Thoughts on Vegetarians/Vegans

[ers]

Vegetarian/vegan diets have never made much sense to me. They don't seem healthy or practical. I could never really explain why that was until I read this article:

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/vegetarian.html

It's a pretty long article but essentially it equates vegetarianism to immorality. I had a great time reading it. I would love to hear your thoughts/reactions/arguments.

-ers

[BarbeyGirl]

I confess I didn't take the time to read the article -- I sitll mean to, though! -- but I do have some thoughts on this topic:

While I no longer believe that vegetarianism/veganism is the most healthful diet possible, I do believe that a CLEAN veg diet would improve the health of a huge percentage of the Western population. Clean veg diets may tend to run short on protein and fat, and are almost always sky high on carbs due to all the grains and legumes required for adequate calorie intake, but at least they are low in sugar, dairy, processed foods, and damaged fats.

(Maybe I should speak for my own previously-"flegan" diet, which was as I described above.)

Vegans -- or at least flegans -- can be quite strong and healthy. My profile pic was taken after nearly 4 years of fleganism. I ate meat maybe 20 times during those 4 years, had a little dairy twice a month or so, and only used eggs for baking. I was very active and felt great up until the last few months before going primal. And, there are reams of research demonstrating the benefits of consuming large quantities of vegetables, which a good, clean vegan should be doing.

Anyway, my point is just that veg isn't necessarily as horrible as a lot of primals make it out to be. Best? Probably not. But I'd take it over the SAD of Egg McMuffins, pepperoni pizza, and Homestyle Bakes.

[chadwick]

I largely agree with BarbeyGirl. Vegetarianism is better than the Standard American Diet.

However, a vegan diet largely misses on both health and philosophical grounds. See The Vegetarian Myth for the most nuanced argument. (Mention by Richard at Free the Animal: http://freetheanimal.com/2009/08/the-vegetarian-myth.html)