Vegan Myths Dispelled, In Song

Published on Thursday, April 14, 2011, by Joyce Slaton / Edit Post

Not since Trolololololololo (or possibly since the Trader Joe's song) have I heard an Internet song that I wanted to play over and over again. Until now. Jonathan Mann is a San Francisco musician who has been writing, performing, and making a music video for one song every single day since January 1, 2009. He's in the midst of a project to finish an actual album, so what better time is there than now to appreciate one of his finer efforts, #810, "Vegan Myths Debunked," which flawlessly skewers clueless carnivores.

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  • nice song this video
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    Get Slim Acai

  • They're paranormal!

  • Annoying Vegan Alert! Annoying Vegan Alert!

    My favorites are the ones who believe they're saving the planet. Um ... unless you live in the tropics everything you eat has to be shipped in to you and that creates a far bigger "carbon footprint" than my chicken from a farm twenty miles away--heck, if I wanted to I can claim that Tyson chicken is a local product, since their farm is about twenty...+READ

    Annoying Vegan Alert! Annoying Vegan Alert!

    My favorites are the ones who believe they're saving the planet. Um ... unless you live in the tropics everything you eat has to be shipped in to you and that creates a far bigger "carbon footprint" than my chicken from a farm twenty miles away--heck, if I wanted to I can claim that Tyson chicken is a local product, since their farm is about twenty miles south of me and their processing plant is the same distance north. As Ziv said you can survive on a vegan diet but not very many thrive on it.-COLLAPSE

  • Is it okay to like all foods? Like, can I eat both meat and vegitarian and full vegan dishes?

    The battle lines seem so well drawn, that I can't help but worry I'm the odd man out for liking all of it?

  • Ziv, I think you might want to remember that not everyone actually has the same tastes in food. I'm not a vegan, but from the time I was a very very small child the smell and the taste of red meat repulsed me. It has nothing to do with wanting to save the world or not eat animals, I just plain old don't like meat. If I go into a place that serves lots of steak/BBQ/etc, generally speaking the...+READ

    Ziv, I think you might want to remember that not everyone actually has the same tastes in food. I'm not a vegan, but from the time I was a very very small child the smell and the taste of red meat repulsed me. It has nothing to do with wanting to save the world or not eat animals, I just plain old don't like meat. If I go into a place that serves lots of steak/BBQ/etc, generally speaking the smell of meat cooking actually makes me gag. So while in your opinion, "meat usually tastes better than any vegan meal" and that "vegan food isn't satisfying," that is in fact *your opinion.* And it's not like I'm some sort of freak anomaly, many vegetarians and vegans I know legitimately prefer the taste of well-prepared vegetarian/vegan food to meat, even if they "gave it up" for moral/health conscious/etc reasons. Heck, I know a lot of pretty serious carnivores who have said that my cooking (which is mostly vegetarian, but very rarely features chicken/turkey/fish) is very flavorful, very satisfying and "could I take some home with me?" My boyfriend is one of these carnivores, and while I offer poultry and fish to him often, when given the choice he generally picks meatless dishes because he just really likes the way they taste. Maybe you've just never had GOOD vegetarian/vegan food? Or maybe you just don't like the way vegetables taste?-COLLAPSE

  • OK, I admit that the McDonalds burger comment was a gratuitously unhelpful swipe. LOL Seriously, though, you can live as a vegan, and if you are squeamish about red meat I can understand it. Heck, I worked in a slaughterhouse one summer, meat is not the prettiest thing when you see how it is produced. But most of my favorite meals involve meat or fish. There is something primal about the pleasure...+READ

    OK, I admit that the McDonalds burger comment was a gratuitously unhelpful swipe. LOL Seriously, though, you can live as a vegan, and if you are squeamish about red meat I can understand it. Heck, I worked in a slaughterhouse one summer, meat is not the prettiest thing when you see how it is produced. But most of my favorite meals involve meat or fish. There is something primal about the pleasure of grilled rib-eye steak. I have eaten vegetarian meals that were good, but all of my best meals have had meat of one kind or another. I pity someone that limits their culinary choices so severely. It is kind of like wearing a hair-shirt, but you get to claim you are doing it to help save the world! Grin-COLLAPSE

  • As a graduate student studying nutrition and becoming a dietitian (and former vegetarian), I can say that there are several myths on BOTH sides that should probably be addressed.

    First of all, it is totally possible to live a vegan lifestyle. A caveat is that you have to be very smart about your food choices and in the big scheme of things you can probably "survive" but not "thrive." There's...+READ

    As a graduate student studying nutrition and becoming a dietitian (and former vegetarian), I can say that there are several myths on BOTH sides that should probably be addressed.

    First of all, it is totally possible to live a vegan lifestyle. A caveat is that you have to be very smart about your food choices and in the big scheme of things you can probably "survive" but not "thrive." There's no doubt that the human body is very adaptable. But then again there's a big difference between acceptable nutrition and OPTIMAL nutrition.

    The point the song made that our paleolithic ancestors made a "choice" is a little misguided. There's an emerging theory that the eating meat was what caused us to grow bigger brains, gain the capacity for intellect, and ultimately become human (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128849908). Human brains require an enormous amount of energy compared to other parts of the body and accordingly meat is a dense source of not just protein but minerals like zinc, iron, b vitamins, and omega 3 fatty acids (something vegan diets have a VERY HARD TIME getting). Sure you can get protein from vegetables, but any source of protein is not quite comparable. Meat, dairy and eggs are much better, absorbable sources of the different amino acids that the body needs over sources like beans and nuts, and one would have to consume a much greater quantity of those vegetables to get enough protein (not impossible, just difficult).

    Another myth is that bacterial vitamin B12 is an adequate source for vegans. This is dangerous territory because its been shown that B12 that might be made by bacteria in the large intestine is not absorbed by the body (the small intestine is where absorption of nutrients are primary done, the function of the large intestine is not to absorb nutrients but to just reabsorb water and store waste before going to the bathroom). Nutritional yeast or brewer's yeast is NOT a good source of B12. Vegans out there, just take the B12 supplement.

    I could go on and on for both sides, but the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/eat-meat-or-not-vegans-ve_b_615954.html) made a good compilation of of the arguments from BOTH sides that should be thought-provoking. Like many other issues I think it pays to be open-minded to counter-arguments and make educated decisions, not hasty emotionally charged ones influenced from things like catchy Youtube videos.

    Finally as an amateur organic gardener, I think a lot of vegans may not be aware of the difficulties of growing fruits and vegetables. I could not get good success without really treating my soil with amendments (that are still organic!) such as bone meal, fish emulsion, and dried blood to enrich the soil and allow the plants to thrive. I am certain organic farms where many vegans get their produce use these same practices. Just food for thought. This observation just goes back to inevitable "circle of life" and interdependence of lifeforms on this planet, including animals.

    So sorry for the long winded comment. Really cute girl in the video, nice rhythm to the song, just naive and misleading lyrics.-COLLAPSE

  • Ziv... biggest load of BS I have ever heard.

  • Cute. But they miss the point. Meat tastes good, and usually it tastes better than any vegan meal. Ribeyes on the BBQ, chicken soup with veg, chorizo tacos, Armenian lamb stew, Buffalo wings, cod filets drizzled with butter, heck, even a McDonalds burger tastes better than most vegan meals. Vegan is nice, but it isn't normally a really satisfying meal. It can feed you, but it doesn't satisfy.
    It...+READ

    Cute. But they miss the point. Meat tastes good, and usually it tastes better than any vegan meal. Ribeyes on the BBQ, chicken soup with veg, chorizo tacos, Armenian lamb stew, Buffalo wings, cod filets drizzled with butter, heck, even a McDonalds burger tastes better than most vegan meals. Vegan is nice, but it isn't normally a really satisfying meal. It can feed you, but it doesn't satisfy.
    It is kind of like the girl in the video, cute, but superficial.
    No one says you can't survive with a vegan diet, most of us just think that is a poor choice compared to an omnivorous diet. And it means you don't get to enjoy the best BBQ!-COLLAPSE