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Plant-based: Difference between revisions
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==Balanced diets== | ==Balanced diets== | ||
{{minor|Despite a lot of misinformation out there,}} | {{minor|Despite a lot of misinformation out there,}} | ||
'''It is''' possible to meet 100% of your | '''It is''' possible to meet 100% of your [[nutrition]]al needs with just plants{{x|meaning: ''without relying on animal products''. These plant-based diets still do include low-cost ''supplements''}}. It also '''doesn't have to be expensive.''' | ||
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If this doesn't seem balanced on first glance, | If this doesn't seem balanced on first glance, see some of the examples below - it is. | ||
* {{minor|Note: These examples may not be perfect, but they are far more balanced than a ''typical'' diet in most countries.}} | * {{minor|Note: These examples may not be perfect, but they are far more balanced than a ''typical'' diet in most countries.}} | ||
* {{minor|Note: You can also play around with the [//olam.wiki/calc nutrition calculator] to analyze your own options.}} | * {{minor|Note: You can also play around with the [//olam.wiki/calc nutrition calculator] to analyze your own options.}} | ||
===Nutrition examples=== | |||
<tabs><tab name="cheap home cooking"> | <tabs><tab name="cheap home cooking"> | ||
'''cheap home cooking''' <!-- NOTE: tab titles are repeated here to avoid confusion if the tabs span 2 rows on small screens --> | |||
A balanced diet with beans, root vegetables, and other ordinary foods. | A balanced diet with beans, root vegetables, and other ordinary foods. | ||
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</tab><tab name="junk food method"> | </tab><tab name="junk food method"> | ||
'''junk food method''' | |||
Yes, it is possible to construct healthy diets with junkfood, in some cases. | Yes, it is possible to construct healthy diets with junkfood, in some cases. | ||
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</tab><tab name="low carb"> | </tab><tab name="low carb"> | ||
'''low carb''' | |||
{{empty}} | {{empty}} | ||
</tab><tab name="expensive cliché vegan diet"> | </tab><tab name="expensive cliché vegan diet"> | ||
Not an example of the principles above. This tab is included for ''comparison.'' | '''expensive cliché vegan diet''' | ||
Not an example of the principles above. This tab is included for '''comparison.''' | |||
This vegan diet is still nutritionally balanced but far more expensive. | This vegan diet is still nutritionally balanced but far more expensive. | ||
{{empty}} | {{empty}} | ||
</tab><tab name="global food supply"> <!-- TALK: maybe move [this tab and the next tab] to a subspace called "more examples - agricultural research? Or dont use tabs at all and switch to sections? --> | |||
'''global food supply''' | |||
This tab is for research purposes. | |||
Suppose the world went vegan but all the same food crops are grown{{x|albeit in smaller quantities, since everything is more efficient when you don't have animal factory farms and feedlots}}. | |||
{{minor|In other words, crops get used for making food directly, instead of animal feed.}} | |||
This tab shows how a balanced diet would work. A multivitamin is once again essential. | |||
{{empty}} | |||
Notes: | |||
* Farmers ''could'' grow other crops instead. | |||
** See the next tab for an extreme example. <!-- ** The {{alt|humanitarian|environmental|animal ethics}} benefits would hold just as well, in most cases. --> | |||
* This analysis shows just the raw ingredients. Recipes can be added to this wiki. | |||
** Recipe ideas: | |||
*** Corn muffins: using corn flour, wheat flour, sugars, soy, etc. | |||
*** Soy milk: The soybeans are cooked, pureed and filtered. The solid parts (filtered out) are used in the muffins. | |||
</tab><tab name="extreme amounts of vegetables"> | |||
'''extreme amounts of vegetables''' | |||
This tab is for research purposes. | |||
This '''theoretical''' diet comes from research on [[crop choices]]. If farmers around the world grew only the highest-yielding crops of their local regions, the global food supply would look like this! Calories & protein come from the sheer volume of vegetables grown, mostly. For people to be able to eat that many vegetables, most of it would have to be [[powderization|powderized]] and used as flour. There would still be some fresh produce, of course. | |||
{{empty}} | |||
Notes: | |||
* This diet appears to work without a multivitamin. But since most of the vegetables would be powderized, then some nutrients would be lost. A multivitamin would still be needed to make up for this. | |||
</tab><tab name="typical western diet"> | </tab><tab name="typical western diet"> | ||
Not an example of the principles above. This tab is included for ''comparison.'' | '''typical western diet''' | ||
Not an example of the principles above. This tab is included for '''comparison.''' | |||
{{empty}} | {{empty}} | ||
</tab></tabs> | </tab></tabs> | ||
==Rationale== | ==Rationale== | ||
Plant-based diets are beneficial for a few reasons: | |||
<div class="expandable-bullets"> | |||
* Humanitarian & environmental: | |||
** Feeding crops to farm animals is a [[food funnel|net loss of food]]. This makes it harder to [[feed the world]]. It also worsens all the environmental impacts of [[food]]: more crops have to be grown; more [[land]] is needed - thus more [[habitat loss]]. | |||
** While it's true that some animals can eat [[pasture|grass]], there are [[limits to sustainable animal consumption|limits to how much meat & dairy can be produced from this alone]]. | |||
* Animal ethics: | |||
** [[Factory farms]] (where animals are treated very badly) meet most of the world's demand for meat, milk and eggs. Less-cruel farming practices exist, but are less productive. To get rid of factory farms, we're going to have to consume fewer animal products. {{x|And maybe [[lab-grown meat]] could change this one day, but it's not scalable enough yet.}} | |||
</div> | |||
====In summary==== | |||
If people ate fewer animal products{{x|this does not require 100% veganism, but let's just say if people ate just 1/3 of the meat they currently eat (the biggest reductions would be in ''developed countries'', because that's where most meat is currently consumed)}}, | |||
* [[Deforestation]] could finally be stopped, and | |||
* Massive amounts of farm [[land]] could be [[rewilding|rewilded]], and | |||
* {{light|Even with less crop production,}} there'd be more than enough surplus food to end global [[hunger]], and | |||
* [[Factory farms]] could be abolished. | |||
<!-- old style of phrasing: | |||
: * Humanitarian benefits: | |||
: ** There would easily be enough surplus [[food]] to end all global [[hunger]]. | |||
: * Environmental benefits: | |||
: ** Far less [[land]] would be needed to feed the world (see [[food funnel]]). [[Habitat loss]] could completely stop, and massive amounts of farm land could be [[rewilding|rewilded]]. | |||
: * Animal ethics benefits: | |||
: ** Abolition of [[factory farms]]. | |||
--> | --> | ||
With all of this, it '''also''' helps to reduce [[food waste]] {{light|(the gap between production and consumption) {{x|Part of this involves personal choices. Part of this involves systemic changes, especially with regards to [[farm subsidies]]}}. | |||
==FAQ== | ==FAQ== | ||