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| Photo credit: Foter.com |
One who chooses a vegan diet over an omnivore diet is at a higher risk for deficiency of a nutrient that can only be gained from meats, poultry, dairy, and/or seafood. Protein (amino acids) DHA, B12, and carnosine are necessary in human processes, and these foods are rich in them. Not to mention, fewer protein choices will lead to more carbohydrates, such as bread, pastas, and rice, in a diet. Too many carbohydrates can lead to an increase in body fat, development of insulin resistance, and elevated triglycerides. Vegan diets are so limited; they may even contribute to a decrease in social outing. Most restaurants don’t have vegan options, and many of their entrees have a form of meat. It would be hard to eat out in public; if you find one option, you’d be stuck to eating that one food multiple times. It’s especially hard when one goes out to family restaurants and their family is of a different culture. For examples, Indians, Hispanics, Jamaicans, and many others eat meat nearly on a daily basis. It’s almost impossible to find a meal that has been seasoned by a dairy or animal concentrate or a meal without meat as a main course. This idea of a meal isn’t anything foreign; if anything it’s human! All humans are omnivores and we have evolved that way. For 200,000 years, humans have been eating meat as a way of survival. Back to the hunting and gathering ages, leading up to now, human beings are the top of the food chain because we consume plants and meats. If humans began to replace all meats with plant-based foods, it would imbalance the food chain. That
would lead to scarce plants and overpopulation of animals. There’s a reason why humans are able to
digest meat and dairy yet still benefit from it. Dairy could also be replaced by plants such as soy since
most vegan dieters favor soy products. Soy products can’t even be digested because soy has no
purpose nor nutrients for humans, yet vegans will drink soy milk and eat soy in meat substitutes and
tofu. On the subject of digestion, plant-based diets decrease digestive juices, and if one wanted to
give up veganism, it would be very hard to digest meat. They might even suffer from an upset
stomach, vomiting, and/or diarrhea—yikes! Why choose a diet that has so many downsides when you
could continue the human way of life that has contributed the success of the human race’s long
lifespan as a species?
Vegans would argue that these animal-derived foods are bad for you. For example, dairy is frowned
upon because of the fat in milk, but like any other food, it’s good in proportion. Milk is what feeds us
calcium to keep our bones strong and also the fat to help kids grow. Additionally, vegans would try to
escape processed food, but little do they know they’re more likely to eat them. Due to the lack of
variety, they’re subjected to eat more snacks to avoid dairy, meat, and fish. They’ll be consuming
more corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, soy, and not to mention substitutes. Another claim is that
you’ll supposedly eat fewer calories. While the food choices may have fewer calories, they will lead
to dissatisfaction because they’re not filling. Yes, fiber from plants may make you feel full, but that feeling is only temporary. When you eat protein, such as meats, fish, and chicken, you will feel full
longer and are therefore less likely to eat another meal soon after. The dissatisfaction will lead to
picking foods and snacking all day, which could eventually lead to weight gain and even diabetes.
Lastly, it is known that processed meats, like cold cuts, are bad for you, but not all meat is. Even non-
vegans do not eat processed meats and stick to the good meats like chicken, white meats, fish, and on occasion, red meat. If a diet with meat and dairy is balanced and clear of artificial or processed foods, it’s the healthiest form of living.
In conclusion, a vegan diet isn’t worth all the insufficient nutrients, variety, and disadvantages. There is no evidence that it’s better than the traditional omnivore diet humans have survived by. Why change the nature that humans were born with just to believe myths and assumptions?
By Aryssa H.