I am not vegan. I am not vegetarian. I have nothing against vegan or vegetarian foods. For most of my life, I have eaten a plant-majority diet, where meat or animal products are optional. Sometimes, I semi-consciously fix myself to eat, which winds up strangely vegetarian-friendly or vegan-friendly. This does not mean I am vegan or vegetarian. This just means I am an omnivore who is not obligated to eat vegetarian meals or live a vegan lifestyle. But I would never in a million years identify myself as a vegan or a vegetarian. Here are my reasons.
1. Sanctity of Life
I do not believe that non-human animal life is as precious as human life. I believe that human life is more precious than animal life. I believe that the protection of the human species should be most important. There are so many things in life that can kill humans that humans must be able to get together and resist the threats and dangers.
Eating meat has been a part of human evolution. In the past, humans might have been scavengers of dead meat on the ground. Then, they transitioned into predators. Then, hunting as a lifestyle was not necessary anymore, because humans found a better way to get meat: growing meat. Humans bred specific animals just for meat. Using the "anti-nature" argument against meat consumption is just laughable, because animal agriculture is just as natural as horticulture and cooking food.
2. Environmentalism
I watched the documentary, Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014). I thought the documentary maker made a very persuasive argument -- that veganism was the only sustainable solution to environmental issues. For one day, I believed it. I told my father that we should stop buying meat or any animal product. He just replied that, even if we went on a vegan diet, that would not help the environment, because the meat would just be sold to other people, and other families would eat more meat.
This was an issue that only the government could handle. Maybe the government could put a heavy tax on meat and animal products, so animal consumers had to pay more, thereby forcing more people to buy plant-based substitutes on an economic basis. Maybe the government could stop subsidizing the animal agriculture industry, which would raise the cost of meat and animal products enormously. In the meantime, individuals would continue consuming animal products, as long as they are affordable.
It would be nice, if Americans eat bugs (arthropods, mollusks, worms, etc.). Then, Americans wouldn't depend on so much methane-generating, carbon dioxide-generating cattle to supply the meat. And bugs would probably be cheaper to harvest anyway, because they take up a lot less space than the big herbivores. Eating bugs may not be vegetarian or vegan, but at least they may be more environmentally sustainable than eating larger animals.
It would also be nice, if Americans keep a few chickens, goats, or even a cow as pets. Female cows and goats will only generate milk, if a male animal has made them pregnant. So, without keeping a male animal, it is not feasible to get milk. But maybe a few lucky families would keep a male cow or goat, breed the animals, get calves, eat most of the calves and consume the (hopefully pasteurized) milk, and spare the lives of the other calves so a whole new generation of cows would be present on the personal farm.
Chickens and ducks are smaller animals and can provide eggs or meat. But most eggs will be consumed by the owners; a few eggs will be fertilized to spawn the next generation of chickens; and meat will only be eaten when an aging chicken has died naturally, when there is an accidental fertilized egg, or when a hen has past her egg-bearing years. Hopefully, by keeping some small farm animals at home, that would reduce the need of owning big animal factories and free up some land for growing agricultural plants or allowing native flora to return.
It would also be very helpful, if scientists engineer new plants that are more nutritious than those plants developed under artificial selection. If spinach is modified to become more nutritious and rich in vitamin B12, then it would be possible to derive more nutrients and calories from plants alone. Maybe avocados can be modified to have greater fat composition, or beans can be modified to have greater protein composition. Personally, I see a bright future in the field of genetic engineering, agriculture, and nutrition.
Nevertheless, all of those things are societal changes, not individual choices. If veganism were to make a strong impact on the planet, then whole societies must be vegan. Veganism cannot be a personal choice. It's not "I do what I want; you do yours". It's "We do this together".
3. Economics
Many vegans almost never touch on the economic side of the lifestyle. On YouTube, vegans who have their own cooking shows will show they take a shot or pills to round out their nutrition. They never touch on the costs for these products, though. It would be nice if they also promote eating locally and economically, saving transportation costs in delivering exotic food products. Spinach may contain vitamin B12, but you are not going to eat spinach throughout the year because the prices will fluctuate. Going vegan will just limit the number of food choices you can buy at the grocery store.
Being an omnivore means being flexible and adaptable with what you have. I suppose a smart strategy is to buy fresh-frozen spinach abundantly and stock up. It's possible to find a ton of bags of frozen spinach at Dollar Tree and stock up for the winter, when most plants are harvested from previous seasons. Let's just hope that the frozen spinach actually retains the vitamin B12 you need; otherwise, this plan will backfire, and you will have to consume animal products, like eggs. It's also possible to find vitamin B12-fortified products, but I wouldn't rely on that too much. They may not be on sale or cheaper than regular animal products (almond milk vs. regular whole milk), so you may not get a bargain on the price.
4. No Dietary Restrictions Whatsoever
I was raised on a plant-based diet. Note the word "plant-based", not vegan or vegetarian. A person who lives mostly on a plant-based diet eats mostly plants for practical reasons, but may eat animal products to have a variety of different foods in the diet. Meanwhile, a vegetarian rejects the consumption of animal products except eggs and dairy products; a vegan goes a bit further and rejects the consumption of all animal products, even when the animal product is being offered as a free sample at a grocery store or a formal party. Although sometimes I do eat meals that would be palatable to a vegan, I do not do this all the time, and I do not make the meals with the intention of supporting veganism. If I see meat samples at a grocery store or hamburgers at a party, then I would eat them.
5. Veganism on an Island
If I were stuck on an island with no other animals and all I have are edible plants, then I would eat the plants as a way to survive. Maybe I would practice my fishing skills and try to catch some fish in the sea. The meat in the fish is an easy way for me to get a lot of calories, and I need calories to survive. Leafy greens, on the other hand, usually don't generate many calories, so it would be more resourceful to balance my diet with plants and animals instead of eating all plants. That said, I believe that a plant-based or plant-heavy diet is ideal for most people.
Grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits are all plant products. Dairy products are not necessary at all, especially for Africans and Asians. Meat products may be eaten sparingly. Sweet treats consist of a lot of sugar. Although sugar comes from the sugar cane, a type of plant, eating too much sugar is not really healthy for you. Consuming too much salt in the diet is also unhealthy. Drinking too much water in one sitting is dangerously unhealthy. Veganism or vegetarianism may not be required, but a plant-heavy diet certainly is critical to human nutrition.
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