Veganism

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Veganism

] Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that avoids using animals and animal products for food, clothing and other purposes. In practice, a vegan (an adherent to veganism) commits to the abstention from consumption or use of all animal products, including meat, fish, poultry, honey, eggs and dairy products, as well as articles made of fur, wool, bone, leather, feathers, pearls, mother of pearl, coral, and other materials of animal origin. Many vegans also avoid products that have been tested on animals. People who avoid eating all animal products, but who otherwise use animal by-products (for example, leather shoes) are commonly referred to as dietary vegans.

People become vegans for a variety of reasons, including ethical concerns such as animal rights and the environment, as well as more personal reasons such as health benefits http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm and spiritual or religious concerns. A Time/CNN poll published in Time Magazine on July 7, 2002, found that 4% of American adults consider themselves vegetarians, and 5% of self-described vegetarians consider themselves vegans. This suggests that 0.2% of American adults are vegans.

In 2002, the UK Food Standards Agency reported that 5% of respondants self-identified as vegetarian or vegan. Of that 5%, approximately 10% ate white meat, nearly half ate fish and 95% ate dairy. Based on these figures, vegans are approximately 0.25% or less of the UK population. http://www.food.gov.uk/science/101717/ndnsdocuments/.

Definition

The British Vegan Society defines veganism as "a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment." In dietary terms the society defines Veganism as "the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals." ^* The American Vegan Society uses a similar definition. ^*

The term "animal product" in a vegan context refers to material derived from non-human animals for human use or consumption. Human breast milk, for example, is acceptable when voluntarily used for human babies, but, by comparison, when a human being drinks a cow's milk, it is regarded as the consumption of an "animal product." Products of human origin that are obtained involuntarily -- such as infant human foreskin used for treating burns -- are not considered acceptable.

Animal products include meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, dairy products, fur, leather, wool, pearls, and mother of pearl. By-products include gelatin, lanolin, rennet, and whey. Items derived from insects include items such as silk, honey, beeswax, shellac and cochineal.

Some vegans avoid cane sugar that has been filtered with bone char and will not drink beer or wine clarified with albumen (egg white), animal blood, or isinglass, even though these are not present in the final product. Some also avoid food cooked in utensils that have been used to cook non-vegan foods. Vegans also avoid toothpaste with calcium extracted from animal bones if they are aware of it. Similarly for soap with ingredients which may have been extracted from animal fat (e.g. stearic acid).

Most vegans refrain from supporting industries that use animals directly or indirectly, such as circuses and zoos, and will not use products that are tested on animals.

Origin of the name

The word vegan, usually pronounced ^*, was originally derived from vegetarian in 1944 when Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson, frustrated that the term "vegetarianism" had come to include the eating of dairy products, founded the UK Vegan Society. They combined the first three and last two letters of vegetarian to form "vegan", which they saw as "the beginning and end of vegetarian".

Since the founding of the UK Vegan Society, the term vegan has come to encompass people who seek to eliminate animal products in all areas of their lives, as opposed to those who simply avoid eating animal products. Although veganism as a secular movement is a 20th -century idea, the principles date back to the 2nd millennium BC in Hinduism (ahimsa).

Motivations

Ethics

Vegans generally oppose the violence and cruelty involved in the meat ^*, dairy, non-vegan cosmetics, clothing, and other industries. (See Draize test, LD50, Animal testing, Vivisection, and Factory farming.)

Some utilitarian philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham and Peter Singer, argue that the suffering of sentient animals is relevant to ethical decisions, though they do not rely on the concept of rights. Some philosophers, such as Tom Regan and Gary L. Francione, argue that some animals are sentient subjects of a life that they can value and therefore have the inherent right to possess their own flesh. They claim that it is therefore unethical to treat them as property or a commodity (see animal rights). Although these theories draw similar conclusions, they are not wholly compatible with one another.

Health

Vegans suggest that their diet is healthier than an omnivorous diet. growth hormones and antibiotics, which are often given to farmed animals. ^*" target="_blank" >^*" target="_blank" >[http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html

The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada state that "well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."}}

Vegan diets tend toward several nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, no cholesterol, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, antioxidant vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.

Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, although there was no significant difference in blood pressure rates.There is some evidence that vegetarians have lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease China Study", said "Even small increases in the consumption of animal-based foods was associated with increased disease risk,"^*" target="_blank" >[http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/ChinaProject/ Studies in Japan, however, have found that increased consumption of milk, meat and fish coincided with a decrease in cerebrovascular disease (a leading cause of death) and stroke mortality. Possible protective effect of milk, meat and fish for cerebrovascular disease mortality in Japan, Intake of animal products and stroke mortality in the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Life Span Study

There are also claims that industry livestock feeding practices pose health threats to human consumers. According to Dr. Michael Greger ^* in a January 2004 lecture at MIT (which was the basis for Whistleblower, a 2006 documentary film by Jeff Bellamar) each year more than one million tons of animal excrement are fed back to farm animals raised for human consumption to lower the feed costs. He also says that up to 10% of blood from killed animals is mixed into some cattle feed, and up to 30% of some poultry feed is made up of the blood. Mad Cow disease is believed to be caused by cows being fed with contaminated meat and bone meal, a high-protein substance obtained from the remnants of butchered animals, including cows and sheep. In most parts of the world, such remnants are no longer allowed in feed for ruminant animals, but the practice persists in a few countries.

Resources and the environment

People who adopt a vegan diet to reduce resource consumption or ecological footprint extend the idea of environmental vegetarianism to all animal products. The fundamental rationale is that each additional trophic level in a food chain passes on only a fraction of the energy it consumes, so a diet that consists of plant products rather than animal products will generally use significantly less of all resources, and indirectly cause less environmental damage.

Feminism

Some third-wave feminists such as Carol Adams ^* reject the consumption of meat and analogize the use and objectification of animals to the use and objectification of women within society. This criticism focuses on societal construction of ties between women and the environment and references the fact that a large majority of livestock animals are female.

Vegan cuisine

For recipes and further information see the Cookbook article on Cookbook:Vegan cuisine.

The cuisines of most nations contain some dishes that are plant-based (and therefore suitable for a vegan diet) as are specific traditional ingredients, e.g. tofu, tempeh and the wheat product seitan in Asian diets. Also, according to Sturtivants Edible Plants of the World ^*, there are 2,897 plants that may be used for food. Therefore, the variety of vegan food available is quite diverse.

Many vegans prefer to cook without reference to meat, instead preparing meals from largely unprocessed ingredients such as pulses, grains, vegetables, nuts and fruit. However, artificial "meat" products (often called "analogs" or "mock meats") made from non-animal derived ingredients such as soya or gluten, including imitation sausages, ground beef, burgers, and chicken nuggets are widely available. Many recipes that traditionally contain animal products can be adapted by substituting vegan ingredients, e.g. nut, grain or soy milk used to replace cow's milk; eggs replaced by substitutes such as products made from potato starch.

On the one hand, vegan cuisine is not new. In nations that culturally do not use a large proportion of dairy products such as China, Japan and Taiwan it has a well developed tradition that is centuries old due mainly to the influence of Buddhism. Furthermore, in many South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan) Hinduism, Jainism, and non-religious cultural traditions have kept the consumption of meat considerably lower than in many Western countries. These religions and traditions, in concert with economic barriers that make eggs, milk, and dairy products luxury items, have produced many de facto vegans over the centuries. On the other hand, many vegans have adapted their diets to fit in with modern eating patterns.

Similar diets and lifestyles

There are several diets similar to veganism, though there are significant differences, including fruitarianism, the raw food diet, the macrobiotic diet and Natural Hygiene. There are also numerous religious groups that regularly or occasionally practice a similar diet, including Jainism, some sects of Buddhism, Hinduism, and some Christian churches, particularly the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Fasts in the Eastern Orthodox Church resemble a vegan diet, however believers are not expected to be vegan throughout the whole year.

More recently, many young people who subscribe to the anarcho-punk or straight edge punk movements have embraced veganism (in the latter case coining the term 'Straight Veg' or 'Hardline'), and the corresponding beliefs of the animal rights movement. Straight Edge is a philosophy that rejects the use of alcohol, casual sex or recreational drugs, originating as a reaction to what some perceived as the cultural excesses of the 1980s.

There are a growing number of vegan athletes. Vegan athletes compete in a variety of sports, such as powerlifting, bodybuilding, martial arts, long distance running, and many others.^*" target="_blank" >Many time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis has stated that he was vegan at the peak of his career [http://www.earthsave.org/lifestyle/carllewis.htm, when he became the first man to officially break 9.90 seconds in the 100 Metre sprint. (Ben Johnson broke 9.90 seconds in the 1988 Olympics but was disqualified for the use of performance enhancing drugs.)

A sub-set of veganism, raw veganism, advocates the consumption only of raw foods and the elimination of processed foods from the diet. A study of raw vegans found them to be slender and healthy, but noted that they had reduced essential bone mass and lower bone mineral density. The researchers said these results are "strongly associated with increased fracture risk" but noted that the raw vegans they studied had no other biological markers to indicate higher levels of osteoporosis, and that their bone turnover rates were normal.

Vegan nutrition

Nutrition authorities say that a properly planned vegan diet presents no significant nutritional problems. Supplementation is highly recommended, although this applies to non-vegans, too -- Drs. Fletcher and Fairfield concluded, in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) in June 2002, that "^*t appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements." The British government's annual survey of nutritional content of food, McCance and Widdowson's 'The Composition of Foods,' notes that the 2002 nutritional profile of foods is seriously lacking in trace elements compared with their 1931 profiles; indeed, a steady decline over the past 60 years has been noted. There are several nutrients vegans should pay attention to. These include vitamin B12, iron and iodine: deficiencies in these are more likely following a vegan diet, and deficiencies of these have potentially serious consequences, including anemia, pernicious anemia, cretinism and hyperthyroidism. Interestingly, B12 deficiency can be a problem for others, too; aging, for example, can lead to an inability to absorb B12 from food, and supplementation is recommended for those over fifty-five years of age.

Protein

Frances Moore Lappé's 1971 besteller Diet for a Small Planet popularized the claim that the protein in plant foods was incomplete and that vegetarians had to "combine" different plant foods by eating both of them (e.g., beans and grains) in order to get a "complete" protein. A large portion of the book was devoted to this idea and ways of combination. A decade later in The McDougall Plan (1983) Dr. John McDougall responded that this idea is incorrect and that common plant foods actually contain complete proteins. In The McDougall Program (1990) he wrote, "Fortunately scientific studies have plainly debunked this complicated nonsense. Nature designed and synthesized our foods complete with all the essential nutrients for human life long before they reach the dinner table. All the essential and nonessential amino acids are represented in single unrefined starches such as rice, corn, wheat, and potatoes in amounts in excess of every individual's needs, even if they are endurance athletes or weight lifters." The World Health Organization standard for protein intake is cited in support of this interpretation. Lappé herself renounced the idea that protein combining was necessary in the 10th edition of Diet for a Small Planet, stating:

"In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because I assumed that the only way to get enough protein ... was to create a protein as usable by the body as animal protein. In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high-quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually, it is much easier than I thought.

With three important exceptions, there is little danger of protein deficiency in a plant food diet. The exceptions are diets very heavily dependent on fruit or on ^* junk food (refined flours, sugars, and fat). Fortunately, relatively few people in the world try to survive on diets in which these foods are virtually the sole source of calories. In all other diets, if people are getting enough calories, they are virtually certain of getting enough protein."

Iodine

Residents of the UK may find themselves iodine-deficient if they rely on local produce, since in the UK iodine is usually obtained via dairy products rather than iodized salt that is more common elsewhere. The Vegan Society says, "Iodine is typically undesirably low (about 50 micrograms/day compared to a recommended level of about 150 micrograms per day) in UK vegan diets unless supplements, iodine rich seaweeds or foods containing such seaweeds are consumed. The low iodine levels in many plant foods reflects the low iodine levels in the UK soil, due in part to the recent ice-age." This demonstrates that location may also be a factor in what deficiencies may be present in any given diet.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12, a bacterial product, cannot be reliably found in plant foods, and so vegans are recommended to eat foods with B12 added (such as fortified soy milk, fortified margarines, or many commercial breakfast cereals), certain brands of nutritional yeast, or take dietary supplements (a good multivitamin will likely include B12 in sufficient quantities). Tempeh and some other fermented foods contain B12, although they cannot be considered reliable sources. Some plants (notably seaweeds) and fungi (mushrooms) absorb trace amounts of B12 from growing in bacteria-rich environments. B12 is also naturally synthesized in the colon of the human body and the intestines of other animals. Inadequate absorption of the body's stores of vitamin B12 poses a health risk, so the vitamin must often be ingested through fortified products and nutritional yeast. Older people - vegan and non-vegan alike - may experience difficulties in absorbing B12 from their food, and pernicious anaemia (caused by a B12 deficiency) is not unknown amongst omnivores. B12 deficiency has symptoms such as loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, dizzyness and confusion can lead to irreversible neurological damage. It is particularly problematic for pregnant women and fetal development, as well as for infants who are breast-fed by a deficient mother.

Iron

Iron is present in many typically vegan foodstuffs. These include grains, nuts and green leaves, although the iron in these sources is in a less easily absorbed, non-heme form. Nevertheless, the Society quotes research to show that iron deficiency is no more prevalent in vegans than in the general population. This research did not account for the fact that many vegans take nutritional supplements that are not found in food alone, whereas other research that excludes this subset of people does indeed show a marked iron deficiency among a majority of those studied.

It is important to note that iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in the general population, and many nutritionists and dieticians recommend a daily multivitamin because of this. Vitamin C facilitates the absorption of iron, and, indeed, can double or triple the amount of iron absorbed when taken with food (i.e. a glass of orange juice with a spinach salad). Vegans typically have high levels of vitamin C in their diets, which may account for the rarity of anaemia amongst them.

Calcium

Calcium may also be a concern to vegans who are not eating a variety of foods, especially leafy green vegetables (such as spinach, kale, collard greens, cabbage, etc.), almonds, oats, soy products (soy milk, tofu, etc.), sesame seeds, most beans, and dried fruits, most of which should be included in any diet, vegan or not.

The USDA's study on calcium and osteoporosis in women began with the premise that animal proteins create sulphur in the body, which leaches out calcium from the bones. The results, though, were more complex: the vegan subjects lost bone density at the same rate as their vegetarian and non-vegetarian peers; when put on a weight-bearing exercise regimen, the vegan subjects built bone density at a significantly higher rate than the other subjects. The researchers remark, "If you have less bone formation, the result is the same as if you had an increase in bone resorption. So, even though bone resorption was the same in both groups of volunteers, the lower amount of bone formation in the omnivore women could lead to a decrease in their bone density."

DHA

One nutrient that is sometimes overlooked when analyzing the vegan diet is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). For non-vegans, good sources for this omega-3 fatty acid include edible marine fish and shellfish and eggs. This healthy fat can also be found in Algae and vegan DHA dietry supplement capsules are now available. This fatty acid is very important for brain function, eye function, and for the cellular transport of valuable nutrients. "ALA" can be converted by the body into DHA. ALA is found in soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, and canola oil: many vegans include these specific foods in their diets. To obtain the same benefit, it has been estimated that 10x the amount of ALA as DHA must be consumed. ^*

Omega-3 fatty acids must be included in any diet: this is specially true for younger children and the elderly because growing and ageing brains need more of these nutritious fats. There are multiple sources of omega-3 fatty acids available to vegans: flaxseed oil (sometimes called edible linseed in the UK) and hemp oil, nuts (especially walnuts), and certain green, leafy vegetables all provide omega-3s as well.

Omega 3 interacts with another dietary fatty acid: Omega 6. it is believed that the health benefits of Omega 3 consumption are obtained only when the Omega 3: Omega 6 ratio is increased. Oils which should therefore be avoided due to their high Omega 6 content are: sunflower, safflower, and corn oil. Olive oil is an example of an omega-neutral oil as its fat is monounsaturated and does not contain much omega 3 or omega 6 and may be consumed without affecting the desired ratio.

Cultural aspects

Veganism has been slowly gaining greater popularity amongst some African Americans since the 1960s because of the involvement of politically-oriented African-American activists, actors and musicians; a whole foods, mostly unprocessed diet is positioned as a return to ancestral African diets, an inexpensive and healthy alternative to current dietary habits, and a tool for African-American empowerment in the face of socio-economic disadvantage, especially health. Coretta Scott King, activist and wife of assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr became vegan in 1995 as an extension of her belief in nonviolence. Her son, Dexter Scott King, had been vegan since 1988, saying that an appreciation for animal rights is the "logical extension" of his father's philosophy of nonviolence.

Criticism and controversy

Difficulty

The perceived difficulty of following a vegan diet prevents some people from believing it to be worthwhile. In particular, some find the label-checking, substituting for non-vegan ingredients, or taste differences necessary for a vegan diet burdensome or impractical, especially in many western cultures. When avoiding animal products is particularly impractical, some vegans evoke the "as far as is possible and practical" clause of the diet's definition.

In shopping, veganism requires checking the labels on all packaged foods, since many products have an animal product as a minor ingredient. Partially easing the burden, some labels explicitly state whether the food contains animal products, and the longer the diet is followed, the fewer labels that need to be read if the results are remembered. Several ingredients that occur in packaged goods, such as casein, are not recognized as non-vegan by most people, adding another difficulty for new vegans.

In cooking, ingredient substitution or avoidance becomes necessary for many dishes, especially in western diets that often use dairy. Certain vegan substitutions for non-vegan ingredients (such as some egg replacers) do not perfectly mimic their animal-based originals and may not work well in recipes expecting the animal-based ingredients (such as omelettes). Such substitutions can affect the recipe results—altering such aspects as flavour, texture and appearance. Some vegans find it more effective to use recipes designed to be vegan counterparts of non-vegan dishes than to simply subsitute individual ingredients into non-vegan recipes.

Many health supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbal alternatives, etc.) are placed inside capsules made of animal-based gelatin [http://www.ivu.org/faq/gelatine.html. Though online retailers have emerged selling vegan alternatives to such products, and vegan-friendly multivitamins and supplements can now be found in most health food stores, it is legally available only in the developed world.

A majority of medications and dietary supplements contain a number of ingredients that are derived from animal sources such as magnesium stearate, stearic acid (used in soaps), gelatin, lactose, and many more. When the medicine itself is derived from an animal source there may not be an acceptable substitute, especially in life saving drugs like antivenom. All Food and Drug Administration approved drugs sold in the United States are animal tested, as animal testing is a requirement for drug approval for U.S. markets. Additionally, in some hospitals, Catgut in sutures and non-vegan latex gloves are used. Bandages contain Chitosan, a chemical derived from crustaceans. This chemical is also used in the water filtration process among other uses. Many vegans allow small amounts of animal products in medicine than in any other product category, believing that its use does not conflict with the definition or spirit of veganism due to the lack of substitutes.

In addition to foods and medicines, many household products like cosmetics, toiletries, household cleaners, pesticides, and cement contain either animal ingredients or ingredients that have been tested on animals, as well as animal-sourced coloring agents like Cochineal.

Ethical criticism

Many vegans question whether it is ethical to make use of products which result in the death of animals. Organizations such as the Foundation for Animal Use Education dispute that a non-vegan diet entails exploitation of or cruelty to animals, and support the concept of animal welfare while promoting the use of animals in food and fiber agriculture. ^*" target="_blank" > The website for the FAUE states: "As moral agents, we recognize our own obligation to treat animals humanely — not because it is their right, but because it is our responsibility". ^*

There are other common criticisms of vegan ethics. Steven Davis, professor of animal science at Oregon State University, claims that the number of wild animals killed in crop production is greater than those killed in ruminant-pasture production. Whenever a tractor goes through a field to plow, disc, cultivate, apply fertilizer and/or pesticide, and harvest, animals are killed.Davis, S.L. (2001). "The least harm principle suggests that humans should eat beef, lamb, dairy, not a vegan diet." EurSafe 2001. Food Safety, Food Quality and Food Ethics. Proceedings of the Third Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics. pp 449-450. Davis lists field animals in the U.S. that are threatened by intensive crop production. In one example, an alfalfa harvest caused a 50% decline in the grey-tailed vole population. According to Davis, if all of the cropland in the U.S. were used to produce crops for a vegan diet, an estimated 1.8 billion animals would be killed annually. Gaverick Matheny wrote a rebuttal called Least harm: a defense of vegetarianism from Steven Davis’s omnivorous proposal}}. Matheny claims several major flaws with Davis' reasoning, including the notion that vegans generally eat at a lower trophic level. Because of this, according to Matheny, a vegan diet actually results in fewer deaths due to farming, Another error, according to Matheny, is the equation of death with harm, claiming that death by thresher is less harmful than captitivty and slaughter. Matheny also claims that Davis' findings suffer from numerical error; currently nearly 10 billion animals are killed each year in the U.S. for food, more than five times greater than Davis' estimated 1.8 billion for crop harvesting. ^*}} Matheny concludes that "After correcting for these errors, Davis’s argument makes a strong case for, rather than against, adopting a vegetarian diet."

However, according to one scientist of the US Agricultural Research Service, it is "unethical" to put children on a vegan diet in some cases since it could harm their development. Later, the same scientist added that "vegan diets were unethical unless those who practiced them were well-informed about how to add back the missing nutrients through supplements or fortified foods."^*

Health criticism

The American Dietetic Association supports a well-planned vegan diet in all stages of life, but a few nutritionists have expressed concerns about the potential dangers in the vegan diet. This, in some cases involving severe nutritional inadequacy in conjunction with a strict vegetarian diet, may be particularly relevant to young children where the failure to achieve adequate nutrition can lead to permanent developmental deficits. In reported comments, Professor Lindsay Allen of the United States Agricultural Research Service declared: "There's absolutely no question that it's unethical for parents to bring up their children as strict vegans, unless those who practiced them were well-informed about how to add back the missing nutrients through supplements or fortified foods."Former Beatle Paul McCartney Calls GL-CRSP Nutrition Study 'Rubbish' , Ruminations, Spring 2005. Vegans should be particularly concerned with adequate intake of B-12. Vitamin B12, a bacterial product, cannot be reliably found in plant foods. Vegans are recommended to eat foods with vegan B12 added (such as fortified soy milk, fortified margarines, or many commercial breakfast cereals), certain brands of nutritional yeast, or take dietary supplements (a good multivitamin will likely include B12 in sufficient quantities).

A recent laboratory study of strict vegans has shown, however, that 60% of then have a vitamin B12 deficit, as compared with lacto- or lacto-ovo-vegetarians (who are able to acquire vitamin B12 from these animal sources). In addition, lower counts of lymphocytes (the white blood cells responsible for immune system responses) and platelets (responsible for blood coagulation) and alterations in the iron metabolism and transport, were demonstrated. Another study has shown that 45% of strict vegans have higher homocysteine levels, a factor which has been strongly implicated in cardiovascular disease. This, in turn, may alter DNA methylation patterns, which has been associated with aging, cancer, atherosclerosis and other diseases. According to these authors, "three observations indicate that DNA methylation could be diminished by a vegetarian lifestyle. The vegetarian diet has a low content of methionine, remethylation of homocysteine is reduced by vitamin B12 deficiency and elevated homocysteine levels can induce the generation of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), a potent inhibitor of methyltransferases."

Prof. Allen's also conducted research in rural Africa, partially backed by the American Cattlemen's Beef Association, in which she demonstrated a dramatic improvement in the health of individuals who had, prior to the study, been on diets completely lacking in animal products. The study concluded that the added nutrients, especially vitamin B12 contained in the meat and milk improved the health of the children in the study. However, the British Dietetic Association stated that the subjects included in the study were not receiving a varied vegan diet, but where extremely impoverished and living on a diet that mainly consisted of starchy, low-nutrition corn and bean staples that had no relationship to a vegan diet in the developed world. ^*

Although the human body stores vitamin B12, a few months after adopting a strict vegan diet are enough to deplete them. Vegan people then become vulnerable to several common food and drug interactions which usually do not affect non-vegetarians, but that lower significantly the already low level of vitamin B12 in their bodies ^*. Medical signs and symptoms caused by this are usually very hard to diagnose and to correlate to the vegan diet. For example, anesthesia with nitrous oxide may cause a dangerous fall in vitamin B12 levels, as well as smoking (nicotine), drinking (ethanol), antibiotics, cimetidine, cholestyramine, and other substances. People with diabetes which are being treated with metformin, and HIV-positive people being treated with zidovudine (AZT) should not follow vegan diets without B12 supplementation, as these substances are known to strongly reduce absortion and/or B12 levels. Mental health effects of chronic vitamin B12 insufficiency may occurr, such as depression and dementia.

In very severe cases, parents practising what were sometimes described as forms of veganism have been charged with child abuse for not providing adequate nutrition. [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/brkfast/stories/s581512.htm Vegan mothers who do not obtain adequate vitamin B12 in their diet while breastfeeding can cause severe and permanent neurological damage to their infants. Related studies note importance of early recognition of significant maternal vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy and lactation in vegetarians is emphasized so that appropriate supplementation can be given and irreversible neurologic damage in the infant prevented.

A study by the University of Minnesota school of health found that adolescent vegetarians are at greater risk than others for involvement in unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors. Vegetarian males are at particularly high risk. Vegan dietician Brenda Davis claims current research indicates as many as 50% of people with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa self-proclaim a vegetarian diet as a cover for their avoidance of eating "meat" or other "high fat foods". Davis, Brenda. (2002). Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet. p.224. ISBN 1570671036Also, Vesanto Melina, a B.C. registered dietitian and author of Becoming Vegetarian, stresses there is no cause and effect relationship between vegetarianism and eating disorders although people who have eating disorders may label themselves as vegetarians "so that they won't have to eat."^* A 1987 review of 116 cases found that in only 6.3% did meat avoidance predate the onset of anorexia nervosa. The American Dietetic Association found that vegetarian diets may be more common among adolescents with eating disorders than in the general adolescent population, and that professionals should be aware of adolescents who limit food choices and exhibit symptoms of eating disorders. The ADA indicates that the evidence suggests that the adoption of a vegetarian diet does not lead to eating disorders, but "vegetarian diets may be selected to camouflage an existing eating disorder".

References

Footnotes

"American Dietetics Association & Dietitians of Canada Position on Vegetarianism" Ann Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, FADA, Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, Vesanto Melina, MS, RD
Davis, B et al. Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet. Tennessee: Book Publishing Company, 2000.
C. de Haan et al. Livestock and the Environment: Finding a Balance FAO, USAID, World Bank, 1998. Provides evidence of environmental damage caused by animal farming, mainly factory farming.
Keeton, W.T. et al. Biological Science, 5th Ed., Publishers: W. W. Norton & Company, New York and London., ISBN 0-393-96223-7 (hardback)
Langley, G. Vegan Nutrition: a survey of research, The Vegan Society 1988, ISBN 0-907337-15-5
Moore Lappe, F. Diet for a Small Planet. Ballantine Books, 1985.
Moore Lappe, F. & Lappe, A. Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet. Jeremy P. Tarcher Publishing, 2003.
Smil, V. Rationalizing Animal Food Production, in Feeding the World: A Challenge for the 21st Century, MIT Press, London, 2000. This provides evidence for the amount of grain required to raise livestock.
Torres, B. and Torres, J. Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World. Tofu Hound Press. 2005. ISBN 0977080412 (paperback).
Walsh, S. Plant Based Nutrition and Health, The Vegan Society 2003, ISBN 0-907337-26-0 (paperback), ISBN 0-907337-27-9 (hardback).
Meet Your Meat a PETA-produced slaughterhouse tour narrated by Alec Baldwin
"Non-vegan prescriptions?" by Jo Stepianak, Grassroots Veganism, retrieved October 26, 2005
"Anger over 'pig' secret of prescribed drug by Martin Shipman, The Western Mail'', December 27, 2002, retrieved October 26, 2005
FAQ, Vegan Resource Group, retrieved October 26, 2005

External links

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