There are simply hundreds/thousands of species of plants that we can eat and many of the compounds in them, even those used for defence, can be beneficial for humans. Humans have always eaten plants
Problem is Graeme, now you're just talking sense
I don't have even the vaguest qualms about humans using and eating animals and it's not exactly clear to me why most vegans do
This is where we differ. I do have those qualms and it's not emotional. Survival notwithstanding, I believe for humans to evolve to the next level (god knows we need to) we must begin by not taking the lives of conscious beings. Without getting overly 'woo woo' ... we are all comprised of energy and it is the vibration of that energy which manifests itself as matter (our bodies).
The negative energies associated with needlessly causing the suffering and death of billions of sentient creatures is off the scale. This lower-vibration energy permeates our perceived reality and it manifests itself, often physically, in the human body. Hindus, Jains and others believe in Karma and Ahimsa feeds directly into that.
It's funny because I studied physics in school and always needed empirical proof of what we see around us but the more I've looked into the nature of consciousness and our perceived reality I'm starting to think my wife has been right all along! Everything in the universe is intrinsically linked ...
... in my opinion
I think that a very carefully planned plants-only diet *might* be healthy enough,
I don't think it has to be that carefully planned but learning more about nutrition really is essential to make veganism work long term.
The average person just does not worry about their nutrition to that degree
Hit the nail on the head there. To decide to be vegan takes some effort but when the motivation comes from a place of non-violence to others then the scale of the effort pales into insignificance really. It's the least we can do.
So even people eating an everyday omnivore diet often fail to get adequate nutrition. What's the odds they would do better on a plants only diet if they did NOT spend a lot of time learning how to do it?
Agreed and I think sub-optimal nutrition is common across the board, especially with the depleted state of the soils we grow our plants in. Meat eaters and dairy consumers don't need to be quite so concerned about their nutrition, sure. Because those are nutrient dense foods, mostly.
Without educating oneself a little on PBD then it's easy to run into problems, that's for sure. I mean, me and my family take our supps regularly ... just to be sure. 11 years in now and feeling pretty healthy on 100% plant-based.
it seems very hard to convince more people that a plant-based, vegan-friendly diet is the best. Or even second best
... and that's the reason places like this forum exist