To be (Vegan) or not to be
Thinking vegan? Read this first.
How can you tell veganism is sticking around? When fast food joints like A&W and Harvey’s offer plant based options at their 1000+ outlets across Canada, you know this is not a passing trend. “Beyond Meat”, a U.S. company that provides plant-based meat substitutes was valued at $11.7 billion in 2019! A BBC report says that in the UK, veganism has grown four-fold since 2006 while in Canada, a Dalhousie University study says that this country is home to at least 460,000 vegans.
The prevailing view is that this is great news for our health, the environment and the life of the animals and that we’re just scratching the surface of a new world where plant foods reign supreme.
But is there more fervour than truth to this outlook? Let’s investigate.
What are the arguments for veganism?
Eating meat causes cancer, heart disease and death. At least that’s the argument backed up by some pretty weak science. Here’s the thing - almost all nutritional research relies on observational studies and these studies are wrought with the classic “healthy user bias”, not to mention poor recall and lack of control for confounding factors.
This is from a study looking at the link between eating meat and colorectal cancer - “Colinearity between red meat intake and other dietary factors (e.g. Western lifestyle, high intake of refined sugars and alcohol, low intake of fruits, vegetables and fibre) and behavioural factors (e.g. low physical activity, high smoking prevalence, high body mass index) limit the ability to analytically isolate the independent effects of red meat consumption”.
The most recent study that came out in 2019 and was headlined by many news sources, suggested eating meat increases risk of cancer by 20%! That would indeed be scary, however that number is incredibly misleading as David Shaw points out in his blog from the Journal of Medical Ethics. “None of the reporting, not even the more detailed BBC coverage, explained that this is a relative risk increase, not an absolute risk increase.” He goes on to point out that “in individual terms the absolute risk increase is 0.08%, not 20% – a staggering difference.”………and pretty much a rounding error.
If scientific studies don’t give us the answers, what about looking at anthropological evidence? Is there a robust history of humans eating an omnivorous diet? (clearly yes). Have there been any purely vegan cultures or groups that we know of in the history of mankind? (the answer is no). Has our evolution betrayed us to the point that what we’ve done for hundreds of thousands of years (eat an omnivorous diet) is all of the sudden wrong and will kill us? (almost assuredly not).
Okay so maybe eating meat won’t give you cancer or shorten your life but it does ruin the environment.
This topic is a little more sticky. Suffice it to say, it is beyond the scope of this blog to prove that the existence of livestock is not a detriment to the environment. I will however make a few important points.
CAFO farming (concentrated animal feeding operations) is without a doubt extremely harmful depending on the density, to both the environment and the welfare of its animals.
The question becomes - are there alternative methods of raising animals and can those alternatives be scaled up to a point where demand is met?
“Regenerative agriculture” is gaining a lot of traction in certain circles and for good reason. The basic concept is this - let animals eat and forage as they were meant to, while controlling their grazing patterns much like predators in the wild would have kept herds constantly on the move. This allows grasslands to be mowed (by being eaten), trampled and fertilized (with manure) which spurs new growth and actually captures and sequesters carbon. This is a process that has been occurring for as long as there have been grazing animals. Think of the Buffalo on the great plains, or the great herds of grazers in Africa, etc.
Some would argue that if we just converted a portion of the land used by livestock to grow crops, we’d be further ahead since livestock land use in the U.S. for example, is approximately 70 percent of the agricultural land, while around 30 percent is used to grow crops. However, the USDA says “only 1.6 percent of the land used to raise livestock could also be used for crops”. This is true in many parts of the world where raising animals is a necessity for survival and an important livelihood and the option of switching to plant based agriculture is non-existent.
What about all that methane and other green house gasses being emitted from cow farts and burps?
In his book Sacred Cow, Robb Wolf points out that “according to the EPA, all livestock only represents 3.9% of GHG emissions”, while the transportation industry accounts for 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions. This doesn’t even take into account the carbon sequestration of grass-fed cattle.
White Oak Pastures, a regenerative farm in Georgia had a lifecycle study done looking at the environmental impact of a grass fed beef vs. “Beyond Burger”. The grass fed beef came in at -3.5 lbs of CO2 emitted per lb. of beef produced to the Beyond burger’s +4 lbs of CO2. In one year, White Oak Pastures sequestered 919 tonnes of carbon!!
We haven’t even discussed soil health, a whole topic unto itself. Regenerative agriculture (which requires the inputs of animals) does exactly what it says - it regenerates the land. Large scale crop farming, sadly takes from the land and destroys soil.
Meat is murder.
There is no arguing against one’s personal views. If taking the life of another animal to feed yourself does not sit well, then of course that is absolutely respectable. Animal welfare is unequivocally an important issue that we should all be considering.
As mentioned earlier, industrial livestock operations are bad for the environment and bad for the life of the animals.
Going vegan allows me to eat with the knowledge that I have not taken another life.
Possibly. But you couldn’t get your food from a grocery store. It may not be common knowledge but a large number of small animals, birds and certainly insects are killed in traditional crop farming.
It’s hard to measure the exact numbers but as this article from the Anthropocene magazine states - “Perhaps the most extensive empirical information comes from a 2003 paper that estimated 7.3 billion wild animal lives” are lost each year to the agriculture industry. It goes on to say that “Traditional veganism could potentially be implicated in more animal deaths than a diet that contains free-range beef and other carefully chosen meats.”
It would be almost impossible to eat a diet in which no animal lives were lost in the process of obtaining one’s food. The philosophical, ethical and spiritual implications of this are a matter of individual reckoning.
Aren’t fruits and vegetables just healthier than meat?
When it comes to food, health has many different forms: macronutrients such as protein and fat (carbohydrates are not absolutely necessary for proper health), vitamins and minerals of course and then more ambiguous needs such as antioxidants and other phytonutrients. Fibre also plays an important role in health for most people.
A combination of (unprocessed) plant and animal foods will provide all of the macro and micro nutrient needs. Vegetables are not “healthier” per say than meat and the opposite is also true. What’s critical of any diet is that all of one’s needs are being met. This can be done on a vegan diet but there are some crucial requirements to consider.
What you have a hard time getting as a vegan:
Vitamin B12 – found in eggs, milk, and organ meats such as liver but in no appreciable amounts in fruits or vegetables. Deficiencies can cause serious problems, including numbness in the extremities and diminished cognitive function. As a vegan it is crucial to supplement with this nutrient.
DHA and EPA – Omega 3 fatty acids commonly found in fish and seafood that may help reduce the risk of cancer. Other benefits are currently being studied including those related to depression and cardiovascular disease. The only vegan source of EPA/DHA is found in algae oil.
Iron – Found in some plant sources but in small amounts and bioavailability can be an issue.
Zinc – An important mineral for many functions, particularly immunity. It is found in some vegetable sources but bioavailability is again an issue.
Calcium – Critical for bone health, can be difficult to get in appreciable amounts through a plant based diet.
Choline, Creatine, Taurine, Glycine – Nutrients that are commonly obtained in an omnivorous diet but often lacking in a vegan diet.
As a vegan, it is important to structure the diet such that all bases are covered. Even a perfectly crafted vegan diet requires some supplementation (B12, algae oil).
So being vegan doesn’t make me both morally superior and healthier than meat eaters?
No. At least not conscientious meat eaters, that choose ethically sourced, free range animal products.
Diet has taken on an almost religious quality. It allows us to identify with a group, a tribe, an idealism. Being vegan is an identity for a lot of people. What’s important is to have a good understanding of the facts and to ask oneself - “why am I really doing this?” Is it for health reasons? Environmental? Ethical reasons? Am I just going with the vegan hype or do I really understand the issues? I have only scratched the surface of these complex issues but it’s clear that it’s not as black and white as most vegans would like to believe.
