The Omnivore's Delimma - Can't get it out of my head

[Lex]

Question for the vegans on here, what do you do for vitamin B12?

I've read that if you don't rinse your fresh veggies real, real, good there is actually b12 in the dirt that's on them.   I take b12 shots every week now but that's for the anemia not because I'm vegan.

I believe it's in the insect poop.

But not everyone can grow their own food all year round, in fact I don't know very many people that do. If you buy your veggies from the store than the chance of it having insect droppings is rather low even if you buy organic because they have already washed your veggies multiple times and you'll probably wash it again when you get it home.

I don't think it's healthy to not eat meat at all. Of course most people eat too much. I think if you a meal with meat once a month that's more than enough.

I'm still trying to figure out an optimal diet for myself but I've ruled out pure veganism or vegitarianism for sure.

[Raineyrocks]

Question for the vegans on here, what do you do for vitamin B12?

I've read that if you don't rinse your fresh veggies real, real, good there is actually b12 in the dirt that's on them.   I take b12 shots every week now but that's for the anemia not because I'm vegan.

I believe it's in the insect poop.

But not everyone can grow their own food all year round, in fact I don't know very many people that do. If you buy your veggies from the store than the chance of it having insect droppings is rather low even if you buy organic because they have already washed your veggies multiple times and you'll probably wash it again when you get it home.

I don't think it's healthy to not eat meat at all. Of course most people eat too much. I think if you a meal with meat once a month that's more than enough.

I'm still trying to figure out an optimal diet for myself but I've ruled out pure veganism or vegitarianism for sure.

I'm still trying to figure out the right diet for me too, good luck!

[flaherty]

Question for the vegans on here, what do you do for vitamin B12?

i make a bowl of oatmeal with soy milk pretty much every day that contains it as well as taking a multi vitamin that has more than enough. in all atcuality, our (human) bodies store b12 like crazy. while a deficiency will cause major problems, a little bit here and there will build up your stores of it for quite some time. it's not the major problem that it is made out to be.

[Lex]

Question for the vegans on here, what do you do for vitamin B12?

i make a bowl of oatmeal with soy milk pretty much every day that contains it as well as taking a multi vitamin that has more than enough. in all atcuality, our (human) bodies store b12 like crazy. while a deficiency will cause major problems, a little bit here and there will build up your stores of it for quite some time. it's not the major problem that it is made out to be.

Except soy milk isn't exactly locally grown, neither are your multi vitamins. So that's not a sustainable way of life.

I believe that any diet should at a minimum be able to be supplied completely by locally available foods. If you're cooking with coconut milk (which i know is very healthy) or taking vitamins or using rice or soy products all of those things require quite a lot of transporting and it just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm okay with eating imported foods from time to time but they should only be a luxury or treat, never a necessary part of a diet.

[flaherty]

where the hell did that come from? that wasn't even your question... while i do agree that the more locally aligned ones diet is the better, unless i move to the mountains and set up a system off the grid i am going to have to depend on a hord of companies i would rather not support. it sucks but this is our society. you're using a computer (from who knows where) and isp on the world wide web - how local is that.

on top of all this - who are you to tell me what my diet should and should not consist of? simply because you do not agree with the items i may choose to stock my pantry with or where they come from does not mean you are right and that i am wrong or vice versa.

what works best for you is just that. for you. to critisize anyone else for the decisions they choose or have to make on a daily basis to eat in their community is not only arrogant but also presumptuous.

[Caleb]

I didn't read it that Lex was trying to tell you what to do. I read it that Lex is trying to become personally self-sufficient, and is interested in finding sources that are all local

[flaherty]

oh not huffy at all, but if i misunderstood, my apologies lex. to me, it just read as my being wrong for buying soy milk and vitamins.

[Caleb]

I like this idea, I wish there were some way to make it go viral ...

[TresJay]

where the hell did that come from?
who are you to tell me what my diet should and should not consist of?
to critisize anyone else for the decisions they choose  is not only arrogant but also presumptuous.

Does a B12 deficiency make a person irritable? 

[John Edward Mercier]

Question for the vegans on here, what do you do for vitamin B12?

i make a bowl of oatmeal with soy milk pretty much every day that contains it as well as taking a multi vitamin that has more than enough. in all atcuality, our (human) bodies store b12 like crazy. while a deficiency will cause major problems, a little bit here and there will build up your stores of it for quite some time. it's not the major problem that it is made out to be.

Except soy milk isn't exactly locally grown, neither are your multi vitamins. So that's not a sustainable way of life.

I believe that any diet should at a minimum be able to be supplied completely by locally available foods. If you're cooking with coconut milk (which i know is very healthy) or taking vitamins or using rice or soy products all of those things require quite a lot of transporting and it just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm okay with eating imported foods from time to time but they should only be a luxury or treat, never a necessary part of a diet.

I'm not sure I get this...
Dairy, livestock, and even some poultry in NH require either the importation of grass/grains... or the large deforestation of the State that occurred during the 50/60s (not even sure that's possible anymore).
To me, it just makes more sense to import the final product than all the resources necessary to achieve it... as the animals are not 100% (or even close) biologically efficient.

[John Edward Mercier]

Ok, so here's a little link that I found rainey. It'll tell you the iron sources of various types of foods. But it may be that absorption is your problem, because you said it didn't get better when you started eating meat. So you might want to try eating more oranges. The Vitamin C helps absorption of the iron. Plus, oranges are delicious. 

http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/Handouts/dietary_sources_iron.html

Awesome thank you so much!  I finally went to a doctor and he has me taking 325mg of Iron with vitamin C 2 times a day.  I can't eat oranges or apples they make me gag, I hate them.  Thanks Caleb!

How about broccoli? You can grow it in your backyard... and if I can find the link it has the highest total nutrient value of any crop.

My yard is weird we have a little patchy grass front yard, then cliffs and the entire back yard which is real, real, steep is nothing but shavings.  I guess the people that built the house figured it would be too hard to get a lawn mower down there, I really don't know because we have a basement that the lawn mower could be wheeled into the back yard, blah, blah, I'm going off on a nonsensical rant again.
I was thinking of trying to make a tiny garden in the front yard, thanks!

Maybe terracing?

[Lex]

oh not huffy at all, but if i misunderstood, my apologies lex. to me, it just read as my being wrong for buying soy milk and vitamins.

Sorry. I tend to use 'you' and 'your' in abstract. I do not mean you specifically.

[Lex]

I'm not sure I get this...
Dairy, livestock, and even some poultry in NH require either the importation of grass/grains... or the large deforestation of the State that occurred during the 50/60s (not even sure that's possible anymore).
To me, it just makes more sense to import the final product than all the resources necessary to achieve it... as the animals are not 100% (or even close) biologically efficient.

I know a bunch of people who have animals and none of them had to cut down half a forest. Why would raising a bunch of chickens require cutting down a forest? 

[JohninRI]

Our choices are evolution or extinction. It's time to evolve.

I think there is a small subset of the population which is starting to do just that.

I liken mankind right now to amoeba.  Single celled individuals with a desire to band together but reluctant to do so out of fear.  Society of today is still made up of all these individual amoeba doing their own thing for their own betterment, which sometimes benefits society, and sometimes is to societies detriment. Until we get to the point where we at least see ourselves becoming an organism we will not evolve.

The only thing I see right now which we have in place to model from is the family unit.  In families, especially with the parents, we do for each other expecting nothing in return really.  We don't charge others for our services, we do because we can and we enjoy doing it.  When society can give up the concept of money and do because we enjoy doing, we will have a utopia.  Of course, we will also have to adopt the Messiah's teaching of holding all things in common.

We are caretakers here.  We own nothing because we have absolute power over nothing.  It was here before we came and hopefully, it will be here after we go.

 

[JohninRI]

Thank you very much loa.  I look upon it as planting seeds.  You never know where they will and will not grow.  However, I believe that this forum offers the best soil I've experienced in quite some time.