This Guy's Eaten Nothing but Raw Meat for Five Years | VICE | Australia / NZ
Meet Derek Nance. Five years ago, Derek had some mystery illness that
killed his appetite and made him puke up everything he ate. The doctors
suspected it was an allergy thing, so Derek changed his diet. First he
cut the wheat and dairy, but he still continued losing weight. Getting
desperate, he was soon online, chatting to people pushing all manner of
lifesaving diets. Derek tried a Mediterranean diet (fish and vegetables)
before ditching the fish and eventually becoming a vegan, but nothing
worked. Finally, a guy who’d had similar symptoms recommended a
carnivorous version of the Paleolithic diet. With nothing to lose, Derek
gave raw meat a try. That was five years ago and he now goes so far as
to brush his teeth with animal fat. For reasons I don’t properly
understand I wanted to watch Derek eat a meal and he obliged. I found
him with his girlfriend, Joanne, in Lexington, Kentucky, and we talked
about vital organs, rotten meat, and health, which is the main point of
this according to Derek. He’s never been healthier.
killed his appetite and made him puke up everything he ate. The doctors
suspected it was an allergy thing, so Derek changed his diet. First he
cut the wheat and dairy, but he still continued losing weight. Getting
desperate, he was soon online, chatting to people pushing all manner of
lifesaving diets. Derek tried a Mediterranean diet (fish and vegetables)
before ditching the fish and eventually becoming a vegan, but nothing
worked. Finally, a guy who’d had similar symptoms recommended a
carnivorous version of the Paleolithic diet. With nothing to lose, Derek
gave raw meat a try. That was five years ago and he now goes so far as
to brush his teeth with animal fat. For reasons I don’t properly
understand I wanted to watch Derek eat a meal and he obliged. I found
him with his girlfriend, Joanne, in Lexington, Kentucky, and we talked
about vital organs, rotten meat, and health, which is the main point of
this according to Derek. He’s never been healthier.
VICE: Hi, Derek. Can you tell me more about this diet? Whose idea was this?
Derek: So it was started by a dentist named Weston
Price who in the 1930s studied the health benefits of eating more raw
foods, including meats. He studied the Native Americans and a few of
them who lived on a guts-and-grease diet. He found people in primitive
communities were much healthier than we are today, and I thought, All right, I’ll give it a try.
Price who in the 1930s studied the health benefits of eating more raw
foods, including meats. He studied the Native Americans and a few of
them who lived on a guts-and-grease diet. He found people in primitive
communities were much healthier than we are today, and I thought, All right, I’ll give it a try.
Was there any deliberation?
Not really because I’d been sick for such a long time that I was
willing to give anything a try. I had a couple of goats in my yard that I
was using for milk, and, you know, I was tired of milking them, so I
slaughtered them. I ate both of those goats, all raw, and just switched
over like that.
willing to give anything a try. I had a couple of goats in my yard that I
was using for milk, and, you know, I was tired of milking them, so I
slaughtered them. I ate both of those goats, all raw, and just switched
over like that.
Dear God. Did it make you sick?
No. Maybe what you get at first is a little diarrhea, but that’s just
your digestive system adapting. After the first week, I felt absolutely
great, and I never went back.
your digestive system adapting. After the first week, I felt absolutely
great, and I never went back.
Derek’s dinner. Chunks of lamb and fat.
And you’ve eaten nothing else since?
Yeah, for nearly six years. I’m into lamb, mainly. It’s just easy to go
out to farms, barter over a decent price, slaughter it, and throw it in
the truck. It’s a lot harder to deal with beef because it’s a lot
bigger. Pigs are kind of a no-no because they shoot them full of
hormones and raise them on grains, which promote bacterial growth.
out to farms, barter over a decent price, slaughter it, and throw it in
the truck. It’s a lot harder to deal with beef because it’s a lot
bigger. Pigs are kind of a no-no because they shoot them full of
hormones and raise them on grains, which promote bacterial growth.
How do you avoid scurvy?
The organ meat of the animal actually contains vitamin C. And the thing
about vitamin C is that you need more of it in a high-carbohydrate
diet, but if you’re eating carnivorously, there’s enough in the animal
flesh. So I just eat the organ meat and the connective tissue and
everything else.
about vitamin C is that you need more of it in a high-carbohydrate
diet, but if you’re eating carnivorously, there’s enough in the animal
flesh. So I just eat the organ meat and the connective tissue and
everything else.
Derek’s hit of vitamin C. A jar of sheep organs and clotted blood.
What happens if you go to a friend’s house for dinner?
If I go to a friend’s house, most people will allow me to bring a little bit of my own food. Same with if I go out for dinner.
But don’t you get sick of eating the same thing all the time?
No. There’s something that happens during the adaption process. About
three weeks in I noticed this real strong blood-like taste in the back
of my throat and then all of a sudden I started getting strong cravings
for it. The idea of cooked meat no longer appeals. It just tastes
burned. And herbs and spices too, I used to season the meat, but
seasonings no longer appeal either.
three weeks in I noticed this real strong blood-like taste in the back
of my throat and then all of a sudden I started getting strong cravings
for it. The idea of cooked meat no longer appeals. It just tastes
burned. And herbs and spices too, I used to season the meat, but
seasonings no longer appeal either.
You also eat rotten meat. Why do you eat rotten meat?
It’s a probiotic. Half of the problem with my digestion was actually
just lack of enzymes. My body just doesn’t produce enough enzymes to
digest starchy foods. So the probiotic bacteria in rotten meat actually
help me to digest the food.
just lack of enzymes. My body just doesn’t produce enough enzymes to
digest starchy foods. So the probiotic bacteria in rotten meat actually
help me to digest the food.
Derek lets chunks of lamb rot in a jar before he eats them.
Have you ever explained your diet to a vegetarian?
Well, my girlfriend is a vegetarian.
Joanne, you’re a vegetarian?
Joanne: Yes. Well, more omnivore with vegan
tendencies. I’ve tried Derek’s diet—we had lamb tenderloins once and
they were delicious, but I’m a vegetarian for compassionate reasons.
tendencies. I’ve tried Derek’s diet—we had lamb tenderloins once and
they were delicious, but I’m a vegetarian for compassionate reasons.
Derek and Joanne.
So you guys talk about your difference in opinion?
Yeah and I understand his reasoning because for him this is his health.
I think I can eat anything and it doesn’t affect me. That’s a big
difference between us.
I think I can eat anything and it doesn’t affect me. That’s a big
difference between us.
And Derek, you’re comfortable personally slaughtering animals?
Well if an animal lives in accordance with its nature, I have no
problem ethically slaughtering that animal. But if you raise that animal
in a pen, and when it’s sick just shoot it up with antibiotics, I have
real problems with that. It’s not just unfair on the animal, it’s unfair
on the people who eat it.
problem ethically slaughtering that animal. But if you raise that animal
in a pen, and when it’s sick just shoot it up with antibiotics, I have
real problems with that. It’s not just unfair on the animal, it’s unfair
on the people who eat it.
Your fridge looks like it belongs to Satan. What are we looking at here?
It’s a Shetland sheep. It’s got a very mild, sweet flavor. I crack open
the skull and eat the brain. It’s kind of a delicacy, so I’ll wait
until the weekend to get into it.
the skull and eat the brain. It’s kind of a delicacy, so I’ll wait
until the weekend to get into it.
What’s the worst thing about this diet?
Being an outcast. My family thinks I’ve lost it. They literally think
I’m off-the-deep-end insane and I don’t know why. Eating raw meat is
just something they can’t accept. My father has a master's in biology
and tells me that if I eat raw meat, I’ll get some sort of pathogen.
I’m off-the-deep-end insane and I don’t know why. Eating raw meat is
just something they can’t accept. My father has a master's in biology
and tells me that if I eat raw meat, I’ll get some sort of pathogen.
Joanne: Yeah, that’s weird. I’m not even allowed to
mention Derrick’s diet around them. They say, “That’s wrong! He’ll die,”
and they just get really emotional about it.
mention Derrick’s diet around them. They say, “That’s wrong! He’ll die,”
and they just get really emotional about it.
Will you ever stop this diet?
No, not by choice. If they haul me away, kicking and screaming, then maybe.
And you’ve recently become a butcher. Can you tell me about that?
Well, I was going out to farms for years slaughtering my own animals
and one of the guys at these farms needed some help so I offered. Now
I’m learning the trade from the ground up and I get lots of scraps to
snack on. Before I was an electrician, but I’ll do anything. Joanne runs
a vegan juice bar so sometimes I’ll help out there. That’s just life.
and one of the guys at these farms needed some help so I offered. Now
I’m learning the trade from the ground up and I get lots of scraps to
snack on. Before I was an electrician, but I’ll do anything. Joanne runs
a vegan juice bar so sometimes I’ll help out there. That’s just life.
Follow Julian on Twitter: @MorgansJulian
