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I gave up animal products and found a pretty good increase in quality of life. It happened when other changes were occuring in my life, but I lost weight, hung

I gave up animal products and found a pretty good increase in quality of life. It happened when other changes were occuring in my life, but I lost weight, hung out with other vegans, felt better overall. It can really depend on when you live, but being vegan in most US metropolitan areas is pretty easy these days. As for lab meats, they're great and I'm generally for them, but acting like we don't have viable other solutions is a bit silly. Lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, seitan, tofu, all great sources of protein.

BinaryIdiot 10y ago
> acting like we don't have viable other solutions is a bit silly. Lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, seitan, tofu, all great sources of protein. Depends on what you mean by "viable". Food is a huge part of culture and while those items you listed do provide protein it's, in my opinion, no where near as enjoyable as various types of meat. In fact many of that, to me, is really gross and I've tried multiple versions of all of it. Naturally to others meat may be gross. There isn't a one size fits all solution here. We've evolved taste for a reason and it's hard to ignore if you don't like the "other solutions". So I would say I disagree with your statement when you call the other items "viable other solutions" :)
- marricks 10y ago
  I used to really like eating meat too. Also used to not like seitan or beans much, but now I love 'em. Tastes changed since I went vegan. If your litmus test for "viable" is what currently makes you the happiest you'll be blocked off from not only helping the world but likely helping yourself too.
  - lolwaaaat 10y ago
    This has also been my experience having gone vegan. Honestly, people make it out to be a big deal, but it isn't.
  - BinaryIdiot 10y ago
    > If your litmus test for "viable" is what currently makes you the happiest you'll be blocked off from not only helping the world but likely helping yourself too. I find that terribly narrow minded. It's not about "happiest". I've tried almost all of those before, several of them in multiple ways. I don't like the taste nor texture. So since I don't like the taste of what you like I am thusly being selfish and blocked from helping myself and the world? This isn't how you win people over to your side. This is the type of thing that actually reinforces someone's opinion and makes it worse getting through to them. Instead of trying to make yourself sound better than the person you want to convince of your position, you would be better off trying to find common ground and working from there. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar" Best of luck.
    - marricks 10y ago
      I did not say, and would not, say I am better than you or the average person. I have no idea who you are. I'm sure not the next Mr. Rodgers or what have you, maybe you are. What I can say is making the change to vegan made me better than I was, and it took me being open and making a change. Honestly though, this comes up a lot "catching more flies with honey" but I don't think these things should be spoken about obliquely, truth should be spoken plainly. I spoke true to my experience and knowledge as best I could and tried to be as polite as I could. Best of luck to you as well.
    - projectorlochsa 10y ago
      Taste is acquired, it is not in your genes. Of course you will find foods and tastes that were present through your whole life better than new textures and tastes. It's normal. Eventually one either gets used and enjoys the new foods or makes tasty meals in combination. For me, getting drunk and then eating the disgusting thing in the morning made me love it. It's undescribable how delicious things are when one is dehydrated and when the disgusting taste of beer was the only thing in the mouth the night before.
      - pm90 10y ago
        So that's exactly the point. One might rationally understand the flaws with meat, but taste, however it may be acquired, is difficult to change. I absolutely love meat but not exclusively. I also eat a lot of pinto and black beans and cook chick peas. However, none of the current options come close to offering the taste, texture and variety that comes with meat. And there are so many varieties! Meat from pigs, cows, goat, sheep/lamb, chicken, duck, turkey... they all have a unique taste. They change flavor and texture considerably depending on cooking style. You can cook them in different ways...essentially, meat offers much variety not offered currently by vegetarian substitutes.
- cgh 10y ago
  It's not just less enjoyable, plant protein is flat-out inferior. The amino acid profile of meat is better (eg leucine) and meat contains creatine, which is essential for explosive athletic performance and which is completely unavailable from plants. It's why powerlifters and practically every other strength and power athlete eats meat.
  - marricks 10y ago
    Like this world record breaking vegan power lifter? http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=6137&catId=8 http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=6137&catId=8 What about this vegan NFL player? https://redditblog.com/2016/06/24/300-pound-vegan-david-carter-shares-meat-free-tips-on-beefing-up/ https://redditblog.com/2016/06/24/300-pound-vegan-david-cart... Bit more about myself since I think it's applicable: I'm no world class athlete, but I went vegetarian and started weight lifting a while back. Benched like 120 starting out. Now I'm vegan and can bench 200+ lbs, gained that muscle without eating animals. Sure, there's some random ingredient that studies show only meat has and may help a little, but plenty of vegan athletes are starting to pop up and show there isn't some special thing in dead animals.
    - throwaway243546 10y ago
      Let's not forget the record holder and only male American weightlifter to qualify for the last olympics: http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/articles/why-americas-best-olympic-weightlifter-is-vegan-w434203 http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/articles/why-ameri... The common theme among vegan athletes is that recovery times improve substantially.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - lolwaaaat 10y ago
    This is just demonstrably false. There are millions of people who don't eat meat and have no protein problems. There are also plenty of vegan vegetarian athletes and strongmen. Please learn about them.
  - 10y ago
stagbeetle 10y ago
> Lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, seitan, tofu, all great sources of protein. This may be true, but all of those either: interfere with mineral absorption, decrease serum testosterone, or are not comparable in taste to animal protein. You may have had an increase in quality of life, but this is not universally applicable to the entire population. Keto is the first thing that comes to mind that increases quality of life, that also focuses a lot on animal products. Full disclosure, I am a vegetarian.
- jlebrech 10y ago
  Mineral absorption you say? https://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/ https://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/
  - stagbeetle 10y ago
    Phytic acid is in those foods, not milk.
dovdovdov 10y ago
> hung out with other vegans Thanks for also writing about the downsides! :)

BinaryIdiot 10y ago

> acting like we don't have viable other solutions is a bit silly. Lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, seitan, tofu, all great sources of protein. Depends on what you mean by "viable". Food is a huge part of culture and while those items you listed do provide protein it's, in my opinion, no where near as enjoyable as various types of meat. In fact many of that, to me, is really gross and I've tried multiple versions of all of it. Naturally to others meat may be gross. There isn't a one size fits all solution here. We've evolved taste for a reason and it's hard to ignore if you don't like the "other solutions". So I would say I disagree with your statement when you call the other items "viable other solutions" :)

marricks 10y ago
I used to really like eating meat too. Also used to not like seitan or beans much, but now I love 'em. Tastes changed since I went vegan. If your litmus test for "viable" is what currently makes you the happiest you'll be blocked off from not only helping the world but likely helping yourself too.
- lolwaaaat 10y ago
  This has also been my experience having gone vegan. Honestly, people make it out to be a big deal, but it isn't.
- BinaryIdiot 10y ago
  > If your litmus test for "viable" is what currently makes you the happiest you'll be blocked off from not only helping the world but likely helping yourself too. I find that terribly narrow minded. It's not about "happiest". I've tried almost all of those before, several of them in multiple ways. I don't like the taste nor texture. So since I don't like the taste of what you like I am thusly being selfish and blocked from helping myself and the world? This isn't how you win people over to your side. This is the type of thing that actually reinforces someone's opinion and makes it worse getting through to them. Instead of trying to make yourself sound better than the person you want to convince of your position, you would be better off trying to find common ground and working from there. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar" Best of luck.
  - marricks 10y ago
    I did not say, and would not, say I am better than you or the average person. I have no idea who you are. I'm sure not the next Mr. Rodgers or what have you, maybe you are. What I can say is making the change to vegan made me better than I was, and it took me being open and making a change. Honestly though, this comes up a lot "catching more flies with honey" but I don't think these things should be spoken about obliquely, truth should be spoken plainly. I spoke true to my experience and knowledge as best I could and tried to be as polite as I could. Best of luck to you as well.
  - projectorlochsa 10y ago
    Taste is acquired, it is not in your genes. Of course you will find foods and tastes that were present through your whole life better than new textures and tastes. It's normal. Eventually one either gets used and enjoys the new foods or makes tasty meals in combination. For me, getting drunk and then eating the disgusting thing in the morning made me love it. It's undescribable how delicious things are when one is dehydrated and when the disgusting taste of beer was the only thing in the mouth the night before.
    - pm90 10y ago
      So that's exactly the point. One might rationally understand the flaws with meat, but taste, however it may be acquired, is difficult to change. I absolutely love meat but not exclusively. I also eat a lot of pinto and black beans and cook chick peas. However, none of the current options come close to offering the taste, texture and variety that comes with meat. And there are so many varieties! Meat from pigs, cows, goat, sheep/lamb, chicken, duck, turkey... they all have a unique taste. They change flavor and texture considerably depending on cooking style. You can cook them in different ways...essentially, meat offers much variety not offered currently by vegetarian substitutes.
cgh 10y ago
It's not just less enjoyable, plant protein is flat-out inferior. The amino acid profile of meat is better (eg leucine) and meat contains creatine, which is essential for explosive athletic performance and which is completely unavailable from plants. It's why powerlifters and practically every other strength and power athlete eats meat.
- marricks 10y ago
  Like this world record breaking vegan power lifter? http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=6137&catId=8 http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=6137&catId=8 What about this vegan NFL player? https://redditblog.com/2016/06/24/300-pound-vegan-david-carter-shares-meat-free-tips-on-beefing-up/ https://redditblog.com/2016/06/24/300-pound-vegan-david-cart... Bit more about myself since I think it's applicable: I'm no world class athlete, but I went vegetarian and started weight lifting a while back. Benched like 120 starting out. Now I'm vegan and can bench 200+ lbs, gained that muscle without eating animals. Sure, there's some random ingredient that studies show only meat has and may help a little, but plenty of vegan athletes are starting to pop up and show there isn't some special thing in dead animals.
  - throwaway243546 10y ago
    Let's not forget the record holder and only male American weightlifter to qualify for the last olympics: http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/articles/why-americas-best-olympic-weightlifter-is-vegan-w434203 http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/articles/why-ameri... The common theme among vegan athletes is that recovery times improve substantially.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- lolwaaaat 10y ago
  This is just demonstrably false. There are millions of people who don't eat meat and have no protein problems. There are also plenty of vegan vegetarian athletes and strongmen. Please learn about them.
- 10y ago

stagbeetle 10y ago

> Lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, seitan, tofu, all great sources of protein. This may be true, but all of those either: interfere with mineral absorption, decrease serum testosterone, or are not comparable in taste to animal protein. You may have had an increase in quality of life, but this is not universally applicable to the entire population. Keto is the first thing that comes to mind that increases quality of life, that also focuses a lot on animal products. Full disclosure, I am a vegetarian.

jlebrech 10y ago
Mineral absorption you say? https://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/ https://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/
- stagbeetle 10y ago
  Phytic acid is in those foods, not milk.

dovdovdov 10y ago

> hung out with other vegans Thanks for also writing about the downsides! :)