How to Beat an “Anti-Vegan” in a Debate
Chances are, if you’re vegan, you’ve had eyes rolled at you, you’ve been questioned as if you were being accused of murder, or you have been name called.
And believe me, it gets old.
With popular documentaries such as “Food Inc,” released in 2008, detailing the process of how animal processing plants work in a very disturbing fashion. Food Inc, more or less aided the movement of why many americans have switched over from meat-based diets to vegetable-based diets.
In 2013, 1,000,000 Americans were vegan, a number that has more than doubled since 2010. Below are a few of the many, but popular, comments made about vegans:
“Being vegan is too expensive!”
Yes, this is true if you shop exclusively at Whole Foods and buy onlyorganic vegetables and food products, as well as if you only eat out at vegan restaurants. However, being vegan is far from expensive.
According to the picture below, most, if not all vegan food choices are cheaper than many meat choices.
In addition to that, a plethora of books have been published to help consumers spend less and enjoy more when becoming vegan. Eat Vegan on $4.00 a Day by Ellen Jones, illustrates how to get the “most out of delicious, high-quality basic ingredients.” Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman, is about a woman who tried to eat a vegan-based diet on $30 dollars of food stamps and succeeded.
“Vegan diets lack daily nutrients such as Iron and Calcium”
Many people are quick to assume that vegans are nutrient deficient because they don’t consume dairy or animal meat. When in reality they offer the same if not more quality nutrients in comparison to meat and dairy consumers. Iron, for example, which is found in almost all animal meat products, transports oxygen from our lungs to various areas in the human anatomy.
In addition to Iron, Calcium, a nutrient found in dairy products such as milk and cheese, is used to form and strengthen bones and teeth. Below is a comparison between vegan and non-vegan:
Iron:(Daily need 17.0–18.9 mg/day for adults over age of 19)
Vegan:
- 1 cup of soybeans: 8.8mg
- 1 cup of spinach: 6.4mg
Non-vegan:
- 6 oz ground beef (80/20) 3.2mg
- 6 oz flank steak: 3mg
Calcium (Daily need is 1000 mg/day for adults and kids ages 4 and older)
Vegan:
- 1 cup of collard greens: 357mg
- 8 ounces of soy milk: 200–300mg
Non-vegan:
- 1 cup of milk: 270mg
- 1 slice of cheese: 202mg
“Substituting carbohydrates for proteins is a recipe for gain weight”
Protein is essential to muscle growth, giving you that “full” feeling, as well as aiding in the effort to lose weight. Taking animal meats out of your diet can lead to a serious reduction in protein (meat, poultry, etc.) and an increase in carbohydrates (sugars, starches, etc.) based on the types of foods available to the vegan community.
In order to gain weight, one must consume more calories than one burns; it’s not about how many proteins or carbohydrates you do or don’t eat. You can gain weight if you eat protein in excess and you can also gain weight if you eat carbohydrates.
Furthermore, there are vegan bodybuilders who gain plenty of muscle and who do so without the aid of animal meats. A quote from vegan bodybuilder Massimo Brunaccioni, when asked how people react when they find out he’s vegan: “Lots of people can’t believe it.”
As the number of properly educated people on the topic of choosing a vegan diet over a meat-based diet rises, more and more people will be convinced of making the switch too!