Please explain to me your logic for taking on a vegetarian lifestyle. In a way, im somewhat writing this out of frustration because of a few vegans I know who have been ruthlessly pushing their agenda on me (and complaining every time i eat meat...or "flesh" as they refer to it). Does the lack of B-12 and fat soluble vitamins make them more militant? I can see where you guys are coming from....I in fact was pesco for the majority of my life ( being only 21 at the moment I consider it mostly naive behavior at those ages ). I always had less energy than other people my age, and was a major caffeine junky....although I have to admit I was pretty thin for the most part (till I started drinkin ). Something else I feel that perhaps made me grow up less healthy, was being raised on SOY as a young infant. I would have bouts of anemia, flus, heart palpitations, "bad demeanor" as well as many other problems the doctors couldnt explain. My health problems cleared up as soon as I was old enough to eat normal food.

I guess what I am saying is why shun red meat or just meat in general? I can agree with religious reasons or if you simply dont find meat palatable. But it is not A) more healthy, or B) better for the enviroment than raising grains which rapes the soil and not to mention....clears out whole habitats and grinds up those cute little bunnies in combines by the thousands. Which is more humane? I simply cant fathom the arguement you're doing animals a favor. You can argue all you want about ethics....but do you ask a dog why it eats meat? Of course that would be ridiculous....but it is only NATURAL a dog eats meat....as it is only NATURAL a human would as well. You can thank our ancestors for eating high-cholesterol diets consisting of marrow, brains, and other things that would probably even make most modern avid meat eaters cringe; cholesterol is very important to brain development ( I feel bad for children raised on vegan diets....knowing that they will be in for a host of problems down the road). This post isnt intended to troll. I want your reasoning for this.....obviously you are adopting low carb eating which is extremely healthy. To be honest, probably only one meal a day will even consist of meat for me...I am a huge vegetable lover....but I know better now to include them in my diet. I trust you are incorporating coconut into your diets if you are vegan? The saturated fat is essential for processing many vitamins (which is why simply taking a B-vitamin and being vegan isnt exactly going to make you an example of good health). Lastly....while i love the taste of tofu....why eat it? It's protein is poorly absorbed. It is loaded with phytic acid which is counter-productive to your vitamin-nutrient regime as it binds to nutrients and renders them unabsorbable. It stimulates estrogren production (not exactly desirable in men). It is made similarly to HYDROGENATED OILS in respect to the fact it is heated to very high temperatures and bombarded with hydrogen atoms to make it digestable. Not exactly very natural if this cant be eaten in nature.....would be like eating a raw potato. Many studies done on rodents have found it to be mildly carcinogenic.......even the chineese for centuries have known it is mildly toxic (mostly people used the fermented version of soy...which is.....in my opinion, much safer). So why eat it? Finally.....before someone tells me saturated fats from animals will kill me....id beg to differ. It is the natural fat ancient humans would eat mostly in abundance. Trans-fats....i think we can all agree.....are quite unhealthy, so no need to explain (canolas and other perishable fats....the "rancid fats").
These also come in polyunsaturated.....a fat found in small ratios in nature and as such, is reasonably healthy in small amts. Many vegans however, derive a whopping portion of their very low fat (typically) regime from things such as soy, canola, or safflower.....they make great paint thinners and industrial lubricants....but I wouldnt advocate putting them into my body. These fats have been shown to suppress thyroid function, as saturated fats have been shown to have the opposite effect ( I think a factor in the huge success of people on conventional atkins ). SO this isnt meant to troll...I just wanted some perspective on why you choose to do this. Please dont take me for purely coming off as trying to be nasty. Cheers!

I don't buy the whole "vegan" thing either. Despite what they say, it just is not natural at all! When I was younger, I was really into outdoor survival, and have read lots of books and have had lots of mileage in the woods. Around here, in NW Pennsylvania, if you go out in the woods there are no potatoes, soybeans, or broccoli. There are no avocados, oranges, or walnuts. There are no beans, wheat grasses, or carrots. So what could native people have eaten around here before the Indians brought up corn? Meat and greens. Some nuts and berries. There are lots of squirrels, deer, frogs, bugs, fish, and other protein sources. In the spring there are wild leeks all over, and other greens throughout the growing season. In the fall there are acorns, and used to be chestnuts. There are very few roots that are edible, and they are not plentifull. There are some berries, but they are available for only a short time in the summer. I suspect that primitive man around here subsisted mainly on meat for half the year, and filled up on greens in the summer if he had to when he was hungry, and it was barely better than nothing. I'm sure some other parts of the world have more to offer as far as natural bounty, but around here and in many similar temperate areas it's slim pickins if you are a vegan.

I don't have much time for Vegans or militant animal rights people.
I love animals though I do eat animals, I eat organic.
What bothers me is the question of testing on animals, which I loath but the medications that help animals, the painkillers etc are also tested on Animals.

Animals eat animals. We are animals, right?

If a wolf or grizzly could handle a shotgun and catch me on the right day, I'd be his dinner just the same as he could be mine, so I just don't see a problem with eating animals.

I wonder if part of the reason that vegans try to push others into their way of life is because they start having meat cravings? That is what is nice about LC. Once you are passed induction the cravings all but go away. Other changes in lifestyle might not be that easy. I am guessing that each time they see you eat meat they start to crave it too. And rather than giving up their lifestyle they are trying to sell you on it so they don't have to be tempted anymore. Maybe I am wrong but I thought I would point out my theory.

Interesting theory, tie guy.

Friskmint...I am not that versed on vegan ways but I have picked up a bit of info from several sources. I find your perspective interesting and thank you for raising the point of soy. I used to eat it because it was supposed to be good for me. This substance has become something I don't touch now if I can help it. Too volitile for this chickee!!

I love my meat, game, fish & fowl and in my opinion NEED to eat them for optimal health. I choose to do that. I love animals, live with many and wish humankind would cohabitate with them in a more peaceful way. I detest and loath cruelty to critters but... I love to eat 'em. My body is wired to be a meat, or rather, "flesh" eater.

One-shot kills, humane treatment before slaughter and stricter regulations are all necessary to minimize the pain we inflict, but, IMO, it is necessary to the circle of life. I mean, I get sad for the baby gazelle as the lioness is taking it down, but if you watch, she goes for the throat and it's over as soon as its begun. A lion pride is nourished. Life goes on.

I wish I could eat wild game the majority of the time but I refuse to hunt myself until I am a perfect shot. One-shot kill. I don't want to have to walk up the the deer I just shot and have to give the "kill shot" face to face. It's not fair to either of us. Then again, I'm a softie!!

So, I guess I agree that it's necessary to eat meat, for some. If someone doesn't like a nice rare steak, I just don't understand. I just can't comprehend not wanting to eat it or having any sort of revulsion towards meat. It's so yummy!

Nice post... I'm a firm believer in the fact that humans are omnivors... we are built, designed, created... however you want to say it, to eat meat.

I always thought it was so funny - Vegans are so militant about their way being so natural. I'd like to see how nature produces tofu. I'd like to see them hunt "TVP". I'd also like to see the type of animal that you can make veggie burgers from. All that stuff is so heavily processed... but my foods? Meat, eggs, fruit, veg, nuts, seeds... go figure.

The B12 issue... it actually isn't produced in animals... it comes from the soil, and there are B12 levels in our meat simply because of the vegitation the animals ate. Most vegans would get enough B12 from simply not over washing their vegitables. A little earth never hurt anyone. Unfortuneately, NA's bizarre need to spray the earth with chemical fertilizers and pesticides necessitates washing produce.

My daughter who is 9 wants to be a vegan. ( Pressure from school mates) i let her try it for 1 week. She got really sick. Following the vegan diet just did not provide her body with enough iron. ( She is a boarder line Animeic)
I was talking to her dr. and he voiced a concern over how many children are coming in with low iron readings and parents saying we do not eat (red) meats, so they should being getting the proper vit. & min. If they only read where the body gets the iron thats need for proper development of vitual organs and cells they might change thier minds about thier "healthy" diet.

I am Christian and from what I read in the Bible, we can eat meat but we are to take care of the earth at the same time. This is why I try (sometimes I fail, but I TRY) to eat ethically-raised and organic animals. I will not eat animals which are raised in dismal conditions eating dismal "food."

I used to be vegetarian. I thought it would be more healthy. It DID force me to re-think my eating habits, and some of the habits I picked up while veggie remain today (I enjoy fish; I love salad; I enjoy different types of greens and so forth). However, I gained forty pounds.

Not quite right. Vitamin B-12 is produced by bacteria found in the intestines of animals from where it is transported to the muscle tissue by the bloodstream. http://icare4u.com/Nu0022.htm Vitamin B-12 is also produced in the human intestine, but it is not absorbed.
There is some B-12 in the soil (from manure), but fruits and vegetables do not produce it.

Wow, I eat meat because I like the taste. I grew up in farm country where you raised your own veggies, ate apples off the trees, helped kill & clean the culled chickens who were too old to lay eggs, raised pigs & cows to provide food, and gave thanks to God for providing for us. Seems to me that vegans are missing out.

Veganism...scientifically plausible or ideology/religion?

There are plenty of ideas that look good on paper if you don't analyze them too deeply. Communism on the page is a wonderful thing, but try to act it out in the real world and you get horrible consequences. Veganism is admirable in a surface way on the page as well. I also beleive the practitioners are led to it by a noble idea. Ideology is not evolutionary fact however. It's a tough world, look around at nature. Things kill other things to survive. It is not ugly, nor is it beautiful...it's beyond that. It's sublime. (at least, it would be without some of the more questionable slaughtering practices of the modern age...but some things I have no control over and I'm not going to practice martyrdom because of it) The thinking is that by "doing the least harm"...we move upwards in spirituality...we'll I guess that would be the spirituality of a herbivore (a cow). Sounds like a step backward to me.

The statue has feet of clay, and the clay is B12.

Marge, what a beautiful and back-to-basics way of life, huh? I loved your post sooooo much. Makes me want to live in the country....but I just love that shoe shopping too much, LOL.

Thanks for making us all stop and think about what is important.

I've had chickens for several years now, and you really get a sense of fullfillment from eating the eggs. Sounds kinda weird, but I love to go up each night to get the eggs and close them up, with a snack for the girls and BUR (Big Ugly Rooster), and they come flocking up to me. One year I raised a bunch of roosters and had the Amish butcher them, and they were tasty enough, but I think I had a little too much Bambi syndrome. Since then I'll eat other people's chickens, but not my own. Now if I were starving, or chickens were a fortune in the store, that would be a different story- common sense would overcome my "feelings"!