Beyond Milk and
Honey: The Vegan Controversy
by Nina Rubin
published: September 2005
Imagine never tasting ice cream again.
Or how about milk, butter, yogurt or cheese? Next,
try eliminating eggs from your diet (that means no more
hearty egg breakfasts, and forget about most baked goods).
While you’re at it, don’t eat any more refined
sugar – that’s the sugar used in almost
every sugar-containing food. And finally, get rid of
everything you own that’s made of leather, wool,
silk, or down.
Faced with this scenario, most people ask one simple
question: why? After that question come others:
What’s left to eat? What would you wear? How would
you survive? Isn’t it unhealthy, unnatural, or
at the least, terribly inconvenient?
It’s fair to say that most Americans know or
have heard of someone who has given up meat. A growing
number of people, known as vegans (pronounced
VEE-gn, with a long "e" and hard "g"),
have taken the plunge, bringing vegetarianism to a new
extreme. They belong to a movement called veganism,
founded in 1944 by a group of vegetarians who advocated
for a new “way of living” through the elimination
of exploitation of any kind. Practically speaking, this
included eliminating all animal products from one’s
diet and using alternatives to animal commodities, from
leather shoes to silk pajamas.
Many people feel that veganism is a bit extreme - for
a number of reasons. Some think it’s unhealthy,
while others disagree with the founding principles of
the vegan philosophy. Proponents of veganism, on the
other hand, argue that vegans live a healthier, more
Healthful or Harmful?
When discussing the health benefits of veganism, most
supporters are quick to point out that non-animal based
diets tend to be high in fiber, nutrient-rich, cholesterol-free,
and low fat .
They emphasize that not only is vegan food better for
you, but the consumption of non-vegan food, specifically
animal fats and proteins, has been linked to a number
of health problems. These include obesity, heart disease,
hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, and several kinds
of cancer .
According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarian
and vegan diets are associated with reduced risks for
all of these conditions .
The counter-argument is that although vegan diets are
undoubtedly beneficial in certain respects, they are
detrimental in others, causing minor to serious health
problems that often go unnoticed. Critics maintain that
even the most informed, health-conscious vegans run
the risk of malnutrition .
There are several nutrients that are found in abundance
in animal products, but exist in only a handful of vegan
foods. Therefore, critics argue, while it is possible
to get all of the essential nutrients on a vegan diet,
it is extremely challenging.
Vitamin B12, for instance, is only naturally-occurring
in animal cells and yeast or mold cells. Since vegan
sources of vitamin B12 are scarce, vegans must be vigilant
about getting enough of this essential vitamin. This
is an arduous task, made more difficult by the fact
that some vegans altogether avoid yeast or bacterial
products. These people must rely upon fortified foods
and supplements. A popular argument against veganism
is that heavy reliance upon artificial nutrient sources
(vitamin pills, fortified foods, etc.) is an unhealthy
practice. These people believe that nutrients should
be delivered to the body in their natural packaging,
which just isn’t feasible on a strict vegan diet.
Ethics and the Preservation of the Planet
Aside from health benefits, many vegans cite ethical
concerns as a primary motivation for committing to the
vegan lifestyle. For as long as the vegan movement has
been alive, the mistreatment of animals has been a hotly
debated issue. More recently, animal rights groups have
called attention to the horrors of the meat, poultry,
and fish industries through widely circulated statistics.
Yet few people realize that such mistreatment and exploitation
also exist in the production of other animal by-products,
such as dairy, eggs, wool, and honey. For example, strict
vegans take issue with the fact that in order to extract
honey from a hive, some of the bees are inevitably injured
or killed. Anti-vegan critics address the animal mistreatment
issue with the argument that, as the old saying goes,
it’s a dog eat dog world. We are part of the food
chain, they say, and killing to eat is a natural part
of the cycle of life .
Another hot topic is the environmental ramification
of eating meat. According to many, meat-eating societies
encourage inefficient food production and resource management.
In light of population pressures, many vegans contend
that it is irresponsible to produce meat when, in fact,
more people could be fed on a vegan diet than on a meat-based
Furthermore, studies indicate that animal agriculture
is contributing to a host of environmental problems,
including topsoil erosion, wilderness area depletion,
groundwater contamination, and greenhouse gas production
While many people feel that these arguments are hard
to dispute, others claim that such research is bogus
or inaccurate. And then there are those who confirm
the validity of these environmental statistics, but
deem such facts to be insignificant – how could
not eating dairy and eggs save our planet?
Can becoming vegan save our bodies, restore our consciences,
and preserve the environment? Or do such choices lead
to bodily harm and an unnatural lifestyle? Tell
us what you think.
1 The high
percentage of fiber and nutrients in a typical vegan
diet stems from the abundance of vegetables and whole
grains, and the lack of fat and cholesterol relates
to the absence of cow's milk and eggs, respectively.
2 J of American
Dietetic Association, 1997; 97 (No. 11): 1317-21; Am
J Clin Nutr, 1999; 69: 727-36.
Dietetic Association, Position on Vegetarian Diets,
4 Of particular
concern are protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.
example of such mistreatment comes from the egg industry,
where "although chickens can live up to 15 years, they
are usually slaughtered when their egg production rates
decline after two years" (Bernard Rollin, PhD., Farm
Animal Welfare, Iowa State University Press, 1995).
6 "For instance,
projections have estimated that the 1992 food supply
could have fed about 6.3 billion people on a purely
vegetarian diet, 4.2 billion people on a 85% vegetarian
diet, or 3.2 billion people on a 75% vegetarian diet"
(Peter Ulvin, The State of World Hunger, reported
by UN FAO, 1993. Percentages by calories.)
to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization,
animal agriculture is linked to "contamination of aquatic
ecosystems, soil, and drinking water by manure, pesticides,
and fertilizers; acid rain from ammonia emissions; greenhouse
gas production; and depletion of aquifers for irrigation"
(United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization, Livestock
& the Environment, 1996).