Lisa Moss roamed the halls of Meatstock with a butter keychain dangling off her bag and a pin on her jean jacket that read: \u201cI <3 steak.\u201d She carried a bag of air-dried steak with her, just in case she needed a snack.<\/p>\n
Ms. Moss, 57, and her husband, Phil Moss, had flown from Alberta, Canada, to Meatstock, the three-day carnivore convention in Gatlinburg, Tenn. They were among more than 1,400 attendees who came to see their superstars \u2014 influencers who went by handles like \u201cSteak and Butter Gal\u201d and \u201c2 Krazy Ketos\u201d \u2014 and to meet other like-minded people who follow a carnivore <\/strong>diet of primarily or solely animal products, often forgoing fruits and vegetables entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had people say that to me \u2014 \u2018Don\u2019t you want to just be normal?\u2019\u201d Serena Musick, a carnivore influencer, said during a panel on carnivore cooking tips.\u201cIf being normal means that you can\u2019t exercise, and being normal means you can\u2019t stand up without your knees or back hurting, then I don\u2019t want to be normal,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Talking to one another over brisket dipped in butter and cups of raw milk, they shared what they called their \u201ctestimonies,\u201d describing how they believed the diet had healed a wide array of ailments, including arthritis, mental illness and diabetes. One attendee carried a pair of jean shorts that were nearly twice as wide as his waist, to show off the weight he\u2019d lost since \u201cgoing carnivore.\u201d<\/p>\n Most doctors would disagree with the attendees\u2019 enthusiastic claims about the diet\u2019s benefits. They have urged people to eat less red meat, warning that consuming too much raises cholesterol and increases the risk for heart disease. And they have stressed that fruits and vegetables are essential to prevent chronic illnesses. <\/p>\n Those perspectives are of little interest to many at Meatstock. After shunning traditional diet advice, they have gone on to lose faith in conventional medicine and health guidance more broadly. It\u2019s not just a diet, they said \u2014 it\u2019s a mind-set.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s rethinking, relearning what we\u2019ve all been taught,\u201d said Ms. Moss, who adopted the carnivore diet seven years ago and wore a hat bearing the word \u201cTinfoil.\u201d<\/p>\n Followers of the carnivore diet remain a niche community, but their worldview is gaining more legitimacy. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has said he follows a carnivore diet, which he has claimed could eliminate dangerous body fat<\/a>. When Mr. Kennedy unveiled a new food pyramid<\/a> this year, steak earned a top spot. Several of his prominent allies spoke at the convention, including Calley Means<\/a>, his close adviser; Zen Honeycutt, founder of the advocacy group Moms Across America; Vani Hari, a food activist known as \u201cThe Food Babe\u201d<\/a>; and Alex Clark, the host of a popular wellness podcast.<\/p>\n While many of the attendees said they weren\u2019t particularly interested in politics, their statements often echoed the rhetoric of Mr. Kennedy\u2019s \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d movement. They were eager to trade prescription drugs for added helpings of beef and painted mainstream medicine as trying to profit off patients.<\/p>\n