For every pound of meat you eat, it took 10 to 20 pounds of animal feed (corn, soy, etc) to feed that animal (biologists know this – it’s a basic inefficiency of mammals). All of that feed needs to be harvested. And that kills critters.

Eating vegan foods kills critters too, but nowhere near as many as the animal-feed industry does.

No way around it. Veganism is the logical choice.

Hey, here’s another logical idea: read the book before deciding you think you know what it says. She is crystal-clear that cattle are not meant to eat corn and soy, so all those “oh my gosh, look how many pounds of corn it takes to raise a pound of meat!” arguments are based on a false premise to begin with.

Although I like your premise that killing to eat is immoral, but not if you only do it a little bit. That makes sense.

Makes sense.

Lierre Keith lays it all out brilliantly in The Vegetarian Myth. Monocrop agriculture kills countless critters.

I don’t count calories (or carbs) anymore. I just eat mostly raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I estimate that I am getting at least 50 grams of protein per day. I feel (and think I look) great and have to believe that since I’m able to run 5 – 10 miles per day that it is probably sufficient for me.

I have been eating a low-carb diet for several years in an effort to lose weight and improve my health and energy. I had no problem consuming dairy or meat as a large part of my diet. I also included large portions of high fiber foods: nuts, seeds and low-carb vegetables. I found that chia and flax seeds made an awesome breakfast cereal and had not only high amounts of healthy fats and protein, but also were high in fiber and very low in net carbs. I was happy to discover some very good non-animal-based foods that made me feel better about living “la vida low carb.” So, I made foods like these a more prominent part of my everyday diet.

I took up running a couple of years ago. I was concerned that because I did not “carbo load” I might not be able to keep up with other runners or succeed in this sport. Eating copious amounts of pasta, pretzels, high-carb energy bars and sugar-laden Gatorade was not on my agenda, even though this was the typical recommended diet of most runners. I considered it a challenge. “I will defy the standard logic and become a low-carb runner. ” I knew that I could still eat high fat, high protein, high fiber and low-carb and still get what I needed through that wonderful process of gluconeogenesis. It worked. I proved to myself (and others) that being a carb addict is not a necessary component to being a good runner. I have won (or at least placed in the top 3 in my age group) for most of the races I have participated in. I have proven that eating carbs are not necessary to run, nor are they necessary to run well. I started a website called “Running Against the Grain.”

As I continued my quest for the ultimate health and nutrition, I began to incorporate more and more plant-based foods into my diet and eating less meat and dairy. After much research and personal reflection, I adapted my low-carb diet to a raw vegan diet which I have been following for about a year now. I am healthier than ever, have great energy levels and am running faster than ever. I guess (according to a previous poster) this makes me an “annoying, upper-middle-class, never-having-experienced-hardship know-it-all.”

I find the blanket statements which stereotype and criticize all vegans to be extremely offensive. I do not criticize meat eaters/omnivores. I still prepare meat-based meals for my family. I don’t always like it, but I know it’s what they want and like. I don’t push my choices on others since this is a personal choice for me. I do like to educate people about poor nutritional choices if I think it can help them to make better informed decisions in an effort to improve their health. It’s not a meat vs. vegetables question. The single biggest detriment to our health is the proliferation of processed foods. Even in the “raw vegan” community, it is well-declared that refined sugars and processed starches are the worst, unhealthiest products you can possibly consume. For me, that is the common ground for both low-carb advocates and (well-educated) vegans. Pursing this new way of life, for me, is just taking my low-carb diet “to the next level.”

http://runningagainstthegrain.blogspot.com/2009/04/next-level.html

There are very inhumane practices occurring in slaughterhouses all over the world. It is simply appalling how the (majority of the) meat industry practices business. “Food, Inc.” is a very enlightening film in this regard. I heard someone say once that you cannot get healthy by eating sick animals. Plus beside the inhumane treatment, these animals are fed terribly unhealthy diets and pumped full of antibiotics and God knows what else. There are much healthier options for obtaining animals products like organic, free-range, grass-fed, etc. I propose we opt for the healthier and more humane options whenever possible. The same can be said for vegetables and fruits. Many are grown on nutrient-depeleted soil with massive amounts of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides using genetically modified seeds. I wouldn’t want to put those things in my body any more than diseased meat. Again, it’s not about animals vs. plants, it’s about obtaining optimal nutrition while still taking into regard humane treatment and environmental awareness.

So, I urge you to please not lump ALL people who consume a non-animal-product-based diet into the same category as the baffoon in this video. We are not all uneducated airheads.

Thank you.

I’m curious … how much protein do you consume? Do you feel it’s enough?

I’ll look for it. I’m a huge fan of his show “Rescue Me.”

Where I grew up, calling someone a vegetable or a pill was not particularly nice, so why would I want the be that by eating it? Also, given that I (and many other humans, I presume) would want to retain the ‘meat’ aspect of my physiology, why would I stop eating it?

It boggles the mind that the thing could get printed as anything but a parody but… it happened.

My wife picked up some brochures like that from a “health fair” in California. We enjoyed laughing at them.

I think we need to create a paleo restaurant where you get to stalk and kill your own game, then have the chefs cook it up over a pit. We can toss some vegans into the mix and call them a side of vegetables.

I applaud his plan.

I do consider myself lucky. My daughter said most of the kids in her class drink chocolate milk or punch every day with lunch. I shudder.