in the sport. 

“You have [in] Saint-Henri, one of the best ice dance schools in the world,” Markova said “It’s crazy, the Olympic champions, the World champions, they trained here. I loved Tessa [Virtue] and Scott [Moir] growing up. And sometimes [Moir] would come give us lessons. It was cool because these professionals were all so dedicated, and it was inspiring [because…] they were also humans like us.” 

The training would pay off as Markova went on to compete in competitions across the globe. But, it was at the 2019 European Championships where, unbeknownst to her team, Markova would be skating competitively for the last time. 

“I had been thinking about stopping for a while, so […] I knew this would probably be my last competition,” Markova said. “I didn’t want to tell anybody because it would discourage them, but I think [they] knew. It was really emotional, but honestly, I think it was for the [best]. It’s a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of effort I could put somewhere else. Of course, I’d been doing this for many years, but I had already come to terms with my decision.” 

Life after skating has been just as hectic, but Markova remains a model student. In addition to having executive roles in clubs like the McGill Students’ SocieTea, she’s maintained a keen interest in research and works in a lab studying the physiological mechanisms of pain. Yet, her relationship with figure-skating is by no means over.  

“I [want] to pursue a career in neuroscience, […] but someday […], I would like to coach and work with young children,” Markova said. “Maybe I can inspire them to like the sport as much as I [do].” 

Martlets, Sports, Volleyball

Vert et Or defeat Martlets with strong offence

by Zoe Babad-Palmer on

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The McGill Martlets’ (2–4) volleyball game against the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or (2–3) on Nov. 1 did not go as planned. The Martlets, ranked eighth in U SPORTS’s national ranking for the week of Oct. 22, fell in five sets, 2–3.

The beginning of the first set was not as clean as McGill would have liked. Sherbrooke scored the first five points of the set, and McGill’s repeated miscommunication made it difficult to close the early deficit, resulting in a score of 13–25 for the visitors. Before the second set, the team regrouped to discuss how to avoid further struggles.

“The only thing [Head Coach Rachèle Béliveau] said was ‘Game plan,’ because we weren’t playing [our] game plan,” second-year libero Catherine Vercheval said. “We were just doing whatever.”

The Martlets took their coach’s words to heart for the second set, using strong blocking to force Sherbrooke to commit attack errors while showcasing their own powerful kills. They began to build momentum, winning the set 25–15. Cohesion and teamwork pushed McGill past Sherbrooke in the third set as well, building their lead. The Martlets played a physical game, diving for digs, and refusing to back down on blocks. The set ended 25–18, putting McGill up 2–1.

“In the last games, we’ve been playing individually,” Vercheval said. “We just wanted to stay together, fight, and I think we did that.”

Unfortunately, despite their solid play in the previous two sets, McGill began to deflate in the fourth set, committing five attack errors and two bad sets. Sherbrooke also momentarily appeared to be losing momentum though, allowing clearly-aimed kills and putting up weak blocks. The play was close, but ultimately the Vert et Or took the set 21–25.

Fourth-year power hitter Claire Vercheval felt that after the Martlets lost the fourth set, their energy began to wane.

“When we lose, it’s hard to keep the energy up,” Claire Vercheval said. “We try to look at each other’s eyes and stay focused.”

The last set was hard-fought on both sides. The teams dove to every corner of the court, executing desperate moves to keep the ball in play. Finally, amid chants of “Let’s go Martlets!” Sherbrooke scored four points to take the set 15–10 and end the game 3–2 in their favour.

McGill’s technical skill was evident: The players were determined and precise for most of the game. However, errors and miscommunication cost them crucial points. Béliveau hopes that as the season goes on, they will be able to work together better.

“[We need to] decrease the number of mistakes we’re [making], unforced mistakes, mistakes between two players,” Béliveau said. “Once this is more stable and everybody knows their role, I think we’ll be coming up better.”

The Martlets proved that they are still Top 10 form on Nov. 3 when they beat the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. They will face Ottawa again on Nov. 8.

 

Moment of the game

Fourth-year right-side hitter Rowan Fletcher’s kill to win the second set was made possible by a full team effort: Fourth-year libero Léa-Marie Duguay threw herself on the ground to keep the play alive and, after some back-and-forth with Sherbrooke, several players executed perfect passes to set up the winning play.

Quotable

“I feel like if we’re all on the same page, that’s when everything works together, so everybody needs to have the same fire, the same energy, the same competitiveness.” – Fourth-year power hitter Claire Vercheval on how the team plans to improve for the next game.

Stat corner

Even in the loss, McGill’s defence managed to outshine their opponents’: 12 blocks to Sherbrooke’s four and 56 digs to Sherbrooke’s 44.

Science & Technology

Energies of the future

by Sophia Gorbounov on

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With the current climate and energy crisis, many renewable forms of energy have been proposed and implemented, but they have yet to be realized on a scale that challenges the fossil fuel industry. While each source of renewable energy has its respective drawbacks, it remains the future for energy production. 

Renewable energy, such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass energy production, is energy that can be regenerated at a faster rate than it is consumed. In contrast, non-renewable energy cannot be reused and will not regenerate for a very long time. This includes fossil fuel energy production, which also accounts for heavy greenhouse gas emissions. 

In Canada, 17.3 per cent of energy comes from renewable sources, compared to the world average of 13.4 per cent. 67.1 per cent of Canada’s renewable energy comes from hydro, making the country the second-largest producer of hydroelectric energy in the world. In Quebec, 97 per cent of energy is hydroelectric. Still, hydroelectric dams and their construction can have negative effects on both people and the environment. The Three Gorges Dam, for example, displaced an estimated 1.2 million people and flooded hundreds of villages, and hydroelectric plants in general disrupt plant life and restrict fish migration.

Wind energy accounts for around two – five per cent of Canada’s renewable energy production. Key concerns associated with wind energy include sound pollution, aesthetic issues, wildlife disruption, and the inconsistency of strong winds in many places. However, there have been no conclusive studies that suggest that the low-frequency sounds produced by wind turbines actually correlate to hearing impairment, as some claim. Furthermore, wildlife disruption is minimal compared to hydroelectric dams or the long-term effects of fossil fuel emissions. 

In Canada, wind turbines could be the future of energy and electricity production. They are cheap to produce and maintain and are a perfect match for Canada’s cold winters, which bring strong winds. The only real drawback is the inconsistency of wind, which limits the ability of wind turbines to become 24/7 energy producers. 

Though itself renewable, the materials used in nuclear energy power plants are not renewable, thus making it a controversial form of energy production. Still, nuclear energy is proving to be a very strong contender in the search for renewable energy. It produces zero carbon emissions, and, since it does not rely on fluctuating winds or precipitation as with turbines and dams, it provides energy around-the-clock. Among other benefits, nuclear is also generating jobs, boosting international development by helping countries meet sustainability goals, and powering the next generation of electric vehicles. The major issue with nuclear energy is the risk associated with storing radioactive elements. Nuclear accidents like the Chernobyl Disaster or Fukushima Daiichi Disaster illustrate the need for precautionary measures and good management. 

There are, however, safe ways to store nuclear waste. Scientists believe that the safest way is storing it deep underground in geological repositories, rock formations hundreds of metres below the surface of the earth. Yucca Mountain in California is a proposed site for storing nuclear waste, as very few people live near it. In addition, it is located in a dry climate, so water will not percolate through the repository and further contaminate the waste. New methods of storage must come fast, however, as current storage in large pools of water at nuclear power plants carries huge risks since neutron-absorbing materials in these pools degrade over time, reducing their ability to control radioactivity.

There is no perfect source of energy. However, in terms of cost efficiency, long-term environmental benefit, and reliability, some methods are definitely better than others. If maintained properly, and with advances in nuclear disposal and storage, nuclear energy is a good option. All renewable energy forms, however, offer benefits that can be optimized in certain locations. With a wide range of renewable energy forms in place, the transition to clean energy can be achieved globally as we adapt to climate change.

From the BrainSTEM, Science & Technology

When healthy eating becomes unhealthy

by Gwenyth Wren on

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As people strive to achieve the ideal body type, improve cognitive function, or enhance athletic performance, they often turn to food choice as their mechanism for change. People put into their bodies what they can expect to get out of it; therefore, it makes sense to eat ‘healthy,’ nutrient-dense foods when trying to stick to a healthier lifestyle. But at a certain point, this desire to only give the body whole foods and restrict things devoid of nutritional value because they are not ‘clean’ can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Despite the fact that clean eating is centred around ingesting ‘whole’ and ‘unprocessed’ foods and is marketed as the hallmark of a healthy lifestyle, in practice, it ascribes a moral value to food.

On social media, food bloggers, celebrities, and lifestyle gurus share that drinking celery juice every morning changed their life, or that cutting out gluten and dairy gave them their perfect body and mental clarity. To achieve such results, influencers suggest that their followers adopt the same rituals; however, many influencers are simply not qualified to make these suggestions. Moreover, the sample size to support their claims is often one person. 

While gluten and dairy-free diets are extremely important to people who cannot physically process these foods, applying such limitations broadly to everyone’s diet might lead to detrimental physical and mental health effects. In reality, cutting out food groups deemed ‘bad and unhealthy’ can mean missing  out on macro and micronutrients, impairing good physical health. What starts out as a simple choice to restrict certain types of food can lead to anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders with a host of negative physical implications such as fatigue, dizziness, low energy, missed periods, and anemia.

In addition to physical effects, restricting the foods that one eats can influence mental health. Having an unhealthy relationship with food can become all-consuming and crippling. Following a certain diet because it makes one happy and is in line with the way they want to live their lives is a healthy mentality, but problems arise if this diet causes stress. In severe cases, orthorexia, the obsessive behaviour to eat healthily, can develop. Orthorexia is different from other eating disorders in that people meet their caloric needs but limit the exact foods that they eat. 

Beyond providing energy for people to maintain active lives, food is important both culturally and socially. Cutting out processed foods and treats might mean saying no to dinners with friends and feeling anxious about events that involve ‘bad foods.’ Labelling foods such as quinoa, kale, and chia seeds as ‘good’ implies that other foods are bad or impure. This gives way to an all-or-nothing mentality in maintaining a healthy diet and to a feeling of failure when this rigid and restrictive diet regime is not fully achieved.

Many clean-eating proponents do not include any added sugar in their diets and demonize white sugar. Yet, their recipes are full of honey and maple syrup, which are forms of sugar and are used by the body in exactly the same way. The body cannot differentiate between coconut sugar that is 10 times the cost of white sugar. Supporters of clean-eating also promote fads such as being gluten-free or dairy-free, which have no credible backing in scientific literature. 

Of course, people should aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet, but moderation is key. In practicing true healthy eating, everything has its place: Kale and cookies can exist in harmony, although less of the latter than the former. Food should be enjoyable and nourishing, not a cause of stress and anxiety. 

You are not a failure for indulging now and again. Focusing on adhering to a perfect diet takes time and energy away from doing things that make us happy. At the end of the day, we should eat in a way that nourishes our bodies and fuels our lifestyles.

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