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https://ourworldindata.org/land-use https://ourworldindata.org/land-use We already get 82% calories and 63% proteins from plants, but animal agriculture takes

• nradov 3y ago
  Ruminant animals are very efficient at converting plants into high quality protein. Getting the optimal mix of essential amino acids is crucial for health. This is just as important as number of calories. https://peterattiamd.com/donlayman/ https://peterattiamd.com/donlayman/
  • delecti 3y ago
    Most cows raised in the US are not raised on grazed grass, they're raised on corn and soy. That process is very inefficient when compared to growing plants that we eat directly. And we don't really need an optimal mix of amino acids as long as we get enough amino acids. Fretting about precisely balancing the mix is unnecessary.
    • nradov 3y ago
      Nope, you've got that mostly wrong from a dietary standpoint. It's really tough to get enough leucine, lysine, and methionine for optimal health and building muscle while eating a plant based diet without also getting too many carbohydrates. The ratios in most plants are not great. I mean in principle it can be done through careful meal planning (and perhaps some supplements) but most people just don't have time for that. Seriously, listen to the interview I linked above and then read the referenced journal articles. That will clear up some of your misconceptions. I do agree that we should shift away from monocrop agriculture to produce fodder for cattle feedlots and toward regenerative agriculture. Some farms are now doing that with productivity comparable to factory farming so it will be interesting to see if that model can be scaled up enough to cheaply feed a huge population.
      • myshpa 3y ago
        > I mean in principle it can be done through careful meal planning (and perhaps some supplements) but most people just don't have time for that. That's not true. 25% of your plate should be proteins (lentils, beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan, peas ...), 25% whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta), 30% vegetables (variety of colors to get different nutrients), 10-15% fruit (apple, banana, berries), 5-10% fats (avocados, nuts, seeds, or a drizzle of olive oil). That's it. Variety is the key. The only supplement you need is B12, which you can get from either pills or fortified milk, yogurt, cereals, and other sources.
        • nradov 3y ago
          Nope. You have no idea what my nutritional needs are, nor are you numbers even close to optimal. To start with, the notion of dividing a plate based on percentages is ridiculous and displays a clear ignorance of the basics. For optimal performance we need at least a certain minimum amount of high quality protein (right essential amino acids) based on a ratio to lean body mass regardless of how much we are eating. That's a fixed number, not a percentage. It's sad how confidently wrong many HN users are whenever we have discussions about diet and nutrition. People read something somewhere that aligns with their preconceived biases and then they repeat it back without doing real validation. If your want to see empirically what actually works then ignore the gurus and junk science you see online, and instead look at the diets of masters athletes who have been competing at high levels for decades (including recovering from injuries). The percentages on their plates are substantially different from your numbers, and the majority eat a significant amount of animal products.
  • myshpa 3y ago
    > Ruminant animals are very efficient at converting plants into high quality protein https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets "The land use of livestock is so large because it takes around 100 times as much land to produce a kilocalorie of beef or lamb versus plant-based alternatives. The same is also true for protein – it takes almost 100 times as much land to produce a gram of protein from beef or lamb, versus peas or tofu." "Beef has an energy efficiency of about 2%. This means that for every 100 kilocalories you feed a cow, you only get 2 kilocalories of beef back." > Getting the optimal mix of essential amino acids is crucial for health Animals have nothing that we couldn't obtain from plants. It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. - American Dietetic Association A vegetarian or vegan diet can be suitable for everyone, regardless of their age. - NHS UK It is possible to follow a well-planned, plant-based, vegan friendly diet that supports healthy living in people of all ages, and during pregnancy and breastfeeding. - British Dietetic Association For adults, protein from two or more plant groups daily is like to be adequate. - World Health Organisation