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Why plant based diets are not able to support human health over the long term and why most adherents go back to eating meat and other animal foods within a few short years.
Sources of conventional health information seem to be trumpeting the catchphrase plant based diet. Notice the word “vegetarian” or “vegan” is not used perhaps because the vast majority of people find such a diet and its common, associative terms unappealing.
Estimates on the number of people who never eat meat varies somewhere between a paltry 3% and 6%.
Even more telling, the vast majority (75%) who identify as vegetarian end up omnivores again within a few years.
Surprisingly, the Vegetarian Resource Group estimates that only 20-30% of people are good candidates for vegetarianism. (1)
Perhaps this is the reason for this new semantic trend which attempts to repackage vegetarianism simply as “a healthy plant based diet”. Note even cow milk substitutes are now called plant based milk instead of simply dairy-free.
The best selling success of the error-ridden book Blue Zones is one commercial example fueling this semantic change.
There is no doubt that an increase in the number of folks eating a “plant based diet” would result in quite a profit boost for Big Ag and Big Food companies that deal in the various stages of production of textured vegetable soy protein (TVP) and other frankenfood substitutes for meat, dairy, and eggs.
Aside from the big profits to be had should more people embrace this manner of eating, could a “plant based diet” even be healthy?
The 2017 documentary What The Health claims plant based diets to be healthy despite being unable to name a single successful vegan population group that ever existed outside of a few small religious sects that did not reproduce.
Little to No Variety in Modern Food Plants
The reality is that the world today depends on a variety of only 150 food plants. Twenty of these account for 90% of our food. And, of these twenty, only three account for half! What are the Big Three? Rice, corn, and wheat – difficult to digest, grain based carbs that ninety percent of the people who ever lived never even ate!
Considering that there are between 30,000-80,000 edible plants in the world and that traditional cultures such as the American Indian regularly consumed about 1,100 of these, it seems virtually impossible that a “plant based diet” of today would contain enough variety to ensure health.
Surely, a modern “plant based diet” could only lead to nutritional deficiencies and ill health in the long run given these statistics. This especially if a primary source of all those veggies is a daily green smoothie.
Despite the American Indian’s consumption of a wide variety of nutritious food plants from soil that was arguably much richer and more fertile than the monocrop farms of today, guess what? They still ate meat!
What about the hunter-gatherers? They sampled between 3,000 and 5,000 plants and still consumed animal foods as well.
“Healthy Plant Based Diet” is an Oxymoron
A “healthy plant based diet” on only 150 food plants at best and less than 20 at worst? That simply doesn’t add up to anything remotely resembling health according to my logic. Not enough variety by a longshot.
Compare this to a person who consumes foods from wild and/or pastured animals. The plant variety these animals sample throughout the year is enormous, which the person eating the meat benefits from indirectly.
Another salient point is that much of the fresh produce plant based fans are eating is hydroponically grown. Hydroponics is much lower in nutrients than plants grown in rich organic soil.
This is why organizations like the Cornucopia Institute are so against the hydroponic invasion of the USDA Organic label over the past decade.
It seems that the term “healthy plant based diet” is nothing more than a semantic marketing ploy contrived for television personalities beholden to their corporate advertising sponsors to pawn off to an unsuspecting public.
Next time you hear the term “plant based diet” and “healthy” used in the same sentence, feel free to roll your eyes and press “off” on the TV remote.
References
Seeds of Change, Kenny Ausubel
Vegetarian Journal
Cornucopia Institute: Why Organics Needs to Be Rooted in Healthy Soil (NOT hydroponics)
More Information
Vegetarians Suffer from More Cavities than Meat Eaters
All Plant-based Diets a High Risk for Fractures
I’m told by vegans that the research references debunking dietary cholesterol/saturated fat (as bad) are only population studies, not clinical. Hence hold no weight. Do you know anything about this??
Thanks!
Time magazine put “Eat Butter” on the cover a few years ago. The evidence was not weak for this to occur. Blaming dietary cholesterol for heart disease is like blaming firefighters for fires as one MD friend of mine is fond of saying.
What research are you using for your claims. What about the fact that a plant based diet has lowered my blood pressure and cholesterol? What about all of the scientific research that supports plant based diets? Well, I’m going to keep doing what works for me and continue following the science. Enjoy your nitrate filled cancer causing hot dogs. Good luck.
I find it amusing that vegans so often assume that all meat eaters love fast food and eat hot dogs. Really?
All the examples and rational you used seem to apply to omnivore diets too. Lacking a variety of fruits and vegetables is normal in American diet but there are for sure way more variety available than in the past. Many diets are dropped very quickly after starting, I think vegan/vegetarian diets are especially difficult because of a lack of education which leaves people hungry on those diets. Deficiencies are affecting most people. Big Ag soy (and other grains) is mostly used to feed animal food sources that is why so much is produced and where the money is. Meat and dairy substitutes are processed foods which are to be avoided on a plant-based diet. There are numberous studies which show the benefits of whole food plant-based diets. The film “what the health” was a vegan film that down played the dangers of refined sugar while pointing to the dangers of meat and dairy consumption; not the best example for a plant-based diet. I would love to know if you have a balanced response to what I have brought up. You seem to really care about health, I would encourage you to dive a little deeper into this issue and put aside any ideologies or arguments that point to how people fail at adopting healthy lifestyles. I am not sure if some of your funding comes from animal products (which it looks like is a possibility) so remember that while some plant-based recommendations include no meat others are a bit more flexible.
Vegans are simply contrarians that are attracted to anything that is counter to the mainstream. They will argue against any scientific fact that ruffles the feathers of their personal belief. Frankly I don’t waste time talking to them about their poor diet, nor do I want to listen to them complain about their inflammatory issues. This is how Darwin works
It’s all clear to me now what this is about. Thank you.
Can you please answer the question as to why plant foods like amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds AREN’T complete proteins when they have ALL of the nine essential amino acids? Sorry, maybe there’s something I’ve missed in my research. Thank you!
There are some plant proteins that contain all the nine essential amino acids this is true. BUT, the amount of some of these amino acids is not sufficient to support human health. Hope that makes sense!
Eggs and dairy are the main culprits for me, not so much meat. What have you found to be the leading deficiency in a plant-based diet? I’m a farmer, so I get hours of sun daily/D3. And I started taking a B12 supplement, even though probably don’t need to at this point. In your research, what is or are the most lacking nutrients in a plant-based diet that I personally should be concerned about? Also, in reading some of your other articles, which I think are superbly written, you mentioned that in terms of human health, only animal proteins are complete proteins. This, too, is stated in the introduction of Nourishing Traditions, pg.26(1st edition) that …”animal protein is our only source of complete protein.” So, I’m trying to find information on how amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, etc., which contain all 9 essential amino acids aren’t “complete” protein. Can you answer this, please? Thank you. I truly appreciate any information you have to answer my questions, any especially your time!
The leading deficiencies in a plant based diet may take months or even a year or two to manifest, but they are extremely serious. Deficiency of Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, and Vitamin B12 are the main risks. Beta carotene in plants is NOT true Vitamin A and the body converts little beta carotene to Vitamin A so don’t be swayed by that vegan argument. If you have any gut issues whatsoever, you likely convert NO beta carotene to Vitamin A. Vitamin D in mushrooms is NOT sufficient for human health unless you plan to eat a ridiculously large amount of them every day. The B12 in seaweed is NOT true B12 … it is an analog which actually increases the body’s need for real B12 in animal foods. Cheese is the best source of K2. There is some in sauerkraut, but again you would need to eat so much every day that you would risk thyroid health doing that as cabbage is goitrogenic. Natto contains lots of K2, but it is nasty tasting, so most people won’t eat it regularly to stave off K2 deficiency.
Also, protein deficiency is common too as no single plant food contains all the necessary amino acids for health. You have to do some very creative (and perfect!) combining of plant proteins to achieve the right result, which very few people accomplish effectively. Best to eat some sort of animal protein in the diet as every animal food contains PERFECT and COMPLETE protein with every bite.
I’ve been an organic farmer for 20 years, holding a B.S. in Sustainable Agriculture. My family raises organic grass-fed beef, chicken, eggs, and produce on our farm. This is, in part, what supports our family. I’ve been using Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions, for 19 years. I haven’t eaten fast food for over 25. I’ve always eaten a plant-based diet that included our own grass-fed beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, and eggs. At one point we milked our own Jersey for raw milk. The number one goal in my life over the past 15-20 years has been to produce everything me and my family eats, as much as physically possible. It’s been an incredible journey, especially to see my 3 children grow up assuming the responsibility for helping my husband and I put food on the table. I wouldn’t give up all the years of raising our animals for food…watching my children gut chickens (in the meantime having a homeschool class in anatomy). Life has been great! That said, still with 14 head of beef in the back 40 and pounds of our homemade sausage, whole chickens and turkeys in our deep freeze, my family had made the complete transition to a whole foods plant-based diet. I became very sick last year with an array of health problems that had me in and out of doctor’s offices all over. I was having so many issues, and had doctor’s telling me that one wasn’t related to the other? It got to the point where I was becoming sicker simply because I was visiting hospitals and doctor’s offices, but this was because of the insanely toxic environment within these facilities created by synthetic chemicals and perfumes. So I don’t go on, after 4 months of being 100% plant-based, my life has been so incredibly blessed! ALL of my health issues have completely vanished and I no longer have a fear of leaving my children without a mother. I research daily, reading only peer-reviewed, credible research to make sure this is a safe and healthy diet. But, because health has always been my number one priority, I still seek out credible arguments for a plant-based diet. This is what led me to this page. That said, if you don’t agree with a plant-based diet being the healthiest diet one could have, I would love to know if you come across any good solid research that shows humans MUST eat meat for good, real health. (Needless to say, studies funded by the meat and dairy industry don’t hold up). I figure you’re passionate enough to write this article, so perhaps you’ll be passionate enough to expound on the information you’ve presented, in the form of good, solid, peer-reviewed research.
Thank you kindly.
Of course humans don’t need to eat meat. But, they do need to eat some animal foods to obtain all the nutrients necessary for robust health long-term. If you don’t want to eat meat, then eat eggs, cheese or dairy of some kind. I’m glad you are feeling better after 4 months of plants only eating, as eating lots of plants is very good for detoxing. It is important to get back into balance long term as eating plant based for a lengthy period of time will lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Have you done any research on plant based diets? If you would have put at least some energy before bashing this diet, you would know that Sauerkraut contains vitamin K2, and all Sauerkraut is, is cabbage that’s been pickled in brine, which is part of the plant-base diet. Therefore, Vitamin K2 is not replenished by only eating animal products. I suggest putting more effort in your article instead of just writing your opinion with little to no facts.
You are absolutely right. Thank you for pointing that out. There is K2 in properly fermented saurkraut. BIG CAVEAT. Note that the saurerkraut on the shelves at the supermarket contain little to no K2, however!! If really must ferment it yourself properly, then it will give you a good amount. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/video-making-sauerkraut/
I don’t know many people who will eat a whole cup of traditionally fermented saurkraut every day though. Eating that much risks thyroid health (cabbage is goitrogenic). Sauerkraut is meant to be eaten a a few TBL at a time as a condiment, not as a main food. Much easier to get your K2 with animal foods like cheese. Gouda and brie cheeses in particular are extremely high in K2.
I find many of your articles factual and to the point but this article is just ranting and no facts.
Vitamin K1 easily converts into K2 in my body. I eat tender greens or raw carrot juice which makes my nails red and shiny; no half moons, ridges and spots.
I have to say though that a plant only diet isn’t for the physically inactive since plants have no growth factors in them like meat.
Unfortunately, K1 does NOT convert to K2 in the human body. Ruminant animals can make the conversion, but not us. I would suggest you read the book Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox.