RE: So U think Vegan is healthy?
April 4, 2014 at 8:59 pm
(This post was last modified: April 4, 2014 at 9:03 pm by Aractus.)
- Never Trust an Ex-Vegan:
I, like many other people in the vegan community, have sat silent after reading Alexandra Jamieson's post about not being vegan anymore. I silently unfriended her on facebook. I silently removed her from my twitter feed. I silently read the comments (It took me more than two hours before I finally had to stop, there are over 1100 comments!) without leaving one myself.
Then I listened to Erin Red's podcast, Red Radio Episode #57. She may have well been talking directly to me when she called me out on being silent. So, here I am, finally speaking my piece.
Let me begin by saying, I am in no way perfect. I never have claimed to be, and never will. I don't grow my own food, and I admit to really enjoying some of the most ridiculous of vegan convenience foods. Often. But, I am a vegan. I have a "V" tattooed below my right ear to remind me of it every single time I look into the mirror. This is a commitment I have made for life. And I will not waver. Have I made mistakes? Of course. But to consciously order and eat a steak? Nope. That will never happen. Ever.
How does someone, after knowing what they know about the absolute disgusting practices of murder and torture that are a part of the animals-for-food industry, ever even think twice about being meat free for life? Well, she did. Because she was craving it. What the fuck? Are you kidding me? Almost every single day, my body craves french fries, cigarettes (which I gave up almost 3 years ago now, thank you very much), Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, Vegenaise, coffee, and yes, even bacon. Yep, I crave bacon. The smell of it doesn't make me sick to my stomach, it makes my mouth water...just like you Alex. But guess what? I don't eat the bacon. I just don't. Why, because I know it is wrong. IT IS WRONG! It is wrong to eat another animal. Just like it would be wrong for me to eat my sister.
...
There is importance in making quick decisions, but there's also importance in research and fact finding - sometimes the former is better sometimes the latter is better. The response to Alex Jamieson that I've posted above is an example of this in action - read it for yourself: "What the fuck? Are you kidding me? .. I don't eat the bacon. I just don't. Why, because I know it is wrong. IT IS WRONG! It is wrong to eat another animal. Just like it would be wrong for me to eat my sister." Their belief is so engrained that they aren't receptive to listening to clinical evidence or considering facts that may challenge it.
As I said above, I need to wipe the slate completely clean and forget everything I know about nutrition - nothing is sacred, nothing is to be taken for granted. I knew that long-term veganism can lead to osteoporosis etc but I had absolutely no idea of just what else it is capable of - even when people are taking supplements. Prior to today I did believe that long-term vegans are capable of good health with a well planned diet that may include supplements - and my criticism was that it requires vigorous planning of every meal to ensure you are getting all the nutrients. As of today I no longer believe this.
As a temporary diet, vegetarianism can be great and of that I still have no doubt. But it's the long term effects that I'm now interested in - people who were raised vegetarian or people who have been vegetarian/vegan for longer than 20 years. The questions I want to know the answer to are can it inhibit proper digestive function and result in inadequate nutrient absorption by the body, and can it lead to unavoidable deficiencies because of this. Harley took B12 supplements, multivitamins, etc and also he ate as much plant based protein that he could and was unable to build muscle. We do have vegan athletes that successfully build muscle, but none of them have been vegan for at least 20 years, and even though they may be building muscle etc there still could be long term digestive effects, and I'm really interested in finding out more about this.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
