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In practice, very few people are satisfi ed that methane from animals contributes to global warming is just that—a
with the flavors and tastes of a diet based exclu- theory, one that doesn’t even pass the test of common sense.
sively on plant foods, even when these foods are Without urine and manure to nourish the soil, plant farmers need more
loaded up with artifi cial flavors, which is why pesticides, more chemicals. And there’s only one way to eliminate exhaust
it is so difficult for most people to remain on a from farm equipment used to raise plant foods for vegan diets—pull those
vegan diet. Vegetables are a lot more interesting plows with horses and mules.
and bring us a lot more joy when dressed with
egg yolks and cream or cooked in butter or lard. 11. YOUR BONES WILL LAST LONGER:
But if you are a vegan, you’ll be using either The average bone loss for a vegetarian woman at age 65 is 18
liquid or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, percent; for non-vegetarian women, it’s double that. Researchers attribute
both extremely toxic. this to the consumption of excess protein. Excess protein interferes with
the absorption and retention of calcium and actually prompts the body to
10. YOU’LL HELP REDUCE WASTE excrete calcium, laying the ground for the brittle bone disease osteoporosis.
AND AIR POLLUTION: Animal proteins, including milk, make the blood acidic, and to balance
Livestock farms create phenomenal that condition, the body pulls calcium from bones. So rather than rely on
amounts of waste, tons of manure, a substance milk for calcium, vegetarians turn to dark green leafy vegetables, such as
that’s rated by the Environmental Protection broccoli and legumes, which, calorie for calorie, are superior sources.
Agency (EPA) as a top pollutant. And that’s References, please?
not even counting the methane gas released by The theory that excess protein causes bone loss was fi rst presented
goats, pigs and poultry (which contributes to in 1968 and followed up in 1972 with a study comparing bone density
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the greenhouse effect); the ammonia gases from of vegetarians and meat eaters. Twenty-fi ve British lacto-ovo vegetarians
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urine; poison gases that emanate from manure were matched for age and sex with an equal number of omnivores. Bone
lagoons; toxic chemicals from pesticides; and density, determined by reading X-rays of the third fi nger metacarpal, was
exhaust from farm equipment used to raise feed found to be signifi cantly higher in the vegetarians—these are lacto-ovo
for animals. vegetarians, not vegans, so they will have good calcium intake.
The problem is not animals, which roamed Dr. Herta Spencer, of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Hines,
the earth in huge numbers emitting methane, urine Illinois, explains that the animal and human studies that correlated calcium
and manure long before humans came on the loss with high protein diets used isolated, fractionated amino acids from
scene, but their concentration into confi nement milk or eggs. Her studies show that when protein is given as meat, subjects
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facilities. Only strong, committed, persistent and do not show any increase in calcium excreted, or any signifi cant change in
focused human effort will accomplish the goal serum calcium, even over a long period. Other investigators found that
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of eliminating these abominations—the kind of a high-protein intake increased calcium absorption when dietary calcium
strength, commitment, persistence and focus that was adequate or high, but not when calcium intake was a low 500 mg per
only animal foods rich in cholesterol, zinc, good day. 21
fats and vitamin B can sustain. In nature and on So meat alone will not help build strong bones. But meat plus dairy
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old-fashioned farms, the urine and manure from is an excellent combination. The chart below illustrates the diffi culty of
animals is not a pollutant but a critical input that obtaining adequate calcium from green leafy vegetables or legumes and
nourishes plant life. As for methane, the theory contradicts the claim made above that leafy green vegetables and legumes
NO SUCH THING AS A GUILT-FREE LUNCH
Letter published in the New Yorker, January 7, 2008
Bill Buford writes that nobody has a persuasive rejoinder to the vegan belief that sentient, warm-blooded creatures
shouldn’t be sacrificed for our sustenance [An article on meat-eating called “Red, White, and Bleu,” December 3, 2007].
But if that’s your ethic, you should seriously consider fasting. Countless millions of wee furry beasties, mice, moles and
voles, as well as ground-nesting birds, are killed outright or die off from habitat destruction annually, when vast acreages
are tilled by huge, mindless machines to grow “ethical” grains and vegetables. More are killed during the growing season
by rodenticide grain baits, including zinc phosphide. Small mammals and birds are killed by machinery again at harvest
time, and even more are killed by pest-control practices in granaries and processing plants before vegetables get to market.
There’s no such thing as a guilt-free lunch. Rich Latimer, Falmouth, Massachusetts
SPRING 2008 Wise Traditions 45