"Death By Veganism"

[xcanuck]

Clickety

I'm sure Tony Bourdain would have something interesting to say about this!

[Heather]

That poor baby. There are people who will not feed their infants breast milk because it comes from mammals. No, I am not kidding.

[Tweaked]

I was introduced to a woman 2 weeks ago, she was nice, rather cute, maybe a little high strung corporate lobbyist for my taste, but hey can't always be picky these days. Then I found out she was a vegan...could I really date someone that doesn't eat bacon or cheese. I don't think so.

[Sudhir Seth]

Some interesting insight into the world of Essential Amino Acids on links below.

http://books.google.com/books?id=qh3TqvSSO...rPsHo4#PPA34,M1

http://www.india4u.com/Health/calories_in_...and_legumes.asp

For some strange reason I have been unable to fathom, our forefathers declared cow's milk and its products to be OK but eating beef against the religion. Maybe since the country's economy was agriculture based and killing cows would have killed all Oxen which were the only animals used to plough the field. There are sects in India who have thrived on just grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables-- can't say how much a non-dairy diet takes away from an overall balanced diet.

[Sudhir Seth]

The first link did not paste Try the one below

http://books.google.com/books?id=qh3TqvSSO...rPsHo4#PPA34,M1

[zoramargolis]

Well-meaning idealogues, especially when they are young parents who refuse to seek the counsel of "traditional" medical practitioners, can do incredibly stupid things to their children.

I can recall reading a few years ago, that some earnest no-fat dieters were horrified to learn that their toddler had experienced permanent brain damage as a result of being on a strict, no-fat regimen since infancy. They thought that if it was good for them, it meant it was good for him, too. Turns out they were very wrong on both counts, since we now know that certain fats are essential in the human diet of all ages.

Years ago, when we were hippies in Vermont, we knew of a young woman who'd had a home birth, attended only by a male friend (not the father of the baby). She'd never taken the baby to see a doctor, and when she was unable to breast-feed, concocted her own concept of formula based on avocado, of all things--because it had vegetable fats. For some reason, she believed that cow's milk wouldn't be good--probably a vegan, though we didn't call them by that name back then. When the infant was clearly in major distress, her male friend convinced her to take the baby to a doctor--who saved the baby's life, and convinced her to feed it goat's milk, at least (and vitamin-mineral supplements, I presume).

[Anna Blume]

I was introduced to a woman 2 weeks ago, she was nice, rather cute, maybe a little high strung corporate lobbyist for my taste, but hey can't always be picky these days. Then I found out she was a vegan...could I really date someone that doesn't eat bacon or cheese. I don't think so.

She should visit the Dupont Circle farmers market, find John, the young red-headed market master, and ask him a question. He's a vegan, looking, rather cute, and the opposite of high strung. Oh, and loves to talk to young women who show up at the market. (Shhh!)

Well-meaning idealogues, especially when they are young parents who refuse to seek the counsel of "traditional" medical practitioners, can do incredibly stupid things to their children.

Indeed. Yet vegans who become vegans for ideological reasons do so in the belief that they are not exploiting or harming other animals and doing less harm to the environment than those of us who are omnivores--or ice-cream licking vegetarians who support dairy farms, fossil fuels, etc., etc. Therefore, though it sounds strange, a human mother's milk is vegan.

As this photograph suggests, some vegan parents raise their children well. Nina Planck, I'm sure, is doiing a wonderful job in raising her family. Still, I watched her give a talk once standing barefoot while very pregnant on the grass at Dupont Circle where dogs contribute only some of the germs one might expect to thrive on metropolitan soil.

[Waitman]

I love kicking the vegans around as much as the next duck-torturing, veal-eating, carnivore (they're usually to weak to kick back). But, as in politics, sometimes its the radicals who have the good ideas, and I think we've all benefited from the publicity these hairy leftists (some of my best friends...) have given to the importance and variety of vegetables in our diet, the joy of local produce (speaking of Nina), the sins of corporate farms and so on. Amusing as Bourdain's sneering rants are, they're a bit ignorant as well.

[hm212]

I was introduced to a woman 2 weeks ago, she was nice, rather cute, maybe a little high strung corporate lobbyist for my taste, but hey can't always be picky these days. Then I found out she was a vegan...could I really date someone that doesn't eat bacon or cheese. I don't think so.

I will not date anyone who cannot enjoy a nite at RTC.

[Heather]

I love kicking the vegans around as much as the next duck-torturing, veal-eating, carnivore (they're usually to weak to kick back). But, as in politics, sometimes its the radicals who have the good ideas, and I think we've all benefited from the publicity these hairy leftists (some of my best friends...) have given to the importance and variety of vegetables in our diet, the joy of local produce (speaking of Nina), the sins of corporate farms and so on.

I think that's called the "sactimonious vegetarian" fallacy. Plenty of carnivores are doing the same.

And what makes you think all vegetarians are leftists?

[DameEdna]

May I have the slab of bacon amuse, while the vegan torments the server with

a detailed discussion on what on the menu might, or might not, be acceptable?

Thank you.

[ManekiNeko]

At the risk of sounding like I'm making light of this situation: Veganism doesn't kill people, people kill people.

Go ahead, be a vegan. More bacon for me.

[zoramargolis]

As this photograph suggests, some vegan parents raise their children well. Nina Planck, I'm sure, is doiing a wonderful job in raising her family. Still, I watched her give a talk once standing barefoot while very pregnant on the grass at Dupont Circle where dogs contribute only some of the germs one might expect to thrive on metropolitan soil.

IIRC Nina Planck gave up veganism and now eats grass-fed meat, eggs, milk and cheese, and presumably will feed them to her child once it is eating solid food. Heinz and his wife have the right to decide how they raise their children. But the reality is, once young children are completely weaned from mother's milk there is a real question about whether those who are fed no animal-based proteins are getting adequate nutrition to support OPTIMAL physiological and cognitive development. Despite a wish to have "minimal impact on the planet" or whatever else may motivate people not to eat any eggs, dairy, fish or meat products, it seems like borderline neglect to feed a child a diet which is known to be deficient in specific amino acids, fats, Vitamin B12 and minerals that are essential for optimal brain and body development.

It is well known that second generations of a number of cultures who have come here as immigrants are significantly taller than their parents and grandparents who were raised in poverty, with less adequate nutrition. How anyone can choose not to do everything they can to provide their child every possible chance to develop to their fullest physical and intellectual potential is an anathema to me.