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Originally Posted by skinnymofo
the only person i know who is a veg is my mom, and thats just cause she doesnt like the texture/taste of most meat much. but it also gave an iron deficiancy so take vitamins.
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You can get plenty of iron from plant sources, so you should check your diet has sufficient iron before self-medicating. I'm vegan and my blood sank like a stone when I had an anaemia test before giving blood a few weeks ago- most vegetarians shouldn't have any problem getting enough from their diet. Not saying people shouldn't watch their iron intake and supplement if neccessary, just so no one worries and starts overdosing on iron because someone online said they know a vegetarian who had an iron deficiency.
The only vitamin you should consider taking regardless of your diet is B12. B12 deficiencies are extremely rare and usually you'll have enough in your own system to keep you going whether you eat meat or not, but it's just not worth risking when very little is known about it.
And I've been vegetarian for about 5-6 years and vegan for just over a year. My reasons are mostly to do with the inefficient use of land in the world, ethical reasons
(On the subject, I've never met a vegan who was totally anti-death-of-anything-alive-ever for anyone who wants to start asking about natural carnivores. It's more about cutting out unneccessary and deliberate exploitation of animals. A lion has no other choice but to eat meat, and it doesn't raise its meat in unnatural conditions and unnatural numbers), environmental reasons, etc. I just don't think it's neccessary. While I believe it's perfectly natural for humans to eat whatever they find, we have a definite herbivore bias in our anatomy which means we don't need meat and there are so many of us it seems wasteful to throw away masses of land and food so that rich countries can eat meat and dairy at every meal.
It's not about thinking if I don't eat meat it's going to change the world and several animals I wouldn't have bought will be released on a special animal sanctuary somewhere, it's more about being at ease with myself and the only changes it can make are by promoting veganism simply by being happy and healthy with my lifestyle, and campaigning for better treatment of the farm animals that are going to be used. I'm not so hopelessly addicted to meat or dairy that I have to go against my beliefs to eat it, and I generally feel a lot more comfortable with myself if when I eat my money is not going directly to support those practises I don't believe in.