Animal rights groups shouldn’t push veganism
Posted March 21, 2012 at 8:27 pm in Columns, Featured, Opinion
What does the typical vegan look like? You might imagine a hemp-clad hippie or a willowy celebutante. In recent years, however, the vegan movement has gained some unusual participants, such as metal legend Ozzy Osbourne and former boxer Mike Tyson. There’s also a subset of body builders, the subject of a Jan. 4 article in The New York Times.
That’s not to say that veganism is anywhere near mainstream; even vegetarians often have a hard time ordering food at restaurants. Still, many activists are trying to make plant-based diets the default. In their mission to stop animal cruelty and environmental damage, organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Last Chance for Animals promote strict veganism.
Christina Ellis | Daily Trojan
Giving up meat, eggs and dairy for a cause is noble. If you can do it, that’s great. Unfortunately, veganism is unrealistic for much of the population.
Animals rights and environmental organizations should recognize that many Americans lack the time, money and access to information on becoming vegan. If activists’ main goal is to reduce the overall consumption of animal products, they should encourage people to simply alter their diets — not subject them to a total renovation.
The media is full of vegan celebrities raving about the diet’s health results. Eight months after becoming a vegan, Tyson told Details magazine, “I get these explosions of energy. I don’t know how long they last, but they’re like explosions. So powerful.”
Plenty of students could use the occasional explosion of energy. But while a vegan diet is certainly healthier than the typical American meat-sweet diet — a diet based on red meat and refined grains — it’s not always the healthiest option. Vegans only reap the benefits if they get the diet right.
In a 2008 USA Today article, Keri Gans, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, explained that many vegans switch right to vegetables and soymilk and wind up sick. A proper vegan diet consists of “a bountiful variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and a few fortified products.”
The sad reality is that it’s usually costlier to get that healthy variety than to buy meat, bread and a few vegetables. The latter option might not be ideal, but it gets the job done at a lower cost.
The article goes on to mention that fortified food and supplement vitamins often aren’t available in conventional stores. It advises people outside of cities to order them online.
But not everyone can afford the additional cost of shipping, let alone the products themselves. And not everyone can afford to spend extra money on groceries in the first place.
There is also the issue of time. A vegan diet requires research. In an ideal world, we’d all be spending plenty of time educating ourselves about nutrition. But what if you’re taking five classes and writing a senior thesis? What if you’re a working mother with two children? Not everyone’s obligations and priorities make room for veganism. Good or bad, that’s the reality.
Personal experience has taught me that even if you buy the right products and do your homework, it’s still possible to fail. I spent a semester going nearly vegan — I ate eggs only one day a week. I researched obsessively, and as far as I know, I followed the rules. But it wasn’t meant to be: I got sick by the end of the semester. I didn’t recover until I succumbed to chicken nugget Tuesday.
Organizations that demand veganism from everyone — without regard for class, income and lifestyle — risk putting off people who might otherwise be happy to give up meat for a day or two.
From the outside, becoming vegan seems sort of like joining a secret club with a pledge process. You go through weeks of cravings and emerge with the glow of health and moral superiority. It’s no wonder so many people are reluctant to join.
But giving up animal products for one meal a day or one day a week is far less daunting.
When the entry fee is low, more people are likely to join. Isn’t it better to convince hundreds of people to adopt Meatless Mondays than to convince a handful of people to give up all animal products for life? Perhaps this approach is less ideologically pure, but when you’re looking out for animals’ well-being, numbers count.
The approach might even lure a few unexpected people into the full-on vegan lifestyle.
Maya Itah is a senior majoring in communication. Her column “Tackling the ‘-isms’” runs every other Thursday.
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This article is tagged: Animal Rights, food, Keri Gans, mike tyson, nutrition, vegan, Veganism
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John, are you enjoying pink slime? Me thinks thou dost protest too much…perhaps you have a deeper issue to resolve. Vegans are kinder and gentler people. You should really give it a try. Amen brother.
There’s no pink slime, that is a myth. Vegan myth trying to make meat sound nasty. I have no issue to resolve and no vegans aren’t kinder people. They are mentally inbalanced. No I will not try that unhealthy lifestyle.
You don’t think pink slime actually exists? Wow. Okay, you lost all credibility on this forum.
WOW a vegan said I lost credibility when he doesn’t know sh-t about meat processing except what he heard from vegan propaganda. Go eat a carrot and leave the real men to eat what is meant to be eaten.
Haha. You say you don’t believe in mechanically separated meat and now you’re using ad hominem attacks because you have ZERO rational arguments on your behalf. Pathetic. You’re just a troll and not a very intelligent one.
I am speaking the truth Mrs. Frank. I have friends whom work for meat processing. There is no pink slime.
Please continue commenting John, you are further discrediting yourself with every word you type.
Really Vicki? Discrediting my word in every type? ROFL You vegans are the biggest idiots in the world. You think you know everything about nutrition and how meat is processed but alas you don’t know anything. You guys are just upset because I eat your precious animals and then lie to make it look like veganism is some magical life when if fact it sucks big time. I am not into eating just plants. They are sides to me. I eat them because I have to, to keep balance in my diet. Meat is far tastier.
John, the more you respond, the more foolish you look. Don’t you get it yet? Try formulating a coherent argument with supporting info for once instead of your childish ad hominem attacks and perhaps people might take you seriously for once.
All I have been doing is stating facts but the lack of meat to your brain makes it hard for you idiots to understand. Its ok I know veganism is a mental illness as well as an eating disorder.
John, you’re right. Keep eating meat. In fact only eat meat. We don’t need you anymore.
no thanks Rob I will continue eating a balanced diet with meat and plants. The diet designed for humans. Eating one or the other is not the suitable diet for us.
You need to let us process all the journal articles, non biased and maturely delivered facts you have presented to us. Check back in a week, we’ll all be eating like you.
Yeah, Frank, John’s statements and even his poor grammar shout out his ignorance–pure waste of time to attempt communication with such. “Against ignorance the gods themselves contend in vain.” (Friedrich von Schiller)
John is clearly uneducated. I am not a vegan myself, but I do limit animal products, and probably eat more “vegan” meals than non vegan meals. I have nothing against omnivores and agree that being vegan may not be right for every person on the planet, for example, I have a friend who cannot tolerate most beans and legumes, cannot tolerate wheat gluten, and is allergic to most nuts and seeds, she has numerous other food allergies as well. A vegan diet for her would be a diet terribly low in protein.
The reason I say John is uneducated is both because he so quickly dismisses any health benefit of a vegan diet despite the fact that eat this way has shown itself to be beneficial on many levels for many people. The next reason is he doesn’t realize that “inbalanced” is not a word. His own education was so UNBALANCED that it failed to cover basic English.
correction: “despite the fact that *to* eat this way…”
Oh really? You seem very uneducated but that’s ok. There are plenty of health benefits in the way I eat as well. I do eat plenty of plant based foods with my meat. I do not just eat meat. Its called balanced diet which is the healthiest. But you guys believe what you want but I will always have meat with my meals. The only animals I love are my meat main dishes.
The us department of agriculture confirms it exists. But they’re vegan propagandists I assume.
John is the token anti-vegan reactionary for this thread. Funny. He’s basically a parody that no one here really takes all that seriously. People like him make me even MORE glad to be vegan.
We have to stop letting it bother us. He went off on a tyraid at first about how dumb and chemically imbalanced we all are and that we have an eating disorder. My diet was very clean and I got lots of excersize when I was eating meat and dairy. I went vegan and I feel better than I have since I was 12. I don’t need an Internet bully to show me the effects of eating meat and dairy. my original goal of going vegan was for a cleanse, but Ive felt so good for so long I’ll never go back. No study, journal article or know-it-all is going to change that.
Maya: First of all, when you stated you got ill from being vegan and that “I didn’t recover until I succumbed to chicken nugget Tuesday,” you revealed a lot of information. Chicken nuggets? Out of all meat products out there you praise chicken nuggets as your savior? Have you ever looked how they are made? How many antibiotics and growth hormones are in chicken meat? What it sounds like, from a nutritional point of view, is that you were going through withdrawal symptoms. It usually takes at least a month to get all the crap from eating meat, and animal-derived products out of your system. During that time you don’t feel too good. But then… recovering alcoholics don’t feel too good either when they go through withdrawal, neither do individuals who give up smoking.
Second, going vegan is easy. And it doesn’t require a lot of research at all. Make sure you get a variety of veggies and fruit, and don’t forget lentils, beans, and nuts. There are plenty of starter books out there by now, if you want a book to guide you through this process.
Third, I am fighting for the life of sentient, intelligent souls who feel fear, pain, joy and pleasure just as much as we do. Why would I not promote this lifestyle? It is good for the animals, it is good for people, it is good for the planet. Win Win. Easy. Period.
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKr4HZ7ukSE
Animals are hardly sentient and certainly not intelligent. I do not feel bad shooting them, cooking them, or eating them. I will always enjoy consuming them.
This article is a joke on several levels. It seems that the writer is overly-defensive about the vegan diet/lifestyle and seems genuinely alarmed about the activists that promote it. I’d also like to know which specific groups are ‘demanding’ people to become vegan. Also, it suggests that it’s too much work and research to become vegan. That’s a rather weak argument and it apologizes for laziness. First of all, everyone has a responsibility to educate themselves on proper nutrition in order to be healthy and not passively succumb to the standard American diet (if they want to truly enjoy good health). Perhaps that’s why vegans are often less deficient on nutrients than the general national population because they have educated themselves. And onto the costs: ordering vegetarian or vegan at a restaurant is often significantly less expensive than the standard meat-centered options. The only reason why meat and the standard American diet is ‘less expensive’ in some contexts is because we subsidize the hell out of it with our taxes and the true costs and externalities are not reflected in the price of the products. And lastly, you’re avoiding the medical costs often associated with eating animal products over many years of one’s life. This article is heavy on excuses and weak on content and supporting information.
Actually vegans are more deficient in nutrients and vitamins. Also most places do not cater to your unhealthy vegan diet unless you want a salad. I support them subsidizing meat. There no medical issues associated with meat or animal products I am very healthy. Always have been.
John, provide some supporting info to support your claims or I’ll just view them as invalid. Glad you’re healthy, as am I (without meat and dairy of course). There are no medical issues associated with animal products? Really? Haha, please explain that one. That could be entertaining.
Its been proven for centuries there isn’t.
sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn. com/2011/08/29/sanjay-gupta-reports-the-last-heart-attack/
Prove it. So far, you’ve contributed nothing, my simple-minded friend. Just the same reactionary, child-like reactions…
Not sure about people lacking the “time and money” notion… A healthy vegan diet can be easy, enjoyable, and inexpensive. You know what’s none of those? Coronary bypass surgery. I go to school full-time and work-time, so I’m short on both money and time, and veganism works great for me. Easily the best decision I ever made. It’s a great feeling: knowing that ever day I am doing something positive for my health, for animals, and for the environment.
Coronoary bypass surgery is not from eating meat. Mainly from too much fried food or if you eat red meat constantly. Limit red meat to twice a week and leaner meats the other days. I have been to school and have taken several courses on nutrition.
Coronary
Screw the animal rights organizations. They can’t demand me to do crap,hell not even my government can demand me of anything. I will eat and purchase anything I want. Meat and animal products will always be in my home.
John, no one is forcing you to do anything, not even to forcefully change your mindset of being willfully ignorant. You say not even the government can demand you to do things yet in a post above you say you support the subsidization of meat. The government makes you pay taxes right? Try using logic for once. It works wonders…
I support my taxes going to subsidizing meat.
Aw, doing what the government tells you (such a good little bitch); you sound far more obedient than your previous post!
Because I support the meat industry.
Your lack of wit and education displayed by your responses is simply astounding.
The meat industry has played a major role in supporting this country throughout its history. I happily support it over many other industries, including everything related to saving animals or the environment.
Same here anonymous
Stop with defeatist attitude. I went vegan on labor day, with barbecues hot dogs, and hamburgers all around me. I was a typical meat-head “bodybuilder” who swore meat was a necessity. I always hear people tried to go vegan but they got “sick” until they eat meat but they never specify A. What they were/weren’t eating or B. what “sickness” they had. I currently have a cold, should I go buy a rotisserie chicken like I did last summer? I know vegans who eat Oreo cookies all day, they’re obviosly not healthy and will get “sick” until they eat a “chicken” nugget. The only thing I agree with is that there is a lack of information for new and curious vegans the rest of your article is just perpetuating nonsense. Just because you had a bad experience the rest of the world will so don’t even try. Animal rights groups should disband because YOU (the authority) on veganism has proven it doesn’t work.
My diet isnt the best but I’m learning. I would never consider eating meat or dairy ever again.
I’d rather spend more money on my food than spend money on medical bills. Nutrition and diet are two things that even the busiest parent should make time for especially with obesity related ailments only effecting people at younger and younger ages.
People on a budget can almost not afford to NOT go vegan. The amount of empty calories and lack of nutritional value make a typical meat and dairy diet almost a false economy and don’t provide the proper nutrients for someone to sustain a healthy, sickness free lifestyle. Penny wise pound foolish isn’t a mantra I want to associate with my health. I think most people can agree.
I never get sick as well and I eat meat and dairy. I never get a cold nor have expensive medical bills due to my lifestyle. I take 0 medications and I don’t get as much as a sniffle in the winter time. I have never been overweight, Overweight isn’t from meat anyways its from over-eating. Actually buying meat is inexpensive and a person on a budget can definately afford a balanced diet, not just a vegan diet.
Are there healthy meat eaters? Probably. This isn’t my argument, never was. This article, along with yourself are both trying to convince people (myself at least) who ARE healthier than they were when they had a BALANCED diet consisting of meat and dairy that being vegan is going to kill them. Just because your health is awesome doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there who are struggling to eat meat and dairy in “healthy” portions. It has worked so well for so many people that your arguments are just irritating and dead-ended. The ADA agrees that a well planned VEGAN diet is healthy for anyone. If you’re healthy, great, I’m not talking to you. I’m trying to refute the argument that vegans can’t be healthy which is more or less the message of this crappy article. You, nor this article have given any resources besides name calling and typical defensive stubborn meat eater b.s. for us peruse and be proven wrong. I am a healthy Vegan, far healthier than when I ate well balanced diet with 5-7 hours of vigorous workouts a week. In fact the increases to my well being were marginally better than when i quit smoking 2 years before quitting meat and dairy. Good for you on being healthy, but my mood, stamina, sex-life, cholesterol, allergies and skin have all improved so i must being doing something right.
What Ellen said ^^^. You said that the information isn’t out there for people to become educated and make the right choices, but it IS….now more than ever. It’s a lifestyle change and takes education and research just like anything else a person approaches with which they aren’t familiar. When it comes to college kids, I agree, it’s tough because the cafeteria foods in most places (at least where my daughter goes) doesn’t offer much beyond proteinless pasta dishes and a salad bar for vegan choices, so it may be more expensive for them to eat elsewhere. Pressuring “society” into veganism is the only way to turn the tables of eating and buying animal products cheaper/easier because of demand and supply.
Its not anyones job to pressure someone into veganism. Its our choice and none of your business what we eat. Its cheap to eat meat and plants. Not costly for me at all to do so. I have no desire to turn tables from eating meat and animal products. Its a food choice, such as veganism is your choice.
Maya, what exactly was the magical ingredient you believe was in that chicken nugget that you believe you can’t survive without? Specifically.
Veganism ios not a healthy diet. I have known many whom tried it and got very ill. Its recommended a balanced diet with meat included for all your nutrients. Trust me you do not want to Go Vegan unless you want a trip to the emergency room.
Vegan is a healthy diet if done properly, as the vast majority of medical/scientific info suggests. Keep in mind that any diet can deficent it it’s unbalanced. John, you’re clueless…
So weird. I went vegan and haven’t seen an emergency room. Even weirder is that most other vegans know havent been there either.
It is unfortunate that this article promotes so many myths and misunderstandings of veganism. It is also unfortunate that you have such a narrow view of veganism. Although you say, “Giving up meat, eggs and dairy for a cause is noble”, you have failed to consider that not everyone is a vegan for a “cause”. I became vegan so that I could improve my health and spend less money on food. The meat, dairy and processed foods I was buying were far more expensive than the food I now eat. I am a busy single parent but I learned as I went. We started out with Meatless Mondays and proceeded to vegetarianism and now to veganism. We live in a small town where fancy vegan products are not accessible. That’s fine because most of them are processed anyway and I don’t need to eat things like that. In this day and age, anyone with a computer has all the information they need about being vegan at the click of a mouse. If trying to live a healthier lifestyle on a budget also means that I am aiding in the cause of animal cruelty, then great! From a scientific and economic standpoint, if the majority of North Americans were vegan, we would be able to grow enough food for ourselves and many other countries! Animal products are an inefficient source of energy when you factor in the amount of energy required to get the food to your plate.
Meat dairy and eggs are cheap where I live. Doesn’t cause much at all. Regardless of the energy and such for meat to get to my plate, I will always eat meat and animal products. The environment will be fine and I will live happy. I am not concerned with animal cruelty, they are just products to me and delicious also its not a healthier lifestyle. You can be just as healthy if not more healthy eating a balanced diet with meat and plants. I am not concerned with growing food for other countries. Let them deal with their problems. I have food and so does my family so I am good with that. We aren’t starving anywhere around where I live. Even the homeless people get food from food banks and kitchens. I am all for America and thats all.
Basically, you’re saying that you’re a selfish moron with such a narrow worldview that you wish to not educate yourself and would rather be a misinformed internet bully (clap clap).
Really? Veganism isn’t hard, or costly. I turned vegan in 1 day. Yep, 1 day. I did my research on the fly between looking after my parents and working a 45hour week. I’ve never been ill because of veganism. I’ve saved money, lost weight, gained energy. Once you learn what you can and can’t eat it’s easy! You are opened up to a world of tasty food and great community. I love my new life and diet and done properly, it’s suitable for everyone. And I’ll shout about it till the day I die, because people need to know.
Peace.
I understand how daunting the idea of going vegan can be but it isn’t about us. It’s about the animals first & foremost. Once you know, once you really know that animals should have the right to live their lives free of abuse & pain & torture & that animals are not ours to enslave then slaughter & eat then going vegan is the only answer.
The author tried to go vegan for a semester but got sick. It is disappoiting when someone who has tried & failed then writes about how hard it is as if to justify their failure.
Being vegan is not moral superirity. It is about compassion, it is about kindness & it is about the animals.
Its about me. I am not concerned with the animals, they are my food.
You’re obviously not concerned about your intelligence either. It shows…
Because I believe in my right to eat meat I lack intelligence? Tell that to the billions of people whom feel the same as me? We are the majority Frank. We will always be the majority, people love meat, just face it. We subsidize it and market it by the tons :). Thats not even mentioning the local farmers and butcher shops. America will atleast be forever meat eaters. The only place that might slack is India.
Wrong. I know some intelligent meat eaters who actually use some degree of reason to substantiate their opinions. I disagree with them, but unlike you, at least they can can discuss this on rational grounds instead of ad hominem fallacies. If billions of people “think like you do” then the world is in trouble. Majority versus minority is irrelevant to the discussion in the first place. Most people in this country claim to be Christians. Does that motivate me to join their ranks. No, it’s herd mentality and it has no bearing on this topic…
I do not care about animals. I like ripping their flesh apart. It makes me feel good. I enjoy shooting them, cooking them, and eating them.
I consider myself to be exceptionally compassionate.
I’ve been vegan for 3 years (vegetarian for many years before that), and I remember thinking it was going to be difficult, but it wasn’t at all. And it’s almost never difficult to find something at a restaurant. And it’s not difficult to get nutrition from a vegan lifestyle at all! I eat like absolute crap sometimes, but I got my physical results back last week, and all of my vitamin levels are normal, perfect cholesterol, perfect BP. Any healthy diet is about moderation, and researching how to eat vegan is so easy! The Internet abounds with vegans who want nothing more than to provide you with hundreds of delicious recipes, restaurant and product reviews, and nutrition tips. I should know, I’m one of them. When non-vegans find out I’m vegan, they almost always ask “what do you eat?” There’s a vast misconception that vegans eat nothing but twigs and granola, kale and tofu. So about a month ago, I launched a blog called What This Vegan Eats — I’m photographing and blogging everything I eat for a year so people can see what it’s really like (and how easy and awesome it is) to eat ethically. If you’re interested, you can check it out at whatthisveganeats.com. Maya, we’d love to have you back on team vegan, I’m happy to personally answer any questions you have if you’d like to give it another try!
“Animal rights groups shouldn’t push veganism”
Why not!!! Meat eating monsters bombard us with Propoganda in many forms on a continuous basis whether it be billboard, TV advertising or by some other form or forum. Brainwashing is why there are so many conditioned meat eaters and so few Vegans. Fortunately some humans are born not just to follow and these people reject what they were wrongly taught about animals being units, and opt for a lifestyle which projects far less cruelty on those unable to defend themselves.
Being vegan is easy,arguing with those clinging to fallacious notions and plane nonsense that somebody told their impressionable young brain to accept without question is what is hard.
Oh no! I’m a monster because I eat meat. What “plane” nonsense I must constantly spew.
You people just don’t get it. I would put in extra effort to eat meat because I enjoy ripping apart the almost-raw dead flesh of animals.
Wow. First off, to the poster about the canine teeth, you should do some research before you bother typing anything. Lots of herbivores have seriously big canines, here is a nice chart for you to check out: http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html
Secondly, I easily went vegan, it’s not hard and “vegan food” is just regular, natural food that you should be eating anyway! What did I do? I switched from dairy milk/cheese/yogurt to non-dairy versions and I stopped buying meat/seafood. What do I eat? Much more delicious food than I did before! Before it would be a piece of meat, a vegetable, and a starch made up a meal. Now I can get creative and have excellent, wholesome foods. Last night I had a Blue Mango burger (made from six ingredients: onions, black beans, spinach, rice, panko breadcrumbs and spices, that was easily better than any beef burger I’ve ever had. Salads, fruits, so many different and delicious soups (LOVE my crock pot!) and none of it ever makes me feel ill and bloated. My skin has cleared up since I stopped drinking dairy.
Anyway, long story short, I love that I’m not killing innocent animals for no reason (we DO NOT NEED meat in our diets, as vegetarians and vegans who live years longer than carnivores have proven), and I get to feel healthier and eat more of a variety of foods.
My canine teeth happen to be exceptionally long and more curved than usual. Perhaps I’m simply more evolved than others.
I’m sorry that you feel bloated and ill from eating normal food. That has never happened to me. I also have perfectly clear skin. Yesterday, I had a hamburger made from beef that I ground myself. It was easily better than any “Blue Mango” burger that you pulled out of a box from your freezer. My mother got a crock pot when we were kids. She used it once and raved about it. My father and I took it outside and beat it with aluminum baseball bats and then threw it away. We don’t have one anymore.
Long story short, I do not feel bad about killing animals, which I do not consider to be “innocent” because they lack consciousness and the capability to made decisions. I also do not care whether I give up years of my life (which I do not expect to) from eating meat.
Yes you should be eating plants along with meat for balance. Non-dairy versions do not taste good. Meat is the most delicious part of my meals it cannot be replaced with plant based. Last night I had home-made beef hamburgers mixed with onion soup mix. That was delicious! No veggie burger is better then beef. I have tried a couple just to see what they taste like and I wanted to barf. I never feel ill or bloated with my meals either. My skin has always been clear and I consume dairy daily. There is a reason for the animals being killed in my house and its to supply me meat and there’s nothing wrong with it. Also vegetarians nor vegans live longer and its not proven. Some vegan doctors lying is not proof. I am very healthy and feel excellent. Every vegan I have ever seen have problems and take suppliments or are very pale and lack of energy.
Where to begin? Oh yeah that has been said. Eating vegan is a choice and unfortunately we are not taught proper nutrition in school. Like any other change someone would make in their life they need to investigate it; when they do they will realize this is a simple healthy way to eat. It need not be complicated. I believe in the KISS system. I have read Ellen Jaffe Jones book and it is a great place to start. I also recommend Lindsay Nixon’s Happy Herbivore cookbooks. I am a lousy cook and even I can do this. I chose this diet for health reasons but after watching Earthlings I was appalled and how our meat comes to market. Eat More Kale!
Yes we are taught proper nutrition in school. Veganism is in no way a healthy way to eat. Eat more meat! Earthlings was a sorry film. WOW they find one bad slaughter house and say they are all like that and all the staged animal entertainment footage. It was all staged to make it look bad.
Being taught the Four Food Groups (which was in effect industry-funded propaganda) in elementary school doesn’t qualify as being taught proper nutrition in school. A majorty of the medical community disagrees with you John, and so do I.
Why are schools teaching nutrition, anyway? Shouldn’t that be left to parents? Oh, no, that wouldn’t work—your agenda wouldn’t get forcefully pushed into homes if that happened.
I agree with you anonymous. Vegans have no clue about real nutrition.
“The sad reality is that it’s usually costlier to get that healthy variety than to buy meat, bread and a few vegetables. The latter option might not be ideal, but it gets the job done at a lower cost.”
This is very much NOT the case in my experience, and I’m bummed to see you propagating this misconception. I spend less money being vegan than I did as an omnivore. Also the only reason meat and dairy is relatively inexpensive is government subsidies. The true cost of veganism is MUCH cheaper than eating animal products.
I agree with the commenter that said you should have researched more, and interviewed some vegans, before writing this article.
“But not everyone can afford the additional cost of shipping, let alone the products themselves. And not everyone can afford to spend extra money on groceries in the first place.”
Lentils and rice are very affordable. Many of us vegans do not purchase faux animal products and have no difficulty staying on our limited budgets. In fact, one might even save a good bit of money at the market, as well as savings on medication and health care. All people need to eat healthy diets to have a healthy life; but with veganism, one gains the extra benefit of supporting non-violence, improving environmental health, and helping to feed the hungry. For ethical vegans, as I am, the main reason has nothing to do with what is easy or what is cheaper, but what is the right thing to do. Causing unnecessary suffering does not make for a peaceful life.
As an animal rights activist, I do pay attention to what Ms. Itah says about reducing consumption of things which require death and suffering to animals. We advocate for veganism, but understand that people take varying degrees of time to achieve a total plant-based diet.
Anyone with a computer has all the resources in the world to become vegan. There are hundreds of wonderful sites and podcasts dedicated to vegan recipes, vegan products, and vegan living. All it really takes is the initiative to want to live a cruelty-free life.
Wow! I just want to balance things out by saying that (1) veganism can be a little time consuming, I will give you that, but, I am a mother of three that has managed to do enough research to stay healthy and provide nutritious meals for my family. (2) Vegetables and legumes are much cheaper than meat. My grocery bill is much smaller every week than it was when I was buying meat for all of our meals. And (3), at anonymous, I’m not sure where you have eaten your vegan meals, but the ones I have had in restaurants and the ones I produce at home have as much if not more flavor than the meat meals I use to make. My family and I were all carnivores before I decided to go vegan, and we all love the food we eat now! Oh, and I’m not sure how you came up with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes being ”unnatural”. Last time I checked they are all grown in NATURE.
At the end of the day, food made without animal flesh can never have the same texture, flavor, and other qualities that I enjoy when eating meat. Vegan food itself is not unnatural; however, the process of confining oneself to eating nothing but vegetables is.
Clearly you don’t know enough because we don’t eat only vegetables.
Meat eaters and vegans alike should both be eating vegetables, seeds, and nuts as part of a healthy diet. Eating vegan would not be a huge “switch” if a meat eater was already eating healthy; rather, the diet excludes certain foods, then you add a vitamin (B12).
Or we can keep eating meat and vegetables and make no switch at all.
And leave out taking vitamin supplements, which are certainly the hallmark of an effective, natural vegan diet.
totally misinformed yet again.
Some might not take suppliments and are healthy on just plant based diet. But I have seen alot talk about taking a suppliment for this and that. Its cool if you don’t tho Rob, glad you are healthy as well.
You state that research is necessary to become a Vegan or Vegetarian —I agree.
I also think you need to research more before you publish. Maybe interview a Vegan or two while you are at it. The fact is…being Vegan isn’t that hard and doesn’t require as much time as you think it might.
People should focus on saving animals if that’s what they want to do. I would rather give up fifteen years of my life than stop eating meat and other animal byproducts. Vegan food is disgusting, unstimulating, and unnatural. Humans have canine teeth for a reason; use them or at least shut up and let others do so in peace.
I agree.
Give up 15 years of your life then. But keep in mind the last 5-6 won’t be very pleasant either. Forget the people who would care that you’re dead, anyone who relys on you, they aren’t important. Your tastebuds, they’re in charge. Eating plants is unnatural, weird. “put an apple and a bunny in a crib with a baby if he eats the bunny and plays with the apple I’ll eat my hat” If you want to talk about the makeup of humans and what were equipped to eat, compare our canines to EVERY other meat eating animal (my teeth don’t look like my dogs). Then, compare our digestive systems with meat eaters and vegetarian animals. We’re far better equipped to handle plants than we are to tear through flesh. We’re also the ONLY species who drinks milk after infancy AND the ONLY species who drinks the milk of another species. I’m not a cow, I’m not an infant. That’s unnatural, go ask any other species that isn’t suffering from cancer, heart disease, diabetes and soaring obesity.
Until you know facts quit spouting out crap. Its not unhealthy to eat meat despite what you guys have been brainwashed to believe. Meat nor animal products causes none of those diseases. Go to college yourself and ya may learn something Rob.
John: I am a university professor and a VEGAN!! There is plenty of scientific research that shows that vegans are much healthier than meat eaters. There is not a single scientific article that shows otherwise. May I suggest that you educate yourself before spouting this utter nonsense?
Its false and biased research. No truth in it. There are plenty that say otherwise. Try google. I have educated myself.
I have 3 degrees including a PhD and yes, I’m a vegan. Your comment is invalid.
Wow. You must be so smart. You’ve spent your life living off other people’s money and not producing anything worthwhile for the world.
Are you retarded John?
Countless studies by credible universities and unbiased sources seem to disagree with you but who are we to argue with the one person obviously trolling this topic. Studies aside, I personally went vegan and have yet to make a single trip to a doctor, hospital or mourge. In fact quite the contrary I feel better than I have in years. Stop telling all these vegans, that have first hand experience they don’t feel better. Troll.
I would love to see your canine teeth. Looking at my cats and dogs and then comparing my set of teeth to theirs kind of makes me laugh about your statement. If your canines work so well, why not give up on the use of silverware?
Also, as I have stated before, I am fighting for the life of sentient, intelligent beings. I will never shut up about it. But maybe you should, considering that you have forgotten civility in your discourse.
They may be sentient but they are not intelligent. They are not sentient when I cook them :). I make sure they are dead!
Why do gorillas have canine teeth?
Who cares. I am not a gorilla I am an omnivore human.
“… many Americans lack the time, money and access to information on becoming vegan.”
First of all, being vegan is cheap. If it’s not, you’re doing it wrong. The only expensive vegan foods are processed things that should be only a tiny part of your diet.
The information is everywhere. There is only a small percentage of people who don’t have access to the internet or the library at this point.
As for time, that’s just rubbish. EVERYONE should be taking more time to make (and learning to make) better nutritional choices. You must — vegan or not. If you only eat what you are fed by the mass media, advertising and subsidies, you will be a big fat idiot who is ill and on medication between age 40 and death.
And remember — a corpse doesn’t balance your diet. Those animal corpses aren’t cheap. You are deluded if you think that.
And dairy is from another species and is intended for a suckling calf. Are you a suckling calf? Do you hope to grow into a heifer? I didn’t think so. Get your calcium the same way the cows do — FROM PLANTS.
Be a healthy vegan — go to the Produce Department and “eat the rainbow”. Eating fruits & vegetables in a range of colours is a good start. Buy some nuts, seeds & beans. See? Not that complicated.
You can learn about tofu, Daiya cheese, nutritional yeast, etc, later as things move along.
Wow, I don’t know where to start with this, other than to shamelessly promote my book, “Eat Vegan on $4 Dollars a Day.” As a single working mom, all I wanted to do was get healthy meals on the table in a hurry for my 3 daughters.
As an Emmy-winning TV investigative reporter and then Smith Barney financial consultant trying to dodge genes that gave mom, aunt and both sisters breast cancer plus most other preventable diseases, I got so tired seeing stories with 300 pound women loading carts with Twinkies saying “You can’t eat well on a budget.” I place in 5K races for my age group, I ran my first marathon last year. I was the fifth oldest woman to finish the Palm Beaches Marathon. I’m an AFAA certified personal trainer, RRCA certified running coach and volunteer high school cross country coach.
I’ve been eating this way most of the past 30 years. I didn’t get all the good genes. What’s inconvenient and expensive is watching relatives deal with a lifetime of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. What’s time consuming is getting your chest cracked open from heart disease, taking insulin every day and chemo. Research shows that a simple, cheap vegan diet as outlined in my book can reverse many diseases ala Bill Clinton and many more.
Dodging family genes has been the investigative reporting job of my life. I sell nothing. I simply want my 3 girls to grow up in a world avoiding the pain and suffering I’ve seen.
Please do the balanced reporting and research. When you understand there’s no money in broccoli and that most docs don’t take a single nutrition class in med school, then you understand why you have to be your own investigative reporter.
My book is my publishers #1 seller and I speak all over about how much you can save at the store and by avoiding hospitals. Reviews have said every college student ought to use my book.
Its a shame you push your horrible vegan agenda on your kids. They don’t even get a say so. Veganism is a horrible unhealthy lifestyle. Yoyr should be ashamed abusing your children like that.
It’s a shame how misinformed you are.
It is you whom is misinformed Rob.
John, you’re either misinformed, or a troll, or both. GTFO
“JohnCommented Today at 4:11 PM (22 minutes ago) |
Marie we don’t get that from meat, Also we breed more meat eaters and trust me my kids wont be vegan or vegetarian.”
WOW did you learn to copy and paste on your own?? Good Job!! You are smarter then most vegans.
I would submit that the author of this article is thinking too small.
First, a move from a country that is mostly omnivores to one that is mostly vegan wouldn’t happen overnight. As more and more people give up meat and animal products, grocery stores would start carrying more and more products that don’t use animal products; that will drive the price down as competition grows.
Second, as more people switch their diets, the amount of information about it will grow and penetrate deeper into society.
This author’s argument against veganism is one that I hear often; it goes something like this:
“If everybody went vegan, we would be over run with cows, pigs and chickens.”
A very cursory look at this argument shows the flaws. It’s self evident that it’s not an on and off switch. As people convert their diets, meat and animals product manufacturers will lose their market and they will stop breeding cows pigs and chickens.
Thank god that won’t happen. Us meat eaters will always be the majority. It will be a cold day in hell before I become vegetarian or vegan.
It’s funny, I said that a few times before I went vegan. People act like act like they like meat more than the next guy like its some kind of contest, makes me laugh.
I mean what I say. I will never give up meat.
you may be the majority for now… but what about after you all die of cancer or heart disease (or one of the hundreds of other illnesses that have been proven to be worsened by eating animal products) by 50 and vegans are living to be over 100?
Marie we don’t get that from meat, Also we breed more meat eaters and trust me my kids wont be vegan or vegetarian.