Vegetarianism
and veganism are popular these days—promoted with claims that a
diet without animal foods will make you heathier and save the planet.
But vegetarianism and especially veganism practiced over the long term
can lead to serious nutrient deficiencies; and animal agriculture,
properly carried out, can heal our soil from the depletion that happens
when growing grains and other plant foods.
None of the healthy people studied by Dr. Price followed a vegan or even a vegetarian diet—all consumed animal foods, often going to great trouble and risk to obtain them. They especially valued certain nutrient-dense animal foods such as organ meats and animal fats to ensure healthy children.
As this chart shows, it is the animal foods, especially organ meats like liver, that provide the most nutrients. Plant foods like grains, beans, nuts, vegetables and fruit have their contributions to make to a healthy diet, but it is animal foods that provided the bulk of vitamins and minerals in the diets of healthy traditional people.
| Per 100 g | Apple | Carrot | Red Meat | Liver |
| Phosphorus | 6.0 mg | 31.0 mg | 140.0 mg | 476.0 mg |
| Iron | 0.1 mg | 0.6 mg | 3.3 mg | 8.8 mg |
| Zinc | 0.05 mg | 0.30 mg | 4.40 mg | 4.00 mg |
| Copper | 0.04 mg | 0.08 mg | 0.20 mg | 4.20 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.02 mg | 0.05 mg | 0.20 mg | 12.00 mg |
| Vitamin A | 0 | 0 | 40 IU | 53,400 IU |
| Vitamin C | 7 mg | 6 mg | 0 | 27 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | .03 mg | .10 mg | .07 mg | .73 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 | 0 | 1.84 mg | 111.30 mg |
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism & Veganism FAQs
Heart of the Matter: Plant-Based Diets Lead to High Homocysteine, Low Sulfur and Marginal B12 Status
Heart of the Matter : Sulfur Deficits in Plant-Based Diets
The Ethics of Eating Meat: A Radical View
The Blood Moon
What Can the Diet of Gorillas Tell Us About a Healthy Diet for Humans?
Copper-Zinc Imbalance: Unrecognized Consequence of Plant-Based Diets and a Contributor to Chronic Fatigue
Meat, Organs, Bones and Skin
An Inconvenient Cow
Vegetarianism and Nutrient Deficiencies
Twenty-Two Reasons Not to Go Vegetarian
Dioxins in Animal Foods: A Case for Vegetarianism?
Myths of Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism: What the Science Tells Us
It’s the Beef
The (Vegan Ecological) Wasteland
Vegetables
The China Study Myth
Nightshades
Plants Bite Back
The Role of Oxalates in Autism and Chronic Disorders
Bearers of the Cross: Crucifers in the Context of Traditional Diets and Modern Science
Grains (veg + plant foods)
Grains, Seeds, Nuts, & Beans FAQs
To Gluten or Not to Gluten?
The Flatulent Bean: Soy Alert! Update, Fall 2003
Plants Bite Back
Living With Phytic Acid
Our Daily Bread
Wheaty Indiscretions: What Happens to Wheat, from Seed to Storage
Be Kind to Your Grains … And Your Grains Will Be Kind To You
