TheHateCamel said:

Vegetables are stored for long periods of time and sprayed with pesticides.

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Better yet, grow a garden and go fishing.

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I'll agree with that

TheHateCamel said:

You could just lay off the meat.

Eat chicken and fish a couple times a week and make the rest fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts.

I can't figure out why people want to have a completely meat free diet.

Meat is good for you.

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I can't figure out why people want to have a completely meat free diet.

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You can't?  Really?  Despite the research which shows links between meat consumption and fatal diseases? 

Even if you discount all the scientific evidence which supports the vegan diet as the most health-promoting, you must be aware of the ethical concerns many people have about participating in the torture-farming of animals by the meat, dairy and egg industry?

"Cutting down" on meat, dairy & egg consumption may slightly improve health, but it does not address these ethical concerns, nor does it offer the health and longevity benefits of a 100% vegan diet.

BTW, organic produce, by definition, is NOT treated with harmful pesticides.

Veritas said:

You can't?  Really?  Despite the research which shows links between meat consumption and fatal diseases? 

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Even if you discount all the scientific evidence which supports the vegan diet as the most health-promoting, you must be aware of the ethical concerns many people have about participating in the torture-farming of animals by the meat, dairy and egg industry?

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If I avoided doing risky things because I thought they might kill me, life wouldn't be so enjoyable.

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But you can understand why others would choose not to engage in risky behaviors if their subjective cost/benefit ratio was different from your own?  IOW, if I did not enjoy jaywalking, the risk (cost) would far outweigh the benefits.

Some people who choose a vegetarian or vegan diet for ethical reasons are not as concerned with the death of an animal as they are with inhumane treatment of the animal while it is alive.  Some of this may be avoided by choosing to eat only free-range, small-farm-raised meat, or by hunting/fishing for your own meat.

After all, plants have to die to feed vegans. 

Veritas said:

BTW, organic produce, by definition, is NOT treated with harmful pesticides.

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Do you take supplements to make up for not eating meat?

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Veritas said:

No, it is not necessary to "make up for" not eating meat. When I transitioned over to a vegan diet, I spent several months on a detox diet, which included probiotics to replenish the intestinal flora that become depleted by a meat-and-dairy-centered diet. While the human body cannot produce B12 by itself, the intestinal flora which we obtain from consuming grasses and plants do produce B12.

If you are referring to heme iron and dairy-based calcium, research has shown that a varied vegan diet provides plenty of iron and calcium for the requirements of a human who is not stressing their system by consuming large quantities of animal protein. The cultures with the largest consumption of dairy products have the highest rates of osteoporosis, due to the minerals required to digest and assimilate dairy protein. "Got milk?" = "got bone loss?"

I supplement with a green food powder, flax oil, hemp oil & freshly-ground nut/seed powders, but no lab-created vitamin/mineral supplements. For someone who does not have access to high-quality organic produce, fresh nuts/seeds, flax/hemp oil, green food powder and a variety of whole beans and grains, supplementation would be necessary. As I live a few blocks away from a natural foods supermarket, and have a backyard garden, I do not choose to buy supplements.

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TheHateCamel said:

Intestinal flora are depleted by a meat-and-dairy-centered diet?

How so?

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Meat and dairy products create an acidic environment in the human gut, and so only acid-loving flora will survive.  The human body is "naturally" slightly alkaline, as are most non-carnivorous animals.  As we are omnivores, or opportunistic eaters, we have managed to adapt to getting our protein from animal sources.  However, this adaptation comes at a high cost to our health. (See: heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc.)

Once we restore the body to a healthy, slightly alkaline state, the intestinal flora which aid us in assimilating nutrients from a plant-based diet can once again flourish in our intestinal environment.  I took probiotics and prebiotics (food for the flora) to speed this process, but it will happen without supplementation eventually, as we consume beneficial bacteria when we eat organic greens and grasses.  The transition can be a bit gassy and uncomfortable, so I recommend the detox and pre/probiotics.