[user104658]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

What is it we need that you can't get?

Vegans? Most are deficient in Vitamins D and B12, plus iron, calcium and zinc (because they're not as easily absorbed from plant sources so the RDA is higher) and anyone who wants to to have a decent body composition will struggle to get enough protein to maintain muscle.

I'm not saying they'll die without supplementing, just that they'll never be at optimal dietary health. Of course, that's only a problem if you mind supplementing. And like I said, protein is still obviously an issue for vegans, because almost all protein supplements use whey protein. Vegetarian men especially struggle to maintain much functional muscle mass.

Non vegan vegetarianism isn't an issue because there's not really anything that can't be compensated for with dairy products and eggs. If you include fish, even better. Although quite a few will still need to supplement iron, because as I said plant based iron sources aren't as easily absorbed and it can be hard for some people to get enough to avoid slight anaemia.

This is really about fresh foods... The main reason that many modern day veggies won't run into many problems is because there are a lot of foods that are fortified with supplements (cereal for example, which you could have with something like almond milk, which is calcium fortified).

Not saying that these are insurmountable issues obviously, just that our biological make up is omnivorous and a NATURAL diet completely free from supplements and fortified foods simply can't be optimal without meat.

Plus it's delicious of course .