[Dr. Sivana]

There are nutrients in meat that cannot be gotten from plant sources.

true. If you want to go vegetarian, eggs and dairy can fill the void. Fish is excellent, too. Vegan? Let's just say you might be able to fill in most of the gaps with nuts , legumes and carefully selected fruits and vegetables and do well for a while. But there is no place on earth where you could have pulled that off without 20th century levels of transportation. Even Jains consume dairy.

[metmom]

That’s OK for protein, but Vitamin B12 doesn’t have many sources but beef.

[VictoryGal]

What’s funny to me is that vegan food, if it’s not basic produce, is highly processed and loaded with additives. Vegan burgers? Tofu hot dogs? Cow-free “butter”? You’ll get dizzy reading the ingredients. All these patchouli-smelling hippies filling their bodies with Leghemoglobin, genetically engineered from soy to reproduce the red juice (blood) that comes from real burgers. The hypocrisy is amazing.

I still look to the “Grandma diet”. Meat, veg, maybe a little starch like rice or potatoes, fruit for dessert, ice cream or cake as a special treat. On holidays, of course, bring out the sumptuous banquet!

Fourth of July means real meat burgers and hot dogs, maybe a big thick steak if you’re feeling fancy :-)