Well, so’s flight.
Exactly. An all-vegetable diet is not natural for the human body (you can tell, we have meat-eater features like canine teeth and only one stomach … ) - but, with modern science, it is possible to eat an all-vegetable diet and remain entirely healthy. The problems only arise when the advice of nutritionists isn’t followed.
I’m not myself a vegetarian; I have friends who are, and, while they’re very healthy people, I’m not sure I want their lifestyle, which includes a lot of calculation about what goes into each meal.
There are probably many kids and adults who suffer untold health problems from eating the body parts and drinking the liquids of dead animals.
Some people like Gandhi and Krishnamurti had never even tasted animal flesh, although they may have drank their bodily secretions.
There are many healthy folks who have been vegans from day one.
But for sure she should have been informed regarding B 12
One of the healthiest and best letter carriers in my husband’s office is a vegan; he has one of the toughest walking routes and also runs for exercise.
And thanks for totally misunderstanding veganism, though I suspect you’re doing it just to be snarky. It’s suffering that most vegans are concerned about. New agey “oh you can hear roses scream when plucked” anecdotes aren’t true - I thought we were above spreading misinformation here. I just about scream every time someone mentions a diet that doesn’t involve animal products, and certain omnivorous eaters start figuring out ways that those people should be starving themselves. What’s it to you, that’s more meat for you to eat.
Here’s the Mayo Clinic’s take on vegetarianism and veganism, by the way. Much more reassuring and less doom-saying than the link below, and I’ve no idea what the background of that site below is.
If the ladies in the OP had half a brain in their heads, they’d be taking vitamins to be sure their babies were doing fine. It’s not veganism at fault, it’s cluelessness.
Sigh. I hit reply with quote and so I had to scroll down on my screen to re-reference the link istara posted, but of course I should have said “above” here. And no, I’m not a vegan. 
This is one of the dumbest arguments against vegetarianism/veganism yet. But I still hear it almost every day. First, i ususally get this from the same people who like to wave slices of turkey in my face and say “don’t eat me!”. Which really pisses me off. I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian, which means i eat cheese and eggs and milk, so i am not a vegan. Personnally i do not have many vegan friends, because they tend to be very pushy. But still, how can you consider this one of the dumbest decisions ever? Are you that uneducated?
On re-reading the report linked to in the OP, I get the impression that the problem is that the information about B12 deficiency isn’t widely known, and the CDC is reminding doctors to be more alert for it.
Let’s remember, there are thousands of causes of birth defects and developmental problems, and it’s probably unreasonable to require parents to be aware of every single one of them.
I can’t believe some of you heartless fiends!!! As this reputable cite show, plants DO feel pain! So keep on deluding yourselves, and participate in your sick wheat holocausts!! Plug your ears and don’t hear the screams of the defenseless, if your can bring yourself to be so callous.
Hey, I’m making about as much sense as your average vegan. This post would be a bit more in-depth, but I’m off to the butcher’s to buy some real food.
… Says the guy who murdered Caesar…
Oh my fucking GOD! HAHAHAHAHAHA! I was drinking orange juice when I read Brutus’s last post. I spit it out everywhere laughing. Some of it got up my nose. Omg, those pictures. My stomach hurts. I cannot remember the last time I’ve laughed so hard. Sweet Jiminy, TEARS rolled down my cheek… seriously. And for the record, I eat meat and lot’s of it.
Just to nitpick on a couple of earlier posts:
Vegan babies can and do breastfeed because the milk comes from a human as part of a natural bodily function instead of from an animal source. Think- cow milk is for baby cows, human milk is for baby humans, whale milk is for baby whales, etc.
A vegan friend of mine has a bunch of links if anyone is interested.
http://www.unc.edu/~kkmc/vegan.htm
Her child has been vegan since birth and is as healthy as any other child.
BTW, I’m an omnivore myself.
I’m an odd vegan because I have no problem with anyone eating meat. Shoot, I hang out on a bulletin board for the Atkins’ Diet because I did it for awhile, and I have too much fun at the board to leave. For me, I just am able to keep in shape better if I’m not eating meat or dairy. I do know the ethical reasons for being vegan, and while I think they’re admirable, they’re unrealistic. However, while I was once vegan for both ethical and health reasons, I was never ‘in your face’ about it.
Although, what kills me is that people scream about how unhealthy veganism is for kids…like feeding them sugar and McDonalds constantly is anymore healthy? Why isn’t anyone threatening to take away morbidly obese kids from their parents? Obviously, these kids are suffering from major health risks too. Why are they allowed to stay with their parents when it’s obvious that their parents don’t know how to care for them properly? And while I don’t have any statistics, my guess is that there are a lot more obese, malnourished children out there than there are malnourished vegan kids.
Ava
Whatever. You believe your shady and ill-reputed sources, I’ll believe my kosher sources. And according to the source, trees have the SOULS OF HUMANS in them!!! Holy fucking poop shit! So that means…err…NO MORE EATING TREES! And no more clogs. Because eating trees not only kills a plant, it condemns a human soul to SOMEWHERE!!!
I really liked the link, MeanOldLady. Can’t wait until I can tell our resident preachy vege-something (Vegan? Vegetarian? Dunno, don’t care. But if I get one more snide comment when eating my burgers…) that I am going to ‘sponsor’ her.
Et Tu, SPOOFE? Spreading lies and FALSEHOODS? Obviously, human ‘flight’ is indeed natural, and has the added benefit of creating love energy!
And exactly how do you know that plants feel nothing? If plants were to feel nothing then how do they know to seek out light if you try growing them in a dark box with light at the end of a simple maze?
Just because the way a plant may feel things totally different from you doesn’t mean it can’t feel. Yes I read some of the sites in this thread, but a lot of those have been done by wackos. That doesn’t mean that in the years to come we might not come up with some way of determining if a plant can feel or not.
Why the fuck do you care so much about what other people eat?
Because they care so much about what I eat?
Sorry, Brutus. I guess I just sometimes fail to recognise satire when I see it.
Brutus, you made my morning. Funny stuff!
As for the vegan outcry, I’ll poison the well by saying that any zealotry (in this case, veganism) is by definition something that doesn’t lend itself to critical thought and open discussion.
Like religion and other belief systems, it’s just another enabling mechanism to help people make sense of the world and their place in it, to help them shore themselves up in the face of fear and doubt and ignorance, and to ultimately help them survive. Which isn’t such a bad thing.
No amount of exert opinions, quotes, cites, or data will sway this argument one way or the other.
But, it would be fun to listen to a vegan atheist argue with a Christian fundamentalist meat-eater. Could they ever find common ground?
I don’t see anyone belittling your eating habits in this thread.