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Cows and sheep have special cultures of B12-producing bacteria held in seperate chambers of their digestive tracts. Rabbits pass food multiple times so they can

• seanwilson 8y ago
  > Cows and sheep have special cultures of B12-producing bacteria held in seperate chambers of their digestive tracts. Rabbits pass food multiple times so they can get B12 from bacteria. Are they able to do this without any special supplements on modern farms though (e.g. with cows on antibiotics eating grain instead of grass)? > Are you that B12 is abundant enough in natural soil? When I looked before, I couldn't find any reliable natural source humans could reasonably consume. I'm not sure to be honest. My point is modern farming interrupts how nutrients would normally get into our food chain anyway so I don't see the big deal in taking supplements directly.
  • jeffdavis 8y ago
    As far as I can tell cows can still produce B12 with the help of their symbiotic bacteria and digestive tract, and humans can't. The point is that it takes a lot of attention and artificial help to have a healthy vegan diet. That's not great for children or half-committed adults. Eating meat, or at least eggs or dairy, cuts out a lot of that effort. The animals have already done the work of turning a vegan diet into the large variety of nutrients that we need.