Study Finds Veganism To Be The Most Sustainable Diet, Published By PLOS

[Anastasia 6,093]

Just now, Sizzily said:

Nah, I'm good.

Does climate change not interest you? Or animal abuse doesn't resonate with you? 

[Sizzily 14,571]

Just now, Anastasia said:

Does climate change not interest you? Or animal abuse doesn't resonate with you? 

What do you want from me?

[iCpro 14,846]

10 hours ago, Simon said:

I mean rainforest get killed for fields which is something not so much discussed among vegans. One of the problems also need to get solved. 

Also what about genetic manipulated fruits. What do you think about that? I'm personally against genetic manipulated stuff

Realistically we can't all be vegan AND gmo free. If everyone was to go vegan the amount of produce (fruit, veggies etc) required to sustain the population would skyrocket, and without modifying the food to be more nutritious, larger, and reproduce more, half of the population would die of starvation. 

[Anastasia 6,093]

Just now, Sizzily said:

What do you want from me?

I'm just curious as to who you are. If you are someone who is against animal abuse, all you need to do is stop eating animal products. It is a lot easier than it seems, and its ok to have to inch your way into the lifestyle. I just want people to question what they are sold and how animals are treated. Small changes like trying meatless Mondays help, if that is something you are interested in then I am eternally grateful. 

[kevinthesheep 2,947]

Just now, iCpro said:

Realistically we can't all be vegan AND gmo free. If everyone was to go vegan the amount of produce (fruit, veggies etc) required to sustain the population would skyrocket, and without modifying the food to be more nutritious, larger, and reproduce more, half of the population would die of starvation. 

Around 40% of the world's grain is currently fed to animals, there is plenty of food to feed people if you take animals out of the equation. And you have to remember that a switch to veganism is going to happen over decades. It is inevitable that meat and animal production is going to decline because there is literally no reason for western civilisations to be inflicting such cruelty on animals when we have other food to eat, so there wouldn't be a sudden skyrocket because i can't realistically see the population switching to a vegan diet overnight.

[Sizzily 14,571]

2 minutes ago, Anastasia said:

I'm just curious as to who you are. If you are someone who is against animal abuse, all you need to do is stop eating animal products. It is a lot easier than it seems, and its ok to have to inch your way into the lifestyle. I just want people to question what they are sold and how animals are treated. Small changes like trying meatless Mondays help, if that is something you are interested in then I am eternally grateful. 

I've been on a water + powder meal replacement diet for a week. But I still eat a little bit of chicken at dinner to keep my protein good. 

[kevinthesheep 2,947]

21 minutes ago, Lord Temptation said:

Butter, eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds and fish all contain lots of fat. And all are healthy.

Cholesterol is essential structural component of all animal cell membranes; essential to maintain both membrane structural integrity and fluidity.

Please don't try and make cholesterol or fat the bad guy when we all know that it is processed food containing preservatives, synthetic colours and flavours, and other chemicals and additives, which is the real cause of poor health.

Margarine (synthetic) is evil. Butter (natural) is nourishing and good for you.

Eggs are life.

 

You're right, however you can get all the healthy fats you need from avocados, nuts, seeds (flax or chia are great for omega 3). There is no evidence showing a need for saturated animal fat or cholesterol in the diet. 

[Anastasia 6,093]

2 minutes ago, iCpro said:

Realistically we can't all be vegan AND gmo free. If everyone was to go vegan the amount of produce (fruit, veggies etc) required to sustain the population would skyrocket, and without modifying the food to be more nutritious, larger, and reproduce more, half of the population would die of starvation. 

Produce is extremely quick, cheap and efficient to produce. The world absolutely would not starve, a large amount of our produce is going towards feeding the livestock, they don't even end up producing the same amount of meat as they do in eating produce. Meat is incredibly expensive and time consuming to produce, whole grains and fruits and veggies are very quick, cheap and efficient Most of the world can't afford meat, and therefore eat vegetarian diets.

I am not educated enough on GMO's, but even without them my argument stands, you can feed many people very quickly with plants whereas meat takes years and only feeds a select few.

[iCpro 14,846]

5 minutes ago, kevinthesheep said:

Around 40% of the world's grain is currently fed to animals, there is plenty of food to feed people if you take animals out of the equation. And you have to remember that a switch to veganism is going to happen over decades. It is inevitable that meat and animal production is going to decline because there is literally no reason for western civilisations to be inflicting such cruelty on animals when we have other food to eat, so there wouldn't be a sudden skyrocket because i can't realistically see the population switching to a vegan diet overnight.

Still, the overall amount of food consumed would increase, because vegetables simply don't have the calorie density of meats. Thats coupled with the exponentially increasing population means that the amount of food required would be far too great to be sustained on organic food. I believe it won't be long until fruit is produced in factories that grow 1000's of apples per day. And there's nothing wrong with that, its just a different approach.

[Anastasia 6,093]

2 minutes ago, Sizzily said:

I've been on a water + powder meal replacement diet for a week. But I still eat a little but of chicken at dinner to keep my protein good. 

I'm so glad you are open-minded with your diet, but as someone studying dietetics I would be careful with the diet you are following, it doesn't sound healthy to me. If you have questions I can help, but my first recommendation would be to see a Registered Dietitian, they will go over your stats, your allergies, preferences, financial status and help you build recipes and meal plans that will get you on track. Protein is very easy to get, you do not need animal products to get it, but my first recommendation is for you to not follow fad diets. The best diet for weight loss is a calorie deficient, apps like My Fitness Pal can help you set realistic goals and help you keep track of what you are eating. 

[kevinthesheep 2,947]

7 minutes ago, iCpro said:

Still, the overall amount of food consumed would increase, because vegetables simply don't have the calorie density of meats. Thats coupled with the exponentially increasing population means that the amount of food required would be far to great to be sustained on organic food. I believe it won't be long until fruit is produced in factories that grow 1000's of apples per day. And there's nothing wrong with that, its just a different approach.

Grains and legumes are the staple of most vegan diets and have a much higher calorie density than things such as broccoli, kale etc (and on par or a little less than animal foods). But you are correct, a growing population will obviously require more food, and in theory as we switch away from animal products, the food used to feed animals would be grown for people. 

I would also say that a vegan diet is not synonymous with organic - organic generally means lower crop yields compared to conventional, leading to more land being used and higher prices - something which i don't believe is sustainable for the amount of people that need to be fed. I just read an article literally this morning about food being grown indoors... it's a bit of a scary concept but it may be the only way forward (vegan or not).

[uo111 5,282]

13 minutes ago, iCpro said:

Still, the overall amount of food consumed would increase, because vegetables simply don't have the calorie density of meats. Thats coupled with the exponentially increasing population means that the amount of food required would be far too great to be sustained on organic food. I believe it won't be long until fruit is produced in factories that grow 1000's of apples per day. And there's nothing wrong with that, its just a different approach.

Meat is dense in calories only after years of consuming many tons of food. Eating the food directly would reduce total food consumption, not increase it.

If you could raise a pig in 4 years, off of 4 apples a day, it would eat about 1400 apples. Do you think a pig, or 1400 apples will feed more people?

37 minutes ago, Lord Temptation said:

Butter, eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds and fish all contain lots of fat. And all are healthy.

Cholesterol is essential structural component of all animal cell membranes; essential to maintain both membrane structural integrity and fluidity.

Please don't try and make cholesterol or fat the bad guy when we all know that it is processed food containing preservatives, synthetic colours and flavours, and other chemicals and additives, which is the real cause of poor health.

Margarine (synthetic) is evil. Butter (natural) is nourishing and good for you.

Eggs are life.

 

Okay. First of all butter isn't healthy. Margarine also isn't healthy but that doesn't make butter healthy. That's the argument from the dairy industry though. Being stabbed by a knife is safer than being shot. No one should recommend for people to start stabbing each other.

Second, eggs are not healthy. Please don't get your information from .com websites.

Third of all, the health benefits of fish comes from their omega-3s. Plant sources of omega-3s are healthier than fish. If you want people to be their healthiest (which, why wouldn't you?) then you would recommend plant sources over fish.

[Lord Temptation 11,209]

30 minutes ago, kevinthesheep said:

You're right, however you can get all the healthy fats you need from avocados, nuts, seeds (flax or chia are great for omega 3). There is no evidence showing a need for saturated animal fat or cholesterol in the diet. 

I don't need evidence to know that humans have been eating eggs and meat for tens of thousands of years. Without eating meat we would never have evolved to become homo sapiens. We'd still be living in trees and uttering nonwords. Stop trying to change history.

Being human means eating meat, and there is no shame in that. If you want to be an ideologue, divert your attention to the chemicals industry and crusade against them. 

[Bette Davis 12,742]

Curious to hear opinions from the vegans/vegetarians on this:

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2010/04/consider_the_oyster.html

[Bjaf 1,336]

@Anastasia You have such a great way of communicating your opinions on veganism. It's obvious that you're very knowledgeable. Rather than letting emotions take over and getting into never-ending arguments (which is unfortunately what too many vegans tend to do), you take the time to explain every single one of your points. They're also always supported by tangible experiences or facts. That's really important, and even more so when it comes to having discussions on something as fundamental and natural as eating.

I've been vegan for a year, vegetarian for over three years now. I'll bookmark this thread just to look back on some of your posts, especially for your unique rhetoric. Thank you!