3 ms·

If supplements are basically required, then perhaps when vegan diets are "marketed" on blogs, TV shows and whatnot they should show a bottle of pills alongside

If supplements are basically required, then perhaps when vegan diets are "marketed" on blogs, TV shows and whatnot they should show a bottle of pills alongside the fresh fruit and veg! That part seems to often get hidden away, and I wonder if it would make people stop and assess the diet a little more and decide if they're happy to supplement. And this "mismarketing" doesn't apply just to vegan diets of course, but to any diet that lacks the right balance of nutrients.

hamax 6y ago
Omnivores get most of their b12 from supplements too. The difference is that the supplements are given to animals and not directly to humans. So if you want to be more open about where all the nutritions come from, we should also disclose everything we feed to animals. Or alternatively, we can simply start enriching some basic foods like plant based milk with b12 and d3.
pell 6y ago
The necessity of B12 supplementation isn't really hidden in vegan spaces. That said, omnivores often lack nutrients too, including B12. It's seems veganism actually forces you to be conscious about it.
- jfengel 6y ago
  That's the part that drives me nuts. Most omnivores are deficient in fiber. And there's nobody out there saying, "You shouldn't be an omnivore." And fiber is arguably more important than B12 (where serious deficiency is mostly associated with pregnancy and autoimmune disorders). Everybody should be eating a broad diet with a lot of nutrients, including a lot of plants. Vegans have to be more careful about it since they're not getting the broadest array of sources, but I keep seeing this weird trope of "Well, I could eat vegetables, therefore I'm protected against scurvy and constipation even though I never actually eat them." Both vegan and omnivorous diets are healthy if you eat them well. Both are unhealthy if you practice them badly. But seeking out studies for the sole purpose of proving "veganism is bad" seems like a recipe for eating unhealthily.
tralarpa 6y ago
> they should show a bottle of pills In that case, advertisements for meat should also show the bottle of "supplements" that livestocks get (including B12, btw). In that sense, vegans just cut out the middlemen (or better: middleanimal).

hamax 6y ago

Omnivores get most of their b12 from supplements too. The difference is that the supplements are given to animals and not directly to humans. So if you want to be more open about where all the nutritions come from, we should also disclose everything we feed to animals. Or alternatively, we can simply start enriching some basic foods like plant based milk with b12 and d3.

pell 6y ago

The necessity of B12 supplementation isn't really hidden in vegan spaces. That said, omnivores often lack nutrients too, including B12. It's seems veganism actually forces you to be conscious about it.

jfengel 6y ago
That's the part that drives me nuts. Most omnivores are deficient in fiber. And there's nobody out there saying, "You shouldn't be an omnivore." And fiber is arguably more important than B12 (where serious deficiency is mostly associated with pregnancy and autoimmune disorders). Everybody should be eating a broad diet with a lot of nutrients, including a lot of plants. Vegans have to be more careful about it since they're not getting the broadest array of sources, but I keep seeing this weird trope of "Well, I could eat vegetables, therefore I'm protected against scurvy and constipation even though I never actually eat them." Both vegan and omnivorous diets are healthy if you eat them well. Both are unhealthy if you practice them badly. But seeking out studies for the sole purpose of proving "veganism is bad" seems like a recipe for eating unhealthily.

tralarpa 6y ago

> they should show a bottle of pills In that case, advertisements for meat should also show the bottle of "supplements" that livestocks get (including B12, btw). In that sense, vegans just cut out the middlemen (or better: middleanimal).