Conscious Eating, Okay, But Where (On Earth) Do You Get Your Protein
When I tell people that I'm a vegan, the most popular question, by far, inevitably follows: "But, how do you get enough protein?"
There it is again, I think, the meat industry's most potent weapon against vegetarianism--the protein myth. And it is just that--a myth.
In fact, humans need only 10 percent of the calories we consume to be from protein. Athletes and pregnant women need a little more, but if you're eating enough calories from a varied plant based diet, it's close to impossible to not get enough.
The way Americans obsess about protein, you'd think protein deficiency was the number one health problem in America. Of course it's not--it's not even on the list of the ailments that doctors are worried about in America or any other countries where basic caloric needs are being met.
What is on the list? Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity--diseases of affluence. Diseases linked to eating animal products. According to the American Dietetic Association, which looked at all of the science on vegetarian diets and found not just that they're healthy, but that they "provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."
They continue: "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence... Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."
Dr. Dean Ornish writes of his Eat More, Weigh Less vegetarian diet--the one diet that has passed peer-review for taking weight off and keeping it off for more than 5 years--that in addition to being the one scientifically proven weight loss plan that works long-term, it "may help to prevent a wide variety of other illnesses including breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, colon cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, and so on...."
So when people ask me about protein, I explain that protein is not a problem on a vegan diet, that the real problems that are plaguing us in the West can be addressed in part with a vegetarian diet, and that I get my protein the same way everyone else does--I eat!
Beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, and whole grains are packed with protein. So are all vegetables as a caloric percentage, though they don't have enough calories to sustain most people as a principal source of sustenance. And these protein sources have some excellent benefits that animal protein does not--they contain plenty of fiber and complex carbohydrates, where meat has none. That's right: Meat has no complex carbs at all, and no fiber. Plant proteins are packed with these essential nutrients.
Plus, since plant-based protein sources don't contain cholesterol or high amounts of saturated fat, they are much better for you than meat, eggs, and dairy products.
It is also worth noting the very strong link between animal protein and a few key diseases, including cancer and osteoporosis.
According to Dr. Ornish (this may be the most interesting link in this article, by the way--it's worth reading the entire entry), "high-protein foods, particularly excessive animal protein, dramatically increase the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, and many other illnesses. In the short run, they may also cause kidney problems, loss of calcium in the bones, and an unhealthy metabolic state called ketosis in many people."
The cancer connection is spelled out at length in a fantastic book by Cornell scientist T. Colin Campbell, called The China Study. Basically, there is overwhelming scientific evidence to implicate that animal protein consumption causes cancer.
And just a few quick anecdotal points:
• Olympian Carl Lewis has said that his best year of track competition was the first year that he ate a vegan diet (he is still a strong proponent of vegan diets for athletes).
• Strength trainer Mike Mahler says, "Becoming a vegan had a profound effect on my training. ... [M]y bench press excelled past 315 pounds, and I noticed that I recovered much faster. My body fat also went down, and I put on 10 pounds of lean muscle in a few months."
• Bodybuilder Robert Cheeke advises, "The basics for nutrition are consuming large amounts of fresh green vegetables and a variety of fruits, to load yourself up with vibrant vitamins and minerals."
A few other vegans, all of whom sing the praises of the diet for their athletic performance: Ultimate fighter Mac Danzig, ultramarathoner Scott Jurek, Minnesota Twins pitcher Pat Neshek, Atlanta Hawks Guard Salim Stoudamire, and Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony Gonzalez.
And let's not forget about tennis star Martina Navratilova, six-time Ironman winner Dave Scott, four-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl, or Stan Price, the world-record holder in bench press. They are just a few of the successful vegetarian athletes.
Basically, vegans and vegetarians needn't fret about protein, but many Americans do need to worry about their weight, heart disease, cancer, and other ailments--many of which can be addressed by healthier eating, including a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Vegetarians and vegans get all the nutrients our bodies need from plants, and will thus, according to the science, be more likely to maintain a healthy weight and stave off a variety of ailments, from heart disease to cancer.
For answers to other popular questions about conscious eating, please check out my previous post on the topic here.
Happy eating!
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This article is an argument for the health implications of vegetarian diets vs. flesh based diets. Wouldn't it be best to argue those facts than to try to convince meat eaters that it is immoral to kill animals? It is a moral issue for those of us who don't want to be involved in the killing of animals, but the majority of the comments here seem to be arguments with Timmy Slagle or about the diets and rumored diets of Hitler or philosophe
For the most repulsive beef ads I've ever seen, look at these. Especially the third one down on the left hand side. I saw full page in the new Rolling Stone magazine and if I already didn't buy meat, this might have cured me of that habit. Don't worry, these are gory, just gross looking slabs of meat situated to look like mountains with snow on top, meat slabs as cliffs, canyons, flatlands, on a beach, etc. Whoever dreamed up this advertising campaign must have some bizarre fantasies about hunks of beef.
http://bee
Oop, I meant to say these ads are NOT gory, just gross. Sorry.
Um yummy Steak.
In my best Homer Simpson voice.
While I will agree eating vegetables is good for you I can not agree that solely eating them is good for everyone. There have been numerous testaments to that even here. The problem in this country health wise is not meat (flesh) eating or vegetable eating, but lack of exercise. Most Americans eat too much and exercise too little. An omnivore diet can and is as health as a vegan diet if the right amount of balance between eating and exercise is followed. Just like a vegetarian diet is as health as an omnivore diet if the right precautions are taken, IE getting everything you need by eating certain things.
Morals are based on opinion and if you see it morally wrong to kill animals for food then fine don't; the majority of the world however doesn't see it your way. The problem arises, as it always does, when those morals are forced on others, just like with religion. This is a free country and I have distain for those who try to push their "morals" off on me or anyone else be it the holy rollers, vegans, politicians, omnivores or PETA.
LCRover, you're not referencing my comments, are you? Looks like you hit "reply" to my post instead of writing a new one. We have no disagreement.
I'm not vegan and might eat some meat occasionally, tho rarely. I agree it usually tastes good, but for me it became a problem of cognitive dissonance and I've eventually become 99% non-meat eating.
BTW, vegetarians don't only eat vegetables. There are plenty of different grains, nuts, seeds, meat substitutes with the texture of meat that takes on the flavor of what its cooked in, soups, fiber & protein bars, snacks, juice, chocolate, etc. I eat eggs and cheese.I don't even eat enough fruit & vegetables to meet the "Five servings a day" for health.
I surely wouldn't tell you or anyone else what they should or shouldn't eat.
Did you check out those beef ads? LOL, MEAT PORN!!
Want meat? Try Certified Humane, animals raised on real farms and killed as "humanely" as possible.
http://www
I don't buy meat, but if I did, I'd buy the certified brands and would only buy small amounts, so higher price wouldn't matter.
Kremfresch,
First, your argument that you attribute to consious eaters is nowhere in this piece (or anything else I've seen from the veg side). Second, eating a vegan diet is a lot less expensive than eating a meat-based one. The vegetarian item on every menu is the least expensive, not the most expensive. The suggestion that we eat whole foods would save us a lot of money.
I worked in a homeless shelter and the largest soup kitchen in Washington, D.C., for more than six years, and I can tell you that poor people resonate with these arguments. The only people who I have ever heard saying that this is an elitist argument are at least middle class, and most of them are wealthy. It's quite patronizing to suggest that only the rich can care abou their health, the environment, and animal welfare, it seems to me.
There is some serious circular logic going on in the minds of you "conscious eaters".
You claim that humans should not eat meat because we are no better than animals ourselves, and that makes it immoral. Yet animals eat other animals, and this is seen as natural to vegans. When this is pointed out, the argument is "Well we as humans know better, and the animals don't." So in other words, we shouldn't eat the animals who are our equals, because we are superior to them.
This also does not figure in the pure elitism of the lifestyle. What's the average food budget of an American "conscious eater"? Let's just say for what a "conscious eater" spends on lunch, you could probably feed a poor, ignorant, meat eating family for a day.
Non-sequitur. Perhaps you have personal experiences with vegetarians/vegans espousing the morality of their dietary choice, but the writer doesn't do that here. Please stay on topic or you'll have to eat at the children's table.
"Let's just say for what a "conscious eater" spends on lunch, you could probably feed a poor, ignorant, meat eating family for a day."
I don't know where you live and shop, but meat prices are much higher than vegetable/
I think the issue for a large number of vegans, actually, is the horrific reality of factory farms, rather than any idealized philosophical or moral posturing. I know seeing the reality of what animals endure was the catalyst for me. The truth is that 95% of all meat and dairy in the United States comes from vast industrialized operations whose treatment of the animals is so horrifying that most people prefer to remain utterly ignorant of it, and can't even bear to watch a second of the undercover footage. Yet that is what you're supporting by buying meat and dairy. You should know the truth before you make your choices or disparage other people's. For an introduction, meet your meat at http://www
I am sure it is not pleasant however how pleasant do the PEOPLE who harvest your vegetables have it. If we want to get down to it the illegal immigrants who harvest your food supply are treated a little better than slaves. They are mistreated taken advantage of and ripped off at every turn. Yet that doesn't seem to phase your moral outrage as much as the mistreatment of another animal. The hypocrisy of all of your sides arguments is blatant.
It is not ok to kill this living thing to sustain your life but it is ok to kill this one.
It is awful to mistreat this animal for food but it is not a big deal that this other animal is mistreated.
According to your side we are all animals and brothers and sisters, yet you turn a blind eye to the fact that humans are mistreated to harvest your food supply yet harp on the mistreatment of cattle and other live stock.
You say we murder livestock for food by ending their lives yet the ending of the lives of plants is ok.
I know I am not arguing with a right winger but it sure seems that way. I know I am not arguing with a Saturday night drunk but a Sunday deacon, but it sure seems that way.
The topic of this was nutrition, I am sure you guys can get all you need your way, I just say drop the self righteousness.
"he horrific reality of factory farms, rather than any idealized philosophical or moral posturing"
But it IS moral posturing. You are saying that one animal does not have any right or reason to threat another animal like that.
It is only horrific if you are anthropomorphizing.
Factory farming may be immoral, but does that mean that we should all be vegan, or that we simply consume TOO MANY animal products? It is very difficult to get adequate nutrition without some animal proteins in one’s diet (hello, B12 anyone? memory and nerve function?) Cutting that out ENTIRELY might be unhealthy. Even if it is possible to get all of the nutrients one needs into their vegan or vegetarian diet, is that sustainable? Or is your food shipped in from hundreds or thousand of miles away? Not everyone can afford to live (healthfully) in this unsustainable way. “Conscious eating” should include an awareness of issues such as poverty, sustainability and pollution. If us heretical consumers of meat, dairy, and the occasional cookie are so full of “toxins”, imagine what it must be like not to have clean drinking water.
Mad Cow Disease affects the memory and nerve function as well.
So it's a matter of choosing which risks you're willing to take. Strict vegans who shun B12 supplements do so at their own risk... but there is no need to do that. And if supplements bother you, you can always eat seaweed flakes or nutritional yeast.
And people who say taking supplements is "unnatural" need to look around. Everytime you eat at a restaurant or buy processed foods, you are eating totally synthetic, man-made chemicals. Fake flavoring and colors are used b/c apparently carnivores don't have the balls to eat their meat in its raw state... they like it drizzled in sauces.
How many recalls did we have last year for vegetables that had e coli in them?
At least you can cook it out of meat.
I will not argue that what this company did was appalling; however, these animals may have become sick in the meat processing stock yards or in transport to them.
Was it verified that these animals had Mad Cow?
Was it verified that the seller knowingly sold sick animals to the processing plant?
Eating a vegetarian or vegan diet is far more sustainable than eating a meat based diet. Considering how our eating habits affect people in the world who live in poverty, if so many of our world's resources were not going to sustain livestock we would be able to produce far more nutritious, inexpensive food.
Many people, meat eaters and veg eaters alike, can buy locally in order to avoid having our food shipped from thousands of miles away which is.
I've lived in a place where people struggled to find clean water everyday, nobody there ever thought to come down on my family because we didn't eat meat, they respected our choice to eat the way we do. Pitting people who chose to eat a veg diet against others because some people think it is an elitist way to eat build false walls. There are a lot of reasons to be veg, certainly not wanting to add to the destruction of our planet, or use resources (land, water, etc) that could go to feed hungry people but go instead of support factory farming are two good ones.
You have some good arguments but there is also so misinformation in there as well.
I say it is no more environmentally friendly to grow crops as livestock.
It takes hundreds of gallons of diesel to grow one season of crops.
It takes hundreds of gallons of pesticides to protect those crops during a season.
It takes hundreds of pounds of fertilizer to grow crops during a season.
It takes hundreds of gallons of water to grow crops each season.
I have no compassion for some of the "starving" people of the world; especially, those who are starving yet find food to feed their cattle. I'm sorry but if it came to starving I'd have to tell grandma thank you for providing us for this meal we are about to eat.
The facts are if our country or the world for that matter was serious about ending hunger there would be no hungry people in this world. If we were serious about it there would be no need for farmers to have to sell the family farm to the subdivision/strip mall developer because they can make more money that way than growing crops or raising livestock.
Great article about the type of food humans are anatomically designed to consume.
"The Comparative Anatomy of Eating"
by Milton R. Mills, M.D.
http://www
Why not eat a ketogenic diet like people have for many thousands of years? I.e., high-fat, very low carb. The things that worry me the most about the vegan lifestyle are its high carb content and low vitamin B12 content. Long-term B12 deficiency can lead to serious problems. High carb eating causes all kinds of problems, from onset diabetes to atherosclerosis to weight gain to intestine damage. A great book to read is "Good Calories Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. A great website to visit is the Weston A Price foundation. I personally have switched to an all-animal product, high fat ketogenic diet and I feel great. Consider this: people didn't start eating vegetables and grains in high numbers until the agriculteral revolution about 10,000 years ago, that's a very short time to become accustomed to digesting new foodstuff. Most vegetables you see nowadays just didn't exist 10,000 years ago - humans had to selectively breed the toxicity out of them over time. Broccoli is an invention of man, as are rice and wheat. Good luck ... you can get adequate protein on a Vegan diet, but "adequate" does not equal "optimal".
Great article. From a health perspective, I tool have felt and looked the best and lost weight when combining a veggie diet with exercise. I love surf n' turf however, too much to ever give it up completely. Ideally I'd do the veggie thing every other day and could live with this modest compromise. I may try it again. Thanks for reminding us of our options.
There is no moral difference between eating a dog or a pig, a cat or a chicken. Chickens and other farmed animals have interests and individuality--b/c most readers would not eat a dog or cat (thankfully). But there's no moral or scientific difference--either way, you're eating an animal's corpse, and s/he was an animal who was abused in ways that would warrant felony cruelty charges if s/he had the same legal protections as a dog or a cat.
Check out:
http://www
A sampling:
Chickens are inquisitive, interesting animals who are thought to be as intelligent as cats, dogs, and even some primates. They understand sophisticated intellectual concepts, learn from watching each other, and even have cultural knowledge that is passed from generation to generation. Dr. Chris Evans, a scientist who studies avian cognition says, “As a trick at conferences I sometimes list these attributes, without mentioning chickens, and people think I’m talking about monkeys.”
Pigs are curious and insightful animals thought to have intelligence beyond that of an average 3-year-old human child. They are smarter than dogs and every bit as friendly, loyal, and affectionate. Scientists and scholars who have studied pigs say that pigs are the smartest animals outside of primates. Says Dr. Donald Broom, scientific advisor to the British government, “[Pigs] have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly three-year
More at the link.
To me and others there is no moral difference between eating a pig, cow, dog, cat, horse, fish, broccoli sprout, carrot, squash or potato.
It is all food.
The difference is you and others feel it is wrong to kill an animal for food.
I am a religious person yet I feel it is wrong to push my beliefs off on others. I don’t care to tell you my beliefs but I don’t feel you should convert or be labeled a heathen ether. The problem I have is that most vegetarians/vegans treat their eating habits like a religion and think their ways are the more morally superior and everyone should do as they do. Which is just as wrong as me saying you should believe my religion and no others. Believe in your own god and eat how you want to eat. I will continue to eat the animal "corpses" but will not insist you partake of it as well.
To me all living things are equal, it is just as wrong to kill a person for fun as it is to kill and animal or cut down a tree for the hell of it.
I give thanks to the animals for their nutrition just like I do the plants.
In the end we are all just food for the birds, bugs and then the plants and that completes the circle of life.
LCRover001 -- Using your logic, if there is no difference with regards to life between plants and animals than there's no difference between humans and animals. Life is life is life. So are you really saying that what happened on 9/11 is the same as using a weed killer in your garden?
Another great piece Kathy.
My, what a compassionate bunch here! Meat is murder, period. The fact so many of you take delight in criticizing vegans and vegetarians is sick.
Sorry QueenCeleste, but if I chastise those who are put off by the attitudes of vegetarians for going off topic by dragging morality into their argument, I have to call you out as well. The author didn't make any moral arguments at all in the piece. It was simply about human health in the context of a vegan versus carnivore diet. Your moral position, however righteous it makes you feel, is irrelevant to any discussion regarding the author's writing here.
The needless death of a living sentient being is a moral issue -- I think any rational person can understand that animals suffer and feel pain and fear just as we do... anyone who has pets can certainly testify to that first-hand. To me, the bottom line is that humans don't need to kill animals to live and thrive, so how can you defend the practice? Based on taste? Convenience? If the issue weren't so profoundly morally troubling, why would people be so reluctant to bear witness to what happens to the animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses?
Christ.
You can be an incredibly healthy active person on a vegan diet. You can be an incredibly healthy person on a vegetarian diet. You can be an incredibly healthy person on an omnivorous diet. You can be an incredibly healthy person (maybe?) eating a carnivorous diet.
You can be a disgusting unhealthy piece of shit if you abuse any diet you are on.
You wanna be a vegan? Fucking awesome. Completely understand the nutritional aspects of it. Raw foods, vegatables, etc are much more energy efficient - in the end, than meat.
However, I like the occasional steak, fish, chicken, goat, lamb, pig, or chinese infant to spice up my diet? Why? I love the taste of flesh. So do your chimp cousins. Meat is a natural part of the human diet.
I agree that factory farms are ridiculous wastes of energy, space, contribute to global warming, and so on and so forth. So I get most of my meat, when I can, from local farmers/ra
However, I think your cruelty argument is utterly laughable. Applying human standards of cognition, intelligence, and feelings to lesser species is ridiculous to say the least. My advice: stick with the energy argument. You'll win more rational converts with that one. Leave the "brother cow, sister chicken" arguments for kids who haven't developed a rational thought process yet.
"I agree that factory farms are ridiculous wastes of energy, space, contribute to global warming, and so on and so forth"
That's not true. Meat, Dairy, and Eggs produced in factory farms is far cheaper than the alternative.
Price is a reflection of cost, and cost is a reflection of resources consumed.
Therefore, factory farming uses less resources than traditional farms.
They also have less waste. I know that seems counter intuitive, because of the waste generated in a factory farm is concentrated in one area, rather than being spread over many acres, Those acres that were once required for animal farming, can now return to wilderness, which is a net gain for the environment.
The dollars don't lie: Factory farming is easier on the enviroment.
So much for simply trying to give the otherside a simple concession ...
Really, I thought that it might have something to do with all the subsidies that our government likes to hand out to these companies.
The fact is that factory farming is more cost intensive but its cheaper because the government underwrites portions of it. Just looking at the business side you have to account for all the drugs and hormones that you give to the animals.
And if you think factory farms concentrating one area is a good think you should look at North Caroline. When one several waste lagoons failed it release millions of gallons of waste into the rivers and resulting in extensive fish kills.
TimmySlagle- I'm curious, due to your copious retorts on this subject...
Those acres aren't being returned to wilderness. They're used for intensive grain farming to feed the animals. It takes something like 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef.
And what about when the Westland Meat Co. had to recall 143 million pounds of beef b/c they got caught sending cows to slaughter that couldn't walk (inability to walk = diseased animal = risk of mad cow disease)? That seems pretty wasteful.
TimmySlagle-- You say: "Factory farming is easier on the enviroment
As a vegan I get the protein question a lot. My answer is another question. "Where do elephants get their protein?" Protein serves to build and repair bodies. Bodies don't get much bigger than those of elephants, and they are vegetarian.
As to the puppy vs. cabbage question. I don't think plants, cabbages included, have nervous systems or are sentient creatures.
Veganism works for me. I'm not trying to convert anybody.
"My answer is another question. "Where do elephants get their protein?" Bodies don't get much bigger than those of elephants, and they are vegetarian
Elephants also spend about 15-18 hours a day doing so.
That sound appropriate for humans?
Where do tigers get their protein? What about polar bears? They're much larger than humans.
Where do sperm whales get their protein?
P.S., you might want to note that a sperm whale has a body considerably larger than an elephant's body, and note that sperm whales are not vegetarian.
Nor am I.
My argument is not that they can feel pain, which I could argue they do, or are sentient, but I wonder sometimes, my argument is that they are living things.
What I hear from those who wish to convert is animals are living things and you are murdering them for food.
Plants are just as amazing living organisms as animals, yet I do not consider eating one murder.
I do however see killing plants the same as killing animals.
Food is food mo mater if it is an animal or a plant and dead is dead even if the plant can’t scream or feel.
LCRover001 - Are you kidding me? How can you compare the "suffering" of animals to plants? Plants have no brains or central nervous system. Can you seriously say that you look on the harvesting of fruits and vegetables the same as slaughtering animals? Perhaps you should take a class in biology. I'm not doubting that plants are alive, of course they are. But to compare animals and plants with regards to suffering and pain is just preposterous.
who said anything about killing plants? you just take the fruit or vegetable.
killing a plant and killing an animal are similar in that they both experience death. but if you look at in the context of which one is more efficient.
thank you for this post! when i tell meat-eaters i'm vegan, they invariably spew the protein question, or make some snide remark (just like on this board) that reflects their ignorance. their deep guilt over the fact they support the horrors of cruelty and slaughter makes them act out inappropriately.
"some snide remark ... that reflects their ignorance. their deep guilt "
Actually, my snide remarks are directed at the sanctimonious nature of vegans. I really find it funny that vegans need to believe that their lifestyle is smarter, healthier, and more moral than mine.
Which is the case with most religions. The faithful always look down on non-believers. I understand that, and I even respect your right, to try and Evangelize me.
Unfortunately, too many vegans try to force their morality into legislation. They try to ban furs, horse racing, and circuses; shut down laboratories and factory farms; and try to get things like foie gras taken out of nicer restaurants and beef tallow out of McDonalds french fries. That is simply crossing the line.
The First Amendment prohibits State recognition of ANY religion, and that includes veganism.
It is not ignorance nor guilt you are sensing in my remarks.
It is anger and defiance.
Anger and defiance against the sanctimonious nature of vegans?
Let me just say that I have been repulsed by meat since I was 3 and my dad used to force me to eat it. Over the years I would tell my mom I wanted to be a vegetarian and she would tell me I couldn't do it. She told me I'd get a long neck if I didn't eat fish (I couldn't eat fish though, I literally threw up every time I tried. And I didn't get a long neck). She told me I would be anemic if I didn't eat roast beef. (I think I was anemic and I did eat the meat.) Meanwhile, my poor, confused mom was feeding me little Debbie snacks and fruit roll-ups and ice cream and rationalizing that that stuff had this or that nutrient, such as ice cream having calcium. Well my mom died of cancer when I was 24 (she was 60) and 2 years later I met a couple of vegetarians and decided to give it another try, even though I was totally brainwashed and sceptical at this point and thought a "healthy meal" meant eating at Jimmy Johns instead of Burger King. I subscribed to Veg News and started doing mad research on the Internet.
NOW, I am a conscious eater. I only eat healthy foods and superfoods. I AM APPALLED at how much I have been lied to. So I probably am sanctimonious and condescending.
"The First Amendment prohibits State recognition of ANY religion, and that includes veganism."
Veganism is hardly a religion, it is a dietary choice. The government regulates many choices we make or don't make regarding what to put into our bodies. I'll start with our arcane drug laws for one. While I'll agree you shouldn't be forced to eat (or not eat) anything you don't wish to, falling back on the 1st amendment isn't an adequate argument.
I love animals, but I eat meat. Not a lot, but at my age I can't tolerate a protein and fat deficient diet that's hard to digest. Beans are OK in small amounts but not as a dietary staple. And polyunsatured fats contain a lot of free radicals that accelerate aging. There are other health drawbacks of vegetarianism that emerge in later life, such as high blood pressure. And most vegetarians I know eat too much sugar.
I think it was GB Shaw , an ovo lacto vegetarian, when asked why he called himself a vegetarian when he took dessicated liver tablets, said, "This isn't food, it's medicine." Or it could have been Bertrand Russell.
Anyway, I think extreme diets are very risky, especially those containing no animal fats.
Thank you, at least you stuck to the author's actual subject matter, human health.
For every animal you don't eat, I'm eating three.
:)
The problem with this article is that no one diet is right for every person. Some people do fine as vegetarians or vegans, but others don't. In my case, I can't digest grains, winter squashes, potatoes, and other high-carbohydrate foods. I can't digest dairy products either. I'm healthiest when I eat small amounts of meat, eggs, and low-carbohydrate vegetables.
It's naive of this writer to think that everyone should follow a diet that happens to work for her. That diet would make a lot of people sick.
I'm an omnivore who can sympathize with your dietary restrictions. In my case, it's gluten, dairy and soy intolerance. Like you, I fare best on small portions of meat, eggs, vegetables and some fruits, with virtually no processed foods.
There is no "best" diet, only the diet that is best for you.
I agree. It's "different strokes for different folks" so to speak.
How can so many people argue that eating meat is 'what we're supposed to do'? I suppose being on your cell phone all the time is "what we're supposed to do" as well? Hey carcass-lovers, you don't even need to make your argument. We hear this disinformation all day long in advertisements, magazines, t.v. programs, radio, Internet and sleepwalking fat friends and co-workers who will use any excuse to order out. You are the majority. The government is on your side. Big Business is on your side. And why wouldn't they be. Nothing would promote consciousness and compassion in society more than a raw, whole foods, plant-based diet packed with enzymes, phytonutrients and antioxidents (meat has none of these). But if everyone was somewhat conscious, it would be harder for the central banks and mega global corporations to cultivate a population of debt slaves, and that just won't fly.
Simple we have canine teeth which are “meant” to eat meat. I don't recall being born with the ability to grow a cell phone.
The argument that is made to not eat meat is that you kill something for it, do you not kill the plants to eat them?
All living things should be shown the same respect. Not just those that you pick and chose too.
I will not argue that there are to many additives, growth hormones, and steroids in the meat we eat today. I will argue that unless you grow your own veggies you have no idea what you are eating ether.
My argument is not that you shouldn’t be a vegetarian or a vegan it is that it is hypocrisy to say meat is murder yet it is ok to kill plants. To say you may kill this but it is immoral to kill that for food is BS. Living things are living things. Dead is dead. A head of lettuce is just as dead as a side of beef.
and soon the whole planet will be dead if we keep up current rates of consumption of beef. Once the rainforests are gone and the ogilalla acquifer is dried up and the soil erosion and pesticide residue is too great to grow anything, we will be like the 3rd world countries that we currently ship grain to. Even if eating lettuce wasn't more humane, can you argue that it isn't more sustainable?
"Hey carcass-lo
I'm awake. I'm a debt-free omnivore.
Are you a debt-free vegan?
Are all (or most) vegans debt-free?
I'm not sure what debt-free means. Our gov't is selling us out like stocks, but I certainly try to believe that I am "debt-free
Anyway, my point is that often we're told to eat meat the same way we're told to shop. There's a sort of social stigma you get if question the status quo. My family was floored when I brought a vegetable dish to thanksgiving. Even though I've told them a hundred times I don't eat meat, they can't believe it. Their reactions were uniformed and unanimous. So I guess I tend to think of meat consumption as something that society imposes on us to take part in without thinking and I equate [learning about] vegetarianism as the time when I began to expand my outlook on life and explore beyond what the media (owned by 5 corporations) tells us about how life works. Vegetarianism motivated me to change and educate myself and take responsibility for my choices. I'm not saying eating meat is immoral or anything like that. I'm just saying it seems to me that meat consumption is expected in general by society to be unquestioned and unconscious. It's frustrating. The sheer ubiquity of meat, but yet when you say maybe we should eat less of it b/c it takes so many resources to produce and plants are much healthier.
Yes I am debt-free but that was not the point. The point is that not eating meat is treated like going against everything that is good and holy in America. For me, [learning about] vegetarianism was an awakening. It was the beginning of my questioning of many cultural assumptions and the beginning of my taking responsibility for my choices. When I was a child I just did what I was supposed to, and that involved eating pizza and going to McDonalds like everybody else. So I have come to equate vegetarianism with thinking and learning b/c to not eat meat in this meat consumption mega-culture is to go against the status quo. Look around, all the advertisements tell you to eat meat. Movies always show people eating meat and smoking cigarettes. Your friends and family eat meat. Meat is served to you at school and at your job. With meat's sheer ubiquity, I can't help but wonder, "why does the government and big business want us to eat so much meat, especially the chemically kind from factory farms, full of hormones and drugs? Why is meat so cheap? Why did everyone in my family react unaminously with disbelief when I told them I wasn't going to eat meat anymore? Just throwin' it out there, but I think there is a correlation beween meat-eating (in our society) and unconsciousness. If you don't believe me, just go visit a KFC or a NASCAR race.
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