Just because I’m not part of a niche section of the internet doesn’t mean I don’t still consume its content. My algorithm regularly feeds me videos produced by creators that follow the carnivore diet — a meal plan that only includes animal products. The carnivore diet has been around for at least several decades, but a combination of factors such as transparency through social media and Shawn Baker’s 2019 book The Carnivore Diet — have brought it to the forefront of modern diet culture. And while I would never strip vegetables, sugars, and precious carbs from my lifestyle, I’m still strangely fascinated by these videos. The problem is, so are many others.
Social media has given a platform to, well, everyone, including food subcultures and proponents of niche diets that may otherwise have had little public reach without it. Influencers that follow the carnivore diet or homestead, a self-sufficient way of living that …