Sorry, if you thought I was going to debate this, I'm not. I've noticed that I don't care about this issue but I didn't realize why until a friend asked me to give my scientific assessment of this critique of the China Study. Now I realize the reason I have no interest is that I'm vegan for other reasons (animals and environment). I'm interested to know what the healthiest vegan diet is, not whether it's healthier than a meat diet. Going vegan improved my health dramatically so I am experientially convinced that the Standard American Diet is unhealthy, and likely it's due to too many animal products and processed foods. But whether or not the optimal diet includes some animal products doesn't interest me because I'm vegan regardless. I feel more healthy than I ever have in my whole life, and it seems healthy enough to me. It's easy to be an unhealthy vegan, and maybe that's why some vegans become ex-vegans. The books I've linked to at right tell me how to be a healthy vegan. I'm very happy to be a vegan.
5 comments:
I am troubled by the fact that our gurus will not take a strong stand on the animal rights and environmental issues. Dr. McDougall, who I know is sympathetic to the these issues, still claims he is not a vegan. I suppose he wants to focus on health and not blur his message.I find that when I talk with my friends about nutrition, they listen to the health arguments, but turn me off, and sometimes become hostile, when I introduce animal rights, especially the abuses of the factory farm industry. I am with you on the rationale for a whole foods plant based diet, and I refuse to avoid especially the animal rights topic.
this is exactly how i feel too. i became vegan for ... vegan reasons, and then jumped onto the health bandwagon a bit later. but regardless, though i care a great deal about nutrition now, i will always be vegan no matter what.
Hey, nice to know others feel this way too! One can get the impression that these groups don't like each other. The healthy types insist they are not doing this for "ethical" reasons, and the vegans think the only way to convert the meat eaters is with the most decadent vegan food possible. Maybe there are a more of us at the intersection of these groups than I thought. We can call ourselves the intersectors. (kidding--like that would mean anything to anyone).
Unfortunately, I find very, very few people who are at the intersection. Sharing information to meat eaters regarding the health benefits of a whole foods plant based diet often leads to accusations that I am preaching. So, for the most part, I keep quiet unless a person solicits the information. Talking about ethical veganism is even more difficult, much more difficult. Most meat eaters simply don't want to be confronted with the horrible cruelty inherent in factory farming. They choose willful ignorance, and don't want us vegans even discussing it. I used the term ethical vegan on an internet forum a couple of weeks ago, and immediately received very angry feedback that said I was accusing meat eaters of being unethical. They also said that I was 'off base' even discussing the subject of animal cruelty. This is a very difficult topic, but one that I can't keep quiet about.
Yeah, it's not polite to talk about animal cruelty. And the vegans think we'll scare off the meat-eaters if we eat too healthy.
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