Intro/Myths of Veg*nism

[Guest guest]

Hi, we're a vegetarian (minimal lacto-ovo) family from Indianapolis, IN. My dh

does occasionally eat some fish and chicken, but the kids follow my diet. Hunter

is 5 and Henry is 15 mos. There's no organized group for veg*n families in THIS

city, but I've been lucky to find several in our attachment parenting group! Any

chance that anyone on this list is from Indy? We do belong to the Indpls Vegn

Soc which was just formed a year ago. It would be fun to organize family

playgroups from this group, but the membership is still quite low and I've only

met one mother with a younger child. Has anyone attempted to do this in your

area? Any hints? Also, one veggie friend of mine sent this article to me written

by Stephen Byrnes. Have any of you heard of him? He is certainly down on

veg*nism and tries to debunk many of the beliefs of vegns. calling them myths!

He cites many references to studies, etc. but certainly sounds like a quack to

me. Any thoughts on the article?

 

http://www.powerhealth.net/selected_articles.htm

 

Look forward to future chats,

Laura

Mom to Hunter (6 Jan 1997) and Henry (3 Oct 2000)

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I don't know, this article has some truth and some plain old " bs " in it.

 

It is true that a diet totally devoid of fats is not healthy, as vitamins A, E

and D are fat soluble vitamins and cannot be properly processed without fat, but

that doesn't mean that one has to load his/her diet with items rich in saturated

fat and cholesterol (i.e. meat, butter, etc.) Extra virgin olive oil is a fat, a

vegetable fat, and it's a good fat.

 

Also, all the myths he lists, some are sort of made up, like people don't

necessarily claim exactly what he says. For instance, on the list we have been

talking plentiful about vitamin B12 and other supplements, while he's promoting

that " vegetarians and vegans don't take any supplement because they think their

diet is perfect " .

 

Claim #5 is really plain false. I live in Switzerland, where they eat a lot of

animal products, and I can tell you cancer here does happen and pretty often too

(without going too far, my MIL has just finished chemotherapy and is starting

radiation soon to " cure " her breast cancer, and a very good friend of mine just

got operated to remove a carcinoma in her uterus). And the Swiss traditional way

of eating, pairing up meat and white buttered pasta or similar meals, was the

main cause of my excessive weight gain during pregnancy, when I moved over here.

The point is not only how much meat, but how much fat, especially trans fats and

saturated fats one consumes, and that's why in Mediterranean areas (like France,

which is what he mentions) heart disease rates are low.

 

To " MYTH #15: Eating animal foods is inhumane. " he answers saying that " It is

possible to raise animals humanely. " so how does that make killing them less

mean?

 

Anyway, this is not an article, but rather a pathetic attempt to make

vegetarianism seem wrong with no fundament whatsoever. Any regimen that doesn't

offer a variety of foods and therefore limits the intake of valuable nutritional

elements is bad. A vegetarian who only eats lettuce and beans won't be healthy,

just like a person who eats only meat and pasta. But a varied, well balanced

diet is more common amongst vegetarians or near-vegetarians than omnivores.

 

Hugs,

 

" My darling girl, when are you going to understand

that being normal isn't necessarily a virtue.

It rather denotes a lack of courage! "

 

Aunt Frances in Practical Magic