Scented Nectar wrote:
>>You're making the same uneducated statements about diet as you've made
>>about CDs. Just because something contains no meat doesn't mean it's
>>inherently healthier for you. It can be patently unhealthy, especially
>>over the long run. You should learn a lot more about nutrition before
>>you make such generalizations.
>
>
> I've been studying nutrition since 1977, when I was rooming
> with a couple of vegetarian 7th Day Adventists.

That's not studying, that's sharing anecdotes.

> I never joined
> their religion, but the food intrigued me, and I've been researching
> ever since.

You've done *no* research. You've willfully only sought out information
which supports you, and mainly using activist sources rather than valid
objective sources.

> My conclusion is that being vegan is better
> healthwise than being a meat eater.

Your "conclusion" isn't well-founded, especially since you're
generalizing about a nebulous plant-based diet and an equally nebulous
meat-included diet. Were your comparison more detailed, you'd only be
able to make that claim if you were comparing the best of a vegetarian
diet against the worst of a meat diet. You're avoiding dealing with the
whole spectrum of both kinds of diets, and accordingly you're failing to
note that meat-included diets can be far more healthful and nutritious
than an unplanned or poorly-planned vegetarian diet -- particularly
given the fact that a vegetarian diet will inherently be malnourishing
so far as nutrients like B12, iron, and zinc are concerned.

> Disagree all you want.

I shall!

> No one's shoving any tofu down your throat.

The issue isn't subjective, even though you're inclined to make it
subjective. You've reached your position through sloppy, nebulous
generalizations rather than sound science and objective data. You've
even been careless enough to leave out the qualification that a
"well-planned vegetarian diet" can be as healthful as a diet containing
meat -- a point which is very highly emphasized by the major nutrition
and dietetics organizations. Have you ever asked yourself why so many
nutritionists and dieticians eat and recommend lean meats and why so few
nutritionists are "vegans"?