Blindly, I'm going with this one from the wiki (add salt but not as preservative):
Most meats contain a full complement of the amino acids required for the human diet. Fruits and vegetables, by contrast, are usually lacking several essential amino acids contained in meat. It is for this reason that people who abstain from eating all meat need to plan their diet carefully to include sources of all the necessary amino acids.
This seems to have come from the wiki article on meat
WP.
I don't think that's phrased right on the wiki--in fact, I think the way it's phrase, it's flat out wrong. The sentence isn't cited. But at the end of the paragraph there's a citation. If you go to the web site, you'll see this at the top:
With careful planning, a vegetarian diet can provide all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for a long and healthy life.
...which is where I think the author of that sentence got the phrase. But, later on:
A complete protein has all the amino acids necessary to make up protein. Most individual plant foods are not complete proteins; they only have some of the amino acids. Soy is the only complete vegetable protein.
It was once thought that vegetarians needed to combine plant foods at each meal to ensure they consumed complete proteins. Recent research has found that this is not the case. Consuming various sources of amino acids throughout the day should provide the complete complement of protein.
This seems to align with what I've dug up in research years ago; furthermore, I don't seem to have any issues with protein (measured by blood lipids), and I highly doubt that I get an adequate supply of the essential amino acids I need from the little meat that I eat.
So, it seems there is a convenience factor (not 'freedom' factor) to this.
I doubt there's much of a convenience factor for essential amino acids. The same web site cited from the wiki article goes on to make this recommendation:
It is recommended that vegetarians eat legumes and nuts daily, along with wholegrain cereals, to ensure adequate nutrient intakes.
...which doesn't sound all that complicated at all.
In a perfect world, we would glean all of our energy from our sun through some form of photosynthesis. But that is not how evolution played the cards. In the end, it played like this: some lifeforms get their energy and sustenance from solar energy, some get it from lifeforms that get their energy from solar energy, some get it from lifeforms that get their energy from lifeforms that get their energy from solar energy. Seems like there is a theme here, eh?
Now you seem to be selling meat as a pitch. That's not what I was after. But while we're at it, this characterization is flawed.
We get our energy from macronutrients--carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (alcohols also contribute). But the main concerns, as I understand them, are with micronutrients--things we need to keep in good health.
Meat is a high energy, high nutrient energy source to which we are 'partially' adapted. Yes, one can eschew it for purely vegetarian sources. But it is at the cost of requiring a very regimented and calculated diet which includes fruits, vegetables, beans in proper proportions. The cliched phrase "Man cannot live by bread alone" rings in my head. One can do so but at the cost of proper nutrition. And one can even attain proper nutrition with a purely vegetarian diet but at the cost of making it an all-consuming ritual. Why must people deny reality in order to feel good about themselves?
Well, I'm not a vegetarian myself; in
practice, my diet's described by the word pescetarian. But the reason why I do it is for my health!
But don't misread this. I'm not promoting pescetarianism for health reasons. People generally have different health needs. I have particular needs which drive my diet. Nevertheless, I'm the same brand of critter the rest you guys are, so in spite of my
particular needs I have the same
general ones.
But I also don't want people to be scared off of such diets. My diet works
very well, and the alternative would be medications, and it's not the huge burden that you're making it out to be. Recently I've been avoiding the meats for, and you're going to love this reason... variety! (The meats are technically "allowed" by the diet, not required).
