Veganism and vegetarianism
- Studies show that there is little health difference (2) between a vegetarian/vegan diet and a diet that includes meat.
- Eating meat is good for you, as long as you don’t eat too much. The best diets include both meat and plants. Scientists are figuring out how to grow meat so we won’t have to kill animals.
- A vegan diet is not necessarily morally superior to a non-vegan diet, due to how crops are harvested. During harvest time on farms, many animals (groundhogs, mice, etc) are accidentally killed as a part of the harvesting process. So if you eat grains and vegetables to “save animals”… that’s actually all stained with blood unless you grew it yourself.
- Meat can more efficiently provide you with certain vitamins and minerals than plants can.
- "…eliminating all animal products from the diet increases the risk of certain nutritional deficiencies."
- “Overall, evidence suggests that being a lactovegetarian has greater health benefits and reduced health risks than being a vegan.”
- "A person or animal eating a diet consisting solely of purified nutrients in their Dietary Reference Intake amounts, without benefit of the coordination inherent in food, may not thrive and probably would not have optimal health. This review argues for the primacy of food over supplements in meeting nutritional requirements of the population." This means that it’s unhealthy for vegans to get the nutrients from supplements that they miss from not eating meat.
- "Humans are classic examples of omnivores in all relevant anatomical traits. There is no basis in anatomy or physiology for the assumption that humans are pre-adapted to the vegetarian diet. For that reason, the best arguments in support of a meat-free diet remain ecological, ethical, and health concerns." - Dr. John McArdle, a vegetarian
- On that note, meat-eating is certainly an ecological concern, with more than one study noting that the meat industry contributes to climate change. These studies, however, are not always accepted in their entirety. Some aspects are factually controversial, so we really don’t know for sure.
- Eating meat made it possible for early human mothers to wean babies earlier and have more children, giving humans an evolutionary advantage.
- Vegans and health nuts are partially responsibly for poverty and meat-eating in some countries, such as Bolivia. Well, maybe.
- Potential health problems from a vegan diet include iodine deficiency. B12 deficiency, and iron deficiency. A deficiency in these areas can lead to neurological problems, anemia, thyroid problems, etc.
- http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Food_woo
- “I have yet to see any rational reason to be a vegetarian, other than pure aesthetics or medical necessity, which are idiosyncratic (i.e. not true for most people). Even basing it on anecdotes and testimonials is irrational…”
- A well-planned (read again: WELL PLANNED) vegetarian diet has the potential to be superior to the typical diet which includes meat, but a well-planned diet that includes meat will be equal to the vegetarian diet. You can be healthy and not eat meat. You can be healthy and eat meat.
- Animal-based milk products are generally not good for you.
- "But even though functioning without either plants or animals is possible… neither is optimal. In the same way that a meat-based diet is healthier with a little bit of plants, a plant-based diet is healthier with a little bit of animals." There are essential nutrients in animal products you can't get from plant products.
- "Vegan diets may be healthier than the standard western diet, but pretty much any diet fits that description.... At the end of the day, there is no one right way to eat. " Low-carb diets are not unhealthy, as some vegans have claimed, and may be superior to vegan diets.
- Nutrition myths - wheat, eggs, gluten, etc. "...different foods and macronutrients go through different metabolic pathways. They have varying effects on hunger, hormones and health."
- A "Paleo diet" - a specific kind of diet containing meats and plants - may be healthy.
- While biased and containing contradictions (some facts are cherry-picked or distorted to fit the speaker's agenda), this is a pretty good video as long as you take everything with a grain of salt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30gEiweaAVQ
- DO NOT FORCE YOUR CAT TO HAVE A VEGAN DIET. CATS ARE CARNIVORES AND A VEGAN DIET WILL KILL THEM. [x] [x]