Why do so many people think meat is essential? (NOT DEBATE)

Lt_Starbuck

I've found that is people can't cook, they are more likely to rely heavily on meat to be there shining star.

Yea, because meat is so easy to cook and vegetables are so difficult. lol

HAHA I totally giggled

DebbieLyn63

Total health requires a balance of essential nutrients. Anytime someone cuts out a specific food group, they are at risk of not getting in the essential nutrients their body needs. This means they must educate themselves about nutrition to be able to replace the nutrients they are no longer getting from the foods they cut out of their diet. Many people do not take the time and trouble to do this and end up causing damage to their health.

Complete proteins that are found in animal sources are different than strictly plant proteins, so you must combine different types of proteins to make up the complex proteins you no longer get thru meats. It can be done safely, but you do need to do your homework.

The same can be said for those going low carb. You can do that safely as well, but you need to make sure you are getting the nutrients in that you have cut out with omitting certain foods.

Protein doesn't have to mean meat
Carbs do not have to mean grains

People who are incapable of seeing that different people have different dietary needs, will always bash someone who chooses a lifestyle different from their own. This close-minded behavior usually spills over into other areas of their life as well.

Vegans vs carnivores
low fat vs low carb
cardio vs weight lifting

It goes on forever.

mmapags

I've found that is people can't cook, they are more likely to rely heavily on meat to be there shining star.

Yea, because meat is so easy to cook and vegetables are so difficult. lol

HAHA I totally giggled

That is a pretty ridiculous comment. I a carnivore and a professional chef! lol

Jerrypeoples

mostly because our teeth have evolved to tear at meat

plus it tastes so good

plus if you dont eat meat youre letting animals die horrible deaths for no reason

fIashforward

It's probably no worse than eating meat, as long as you're getting the same nutrients, etc.

However, I could never become one, love meat too much.

One thing that really annoys me though, is people who call themselves vegetarians yet eat fish! - That isn't a vegetarian!

eric_sg61

Eat what you want. Meat was essential to our ancestors survival. Being a vegetarian is only possible with modern agriculture, those people would of died of starvation in the hunter/gatherer days.

moosegt35

Here it's due to folk expecting meat, potatoes and two veg (overboiled carrots and parsnips or peas in my day, now broccoli is quite hip to replace the peas), as a child (who was vegetarian), the way vegetables were prepared made them tasteless and oh so boring. I made myself pasta and things with very little vegetables because people just didn't put any effort into cooking vegetables and as a result lots of people still hate them as an adult. Being used to the idea that the meat was the most important thing to finish on your plate, as it was the most expensive element, most people seen the vegetables as an unnecessary filler. I've worked as a cook and the number of 30 somethings that walked out of to canteen to buy a microwave burger because they seen a piece of onion in their lasagne was ASTOUNDING.

So I believe that here it is because of the general mentality that vegetables are boring and a life without meat is a prison sentence, and lack of imagination in the kitchen (I cooked all my own meals from the age of 12; my mum is a saint and already worked too hard to try to work out what to do for a vegetarian), has left a generation of adults who can't see past the same 10 meals they have every week. If someone offers them a dinner they aren't familiar with, they don't know what to do. They buy a microwave burger. In my experience, it is only these people who will tell you that you need meat. I always tell them they need some carrots.

I eat lots of carrots, they go great with chicken and fish.

fuzzieme

It's probably no worse than eating meat, as long as you're getting the same nutrients, etc.

However, I could never become one, love meat too much.

One thing that really annoys me though, is people who call themselves vegetarians yet eat fish! - That isn't a vegetarian!

I once met a vegan who had called ahead, told the hotel he would be eating there two nights, like any decent vegan would do. When the second meal for him had been arranged on the second night, he said he would have fish. That it's okay, vegans can eat fish. If I had been there, as a vegan myself, I think I would have had to destroy him. Grrrrrrrrrrr, and I used to wonder why people always ask me a million questions when I try to go out for a meal. It's because of confusing fools like him

fuzzieme

Here it's due to folk expecting meat, potatoes and two veg (overboiled carrots and parsnips or peas in my day, now broccoli is quite hip to replace the peas), as a child (who was vegetarian), the way vegetables were prepared made them tasteless and oh so boring. I made myself pasta and things with very little vegetables because people just didn't put any effort into cooking vegetables and as a result lots of people still hate them as an adult. Being used to the idea that the meat was the most important thing to finish on your plate, as it was the most expensive element, most people seen the vegetables as an unnecessary filler. I've worked as a cook and the number of 30 somethings that walked out of to canteen to buy a microwave burger because they seen a piece of onion in their lasagne was ASTOUNDING.

So I believe that here it is because of the general mentality that vegetables are boring and a life without meat is a prison sentence, and lack of imagination in the kitchen (I cooked all my own meals from the age of 12; my mum is a saint and already worked too hard to try to work out what to do for a vegetarian), has left a generation of adults who can't see past the same 10 meals they have every week. If someone offers them a dinner they aren't familiar with, they don't know what to do. They buy a microwave burger. In my experience, it is only these people who will tell you that you need meat. I always tell them they need some carrots.

I eat lots of carrots, they go great with chicken and fish.

I'm very happy for you, that means you don't fit into the category of folk I was referring to

jofjltncb6

In before China Study and FoK.


ETA: Dammit! Too late.

iAMsmiling

It's probably no worse than eating meat, as long as you're getting the same nutrients, etc.

However, I could never become one, love meat too much.

One thing that really annoys me though, is people who call themselves vegetarians yet eat fish! - That isn't a vegetarian!

I once met a vegan who had called ahead, told the hotel he would be eating there two nights, like any decent vegan would do. When the second meal for him had been arranged on the second night, he said he would have fish. That it's okay, vegans can eat fish. If I had been there, as a vegan myself, I think I would have had to destroy him. Grrrrrrrrrrr, and I used to wonder why people always ask me a million questions when I try to go out for a meal. It's because of confusing fools like him

MsPudding

I have to say that in my years I've only ever encountered a couple of meat-eaters who were vehemently anti-vegetarian....but I'm afraid to say that on the flipside, I've encountered quite a number of vegans (not vegetarians) who were not only entrenched but downright hostile....to the point where one vegan on a message board actually PM'd me death threats when she learnt that I'd hunted before and had no problem killing chickens to eat.

gracielynn1011

Some people are uneducated on the health benefits that a vegetarian diet offers. I am a meat eater, but I try to limit it. The fat content in some meats can certainly over ride any protein benefits that it offers. My family thinks I am weird now, I could just imagine what they would think if I went vegetarian. Of course, I come from a family that thinks that it's not a real meal if there isn't some form of meat deep fried in a skillet of lard. Sometimes family dinners are disgusting.

I feel your pain there. 90% of my family members are...well...disgusting blobs of ****. I figured out pretty quickly what not to eat by paying attention to what they do eat. Really, deep fried anything is the only 'food group' that I won't touch.

Yeah, nothing says delicious and healthy like watching globs of fat floating on your food, or running down your chin. :noway:

infamousmk

astigmatism. heh.

blpnana

I've been reading a lot about veganism and I think the biggest concern for vegans is the lack of B12 - not protein. You can derive protein from many plant sources, nuts, beans, etc. even greens have some protein in them - that's not really the problem. However, vitamin B12 isn't found in plants from what I'm reading - it's found in meat, fish and poultry. However, there is a source of B12 that's called Nutritional Yeast that vegans incorporate into their diets and there are also vegan B12 supplements (and I specify "vegan" B12 because some of the supplements are derived from meats). But what I'm finding (and I've eaten meat, fish and poultry all my life) is that I feel better on a plant based diet. And eating plant based has helped restore digestive enzymes in the gut - at least for me it has. I've also given up a lot of processed foods. It's a struggle sometimes, more because of habit than anything else. However, the longer I lean toward plant-based, the better I feel. So that's my personal view. If you'd like to read some great material on veganism from a former Triathlete/Ironman go to Brendan Brazier's website. His book Thrive is amazing! Happy plant eating!!!

penrbrown

Because people know that protein is good (although some people don't know this is WHY meat is good) and they don't understand that you can get protein from non-meat sources.

Not everyone is a nutritionist. Some of us just know things because our parents/grandparents taught us and we carry it on never really questioning the why but knowing that such and such is good.

2credneck208

I raise my own beef, and love it!! To each their own though, I don't get into other peoples business.

Ophidion

The answer to this question is usually based on the person conveying it. Sometimes it will be born out of concern(based on Ignorance) that you are not getting the right nutrition to remain healthy and other times it will said in a derogatory way(once again based on ignorance). Basically this idea is based upon an antiquated nutritional system that believes meat and dairy are the only ways to obtain certain dietary needs e.g. protein, calcium, iron etc. There is a abundance of evidence that not only supports the concept of an adequate non-meat diet, but also evidence that shows that not eating meat or animal products is much healthier for you if done properly. As meat consumption is seen as the norm you will encounter a lot of ignorance manifesting in displays of both concern and other times down right insulting arguments .People are usually are frightened by new concepts

here is an example of some data collected.

The China Study (2005) is a book by T. Colin Campbell, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and his son Thomas M. Campbell II, a physician. It examines the relationship between the consumption of animal products and a variety of chronic illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancers of the breast, prostate and bowel.[2] The book had sold 750,000 copies as of January 2013.[3] It is one of America's best-selling books about nutrition.[4]

The China Study of the title is taken from the China-Cornell-Oxford Project, a 20-year study that began in 1983 and was conducted jointly by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Cornell University, and the University of Oxford.[5] T. Colin Campbell was one of the directors of the project, described by The New York Times in 1990 as "the Grand Prix of epidemiology".[6]

The study examined mortality rates from 48 forms of cancer and other chronic diseases from 1973 to 75 in 65 counties in China, and correlated them with 1983–84 dietary surveys and blood-work from 6,500 people, 100 from each county. It concluded that counties with a high consumption of animal-based foods in 1983–84 were more likely to have had higher death rates from "Western" diseases as of 1973–75, while the opposite was true for counties that ate more plant foods in 1983–84. The study was conducted in those counties because they had genetically similar populations that tended, over generations, to live in the same way in the same place, and eat diets specific to those regions.[7]

The authors conclude that people who eat a plant-based/vegan diet—avoiding animal products such as beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk, and reducing their intake of processed foods and refined carbohydrates—will escape, reduce or reverse the development of chronic diseases. They also recommend adequate amounts of sunshine to maintain sufficient levels of vitamin D, and supplements of vitamin B12 in case of complete avoidance of animal products. etc,etc

Good luck making your own mind up,its your life to live so don't let anyone tell you how to live it. enjoy

The China Study has been thoroughly debated on mfp on other treads. My understanding is that while it's a very large study, it's also extremely flawed.

The China Study was just an example. As with most study's they are easy to critique and find flaws.Especially if you have opposing beliefs to the outcome of said study (Not I'm suggesting that you do) I do agree that a study of that magnitude will have its faults especially when its an observational study as opposed to a study done in an controlled environment, which is obviously impossible considering the amount of time, people etc. But then the same logic for these flaws can be applied to any other study of this magnitude. Anyway it was only meant as an example......... p.s sorry for the double post.

First let me say, I have no dog in this fight. People should do what they feels is best as long as they get adequate nutrition. But, it is just not accurate to say The China Study is just a flawed oberservational study like most. It has been completely debunked and has been severely criticized by the scientific community for it's omissions and manipulation of the data. While some fault can be found with all studies, The China Study is not even close to the realm of "some fault". For one to cite it as reference lacks all credibility.

I just wanted to say that I was just trying to be helpful and offer some friendly advice, and show an example of research about nutrition. Why I referenced the China Study is because I have found it to be helpful. I do not claim or ever have claimed to be an epidemiologist, scientist, dietitian or any other professional. When I said flaws and faults could be found with other studies I meant nutritional studies of the same magnitude and timescale.
As for lacking all credibility I think that may be a bit strong since the essence of my advice was to live her life as she see's fit and not to be dictated to by others (including me.) I am open to new advice and information if you could provide reference's to the China Study being completely debunked I would appreciate it (already aware of Denise Minger's critique, and have read Colin Campbell response.) Anyway don't want to start a huge debate about this study as it seems to be quite controversial.Thanks for reading my post. p.s Kudos to everyone on mfp for caring about they're health.

beatleschic87

protein is essential, meat is not.

Exactly!

I was vegetarian for 2 years and vegan for 1. It was very hard, not for the the "don't eat meat" aspect but just making sure I was getting all the nutrients. Protein isn't the only thing being cut out when you take away meat. With red meat especially, you cut out iron and B12. So as long as you are eating a lot of iron heavy/B12 heavy vitamins and greens (like spinach) you should be okay.

Also get your protein from tofu, lentils, nuts, cheese etc. Just also be careful of your cholesterol and fat intake. I also would meet with a nutritionist beforehand to help you get started. It will shock your body if you just all of a sudden remove a staple from your diet.

The meat we have in the US is very processed and dirty but it's easy to get and cheap. Ever wonder why a cheeseburger costs less than a salad? Mass production, hormones etc. The only meat I eat if lean meats and fish. The chicken is always free range and hormone free and the fish is never farm raised. It is more expensive but tastes better and makes me feel a lot better too.

Hope this helps!

:drinker:

beatleschic87

Aaaand I love this. Scott Pilgrim!!