No Comeuppance!

My omnivorous but vegan-inclined sweetheart had an interesting experience today: another omnivorous person told him that eventually there would be studies showing that veganism was unhealthy, especially when it comes to levels of calcium and protein. The tone wasn't one of concern, so much as one of vindication and triumph, "Those self-righteous vegans think they're so great, but one day they'll pay the price for their compassion and careful meal-planning, and that'll teach them to try to treat their fellow Earthlings with kindness and respect! Ha!" I don't think this person actually said that, but that's the gist of it.

He was bothered both by the tone and the closed-mindedness of the remarks. Our home is awash with nutrition information and countless volumes reporting the many long-term studies that have already been done. Here's a brief rundown of some of their findings:

A study of 1600 women found that vegetarian women experienced only half as much bone loss as meat- and dairy-eating women by the time they reached the age of eighty. This is because the protein in meat and dairy products actually contributes to a calcium deficit. Which is why the two biggest dairy-consuming countries in the world, the U.S. and Sweden, have the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world. Check out the science yourself! Even a study funded by the Dairy Council had the same findings! Although, for some reason, they don't report it.

Meat and dairy products have been positively linked to every "disease of affluence" that affects people living on the standard American diet. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gallstones, cancer...all of these are tied to a diet centered on meat and dairy.

Every time I see someone offer a study that opposes this information, it turns out to be a lobbyist for the Cattlemen's Association or the Dairy Council. I know everyone thinks that vegans are terrorists with some sort of hardcore communist ideology. But all the vegans I know are really nice people who are really, truly concerned about issues of health and compassion. Yes, we want everyone to be vegan. I'm not going to lie: I want to spread veganism like a virus. But how do I benefit?

I don't own a tofu factory. I'm an archaeologist! I don't have a vested interest in anyone becoming vegan, except that I really, honestly think it's a step toward eradicating insupportable cruelty and unnecessary disease that destroys our ability to enjoy healthy, happy lives.

And the science indicates that there will be no comeuppance for my outrageous, dangerous ideas based on my need to tell you how to live your life.

I really don't want to tell other people how to live. There's a term, "vegangelizing" for that sort of activity. I don't like being evangelized. But I have a lot in common with door-to-door religious evangelists: I really, really think if I can just effectively communicate this information to you, you will benefit.

I guess the difference is that I'm talking about actual, observable phenomena that you can go and see for yourselves. I have been to a factory farm. It was a pig farm in North Carolina. It was the worst place I've ever seen, and even with no especially affectionate feelings about pigs (at the time - I have since known many excellent pigs), I knew that that place and everything that happened there was wrong, wrong, wrong. I didn't want to be part of it. I don't think anyone would.

I've had my cholesterol tested while eating meat (over 300, which is bad). My most recent test, last month, showed a total cholesterol level of 160, with good cholesterol representing 90 of the total measure. Which is absurdly, insanely good. My experience is not unusual. It occurs in measurable, statistically significant ways in every study ever done about a vegan diet.

Yes, if you are vegan you need to plan your diet carefully, but you have to plan your diet carefully ANYWAY. And since a vegan diet has been shown to reverse diabetes, stop the development of cancer, prevent heart disease and osteoporosis, and be totally nutritionally sound, I think a little planning would be a very, very small price to pay.

I feel bad for OmniMan, because he just had his first tall frosty glass of anti-vegan Haterade. And he's not even vegan (yet, mwa-ha-ha!). To counteract the poisonous experience, we enjoyed a delicious stir-fry of tofu and roasted veggies with sesame-ginger glaze. It was steamily delicious.