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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Friday, November 16, 2012

Vegan Mythology

By Rich Kozlovich
As an exterminator I meet people from every walk of life and encounter every philosophy in existence.  This week I had to go to an apartment building I have under contract for a mouse problem in one of the units.  I asked the tennat what they had been doing and he said they live trapped them and turned them loose outside.  I chuckled and said that was counterproductive as they would merely come right back in, and I was going to kill them.  He then told me he was a vegan.  I told him that I wasn’t going to ask them to eat them.  He told me that being a vegan wasn’t just about diet it was a philosophy of life.  And I was supposed to be surprised? 
I finished my work and we chitchatted for a while as he was an affable likable chap.  He proceeded to tell me how wonderful his life was now as a vegan, and that vegans live longer by about ten years.  I smiled and said; “I don’t believe that!”  He then proceeded to tell me about studies and the “big” names in science that supports that view, which is a logical fallacy known as ‘Appeal to Authority’
I told him that I know that in many societies that have these kinds of restrictive diets due to poverty and they also have serious health problems, and I just can’t see how choosing a diet such as that would extend their lives by ten years.  I thought to myself that when there is no animal protein in our diet we lack certain amino acids that are necessary for good health, so why would vegans live ten years longer?    
But we parted smiling and with different views.  The claim about an added ten years did intrigue me.  After having done this for so many years and read so many studies….and read what critics of those studies have said, I came to realize that most studies are …..well….. crap!  If one wonders if this is true take a look at the web site Retraction Watch
Unfortunately, as is so often true, these people are more concerned with grant money and are prepared to promote that which will generate the most grant money.  In some cases  they have a bias on some issue they wish to promote.  In other words; scientific integrity has become an oxymoron due to ideology and grant money.    Then there are those who just wish to promote themselves, which is an additional motivation for the grant chasers.  And then there are those ‘studies’ that are so oft cited that never took place. 
I have linked two articles that I believe address these points, along with the claim that vegans are more fit than everyone else.
Author:  William T. Jarvis, Ph.D.

Publish Date:  April 1, 1997

Vegetarianism has taken on a “political correctness” comparable to the respectability it had in the last century, when many social and scientific progressives advocated it. Today, crusaders extol meatless eating not only as healthful but also as a solution to world hunger and as a safeguard of “Mother Earth.” The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) aggressively attacks the use of animal foods and has proposed its own food-groups model, which excludes all animal products.  I disclaimed vegetarianism after many years of observance. Although the arguments in favor of it appear compelling, I have learned to be suspicious, and to search for hidden agendas, when I evaluate claims of the benefits of vegetarianism. Vegetarianism is riddled with delusional thinking from which even scientists and medical professionals are not immune.  To Read More….  

Myth: Vegetarians Live Longer and Have More Energy and Endurance
Sep 23, 2008 — thiscop

A vegetarian guidebook published in Great Britain made the following claim:

You and your children don't need to eat meat to stay healthy. In fact, vegetarians claim they are among the healthiest people around, and they can expect to live nine years longer than meat eaters (this is often because heart and circulatory diseases are rarer). These days almost half the population in Britain is trying to avoid meat, according to a survey by the Food Research Association in January 1990.

In commenting on this claim of extended lifespan, author Craig Fitzroy astutely points out that:

The ' nine-year advantage ' is an oft-repeated but invariably unsourced piece of anecdotal evidence for vegetarianism. But anyone who believes that by snubbing mum's Sunday roast they will be adding a decade to their years on the planet is almost certainly indulging in a bit of wishful thinking.

And that is what most of the claims for increased longevity in vegetarians are: anecdotal. There is no proof that a healthy vegetarian diet when compared to a healthy omnivorous diet will result in a longer life. Additionally, people who choose a vegetarian lifestyle typically also choose not to smoke, to exercise, in short, to live a healthier lifestyle. These things also factor into one's longevity.  To Read More.....

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