There's some ideas that have been swirling around in my mind that I'd love to add to the conversation on what the optimal nutrition for a human would be, but sadly I don't have the tools and the knowledge yet to truly turn them into something valuable, this is where you guys come in, I'd like to know your opinions on the subject, please keep things civil, no need to get heated for what essentially comes down to personal choice.
I've always loved experimenting with nutrition on myself, and have seen some pretty radical changes on my body as life goes on, I'm currently putting veganism to the test, not out of ethical reasons (although I do sympathize with the feeling, I just believe the way the idea is spread does more damage to the general agenda than it should) but out of (pseudo)scientifical reasons.
The more I think about it, the more arguments come to mind in favour and against a vegan diet, and a ketogenic diet as well, the TL;DR of this whole post would most likely come down to "Find a balance that suits YOUR body".
That being said, here are some ideas I've seldom seen mentioned in the nutrition discussion.
- A Vegan Diet is most likely Humanity's Inevitable Future.
Just think of what would be more efficient in a Space-colonization scenario, herding a thousand cows, or cow embryos into a spaceship, nurturing them and taking proper care for them on a long space voyage, or vacuum packing nutritionally enhanced seeds and vegetable derivatives, to be cultivated when the destination is reached?
Colonizing other planets becomes a necessity evermore with every natural disaster and newborn, humanity has to start thinking on possible solutions to our ever growing numbers, even if we were to save our planet from becoming inhospitable to life, lifespans are only getting longer and birth rates are through the ceiling, someday we will not have enough earth to house us all, and life itself is a huge hassle to transport from one planet to the other, If we can barely get a person out of orbit, just imagine what it would take to transport enough lifestock to start a sustainable nutrition source for a hipothetical colony.
- Cloning will be the greatest ecological disaster to date when we perfect it.
On the flip side of that coin, cloning could be an answer to my previous point right? just take enough genetical samples of whichever animal you want to raise somewhere else, and thanks to some stem cells, you've got a seemingly infinite source of it.
Well, humans aren't stellar examples of moderation, If we've wrecked our planet's ecosystem this bad fully knowing our resources are finite, just imagine what future humans would do knowing that extintion would just mean a few months in a lab to recover a species we exploited into oblivion.
Once we discover the secrets to recovering a species after its dissapearance, Jurassic Park would be the last of our worries, more like "would you like some scrambled Dodo eggs with your T-Rex steak?".
EDIT: JUST REMEMBERED ANOTHER ARGUMENT
- Veganism will surely mean mass extintion for livestock.
They may have been wild species once, but our househeld animals are far from fit for a natural enviroment nowadays, just imagine what would happen to a cow let loose in the wild to get an idea of what will happen to the species we domesticated once we no longer need them as a food source.
Same goes to Fighting Bulls, most "pure" dog breeds and countless other creatures we modified into something far from what nature intended.
I don't mean this as an argument in Pro or Con for any agenda, just as something to consider, If somehow humanity found a way to feed without animal produce, this will surely lead to the extintion of those species, we can't just throw them back into the wild and hope the do alright.
- Children Should eat meat.
Cruelty aside, Meat is a dense source of nutrients, we've got it to thank for our current size compared to our ancestors, it may take quite a bit longer to metabolize, but having a literal food bomb at the tip of your fingers anytime is something our caveman predecessors would kill for.
As adults, we have the luxury of chosing to leave meat aside for other sources of nourishment, but a growing infant has a single goal, grow up healthy, and a child's stomach can't handle the excessive amounts of food a vegan needs to keep a healthy body up and running, that's where meat comes in, I can safely assume 90% of those reading this grew up eating meat, be it burgers, nuggets, or Foie Gras; most of us got animal nutrients stuffed into us as children, and thanks to that, we grew up with the top(est) notch bodies we could have, what we chose to do with them as grown-ups is entirely up to us.
For children to afford the luxury of chosing alternate paths of nutrition, they must first eat the most nutrient dense diet they can reach, so we either start creating a healthy alternative to meat, or we leave veganism and nutrient-restrictive diets to the adults.
- Vegans aren't helping the Cause.
The more you throw Molotov Cocktails at the slaughter houses of the world, the more detriment you do to your own cause, being outraged and militant while trying to communicate a message of peace just won't cut it.
Vegans should be shut off in a Lab, looking for a vegetable alternative that renders meat obsolete, if you really dissagree with an idea, the best way to win the argument is to create a solution which completely eliminates the need for a debate.
Those are the arguments that came to mind while experimenting with veganism, I'd love to know your thoughts on the subject, let's start a conversation so people take notice and a true solution can someday be found.