Source+1

Byrnes, Stephen. "Vegetarianism." //consumerhealth.org//. Consumer Health Organization of Canada, Apr. 2001. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <__ [|http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=20010801000824>.] __

__ Facts: __
 * 1)  There are benefits to vegetarian diets for certain health conditions, and some people function better on less fat and protein, but, as a practitioner who has dealt with several former vegans (total vegetarians), I know full well the dangerous effects of a diet devoid of healthful animal products.
 * 2) Vegans who do not supplement their diet with vitamin B12 will eventually get anemia as well as severe nervous and digestive system damage.
 * 3) Claims are made that B12 is present in certain algae, tempeh (a fermented soy product) and brewer's yeast. All of them are false. Like the niacin in corn, the B12 analogues present in algae and tempeh are not bioavailable. We know this because studies done on people's blood levels of B12 remained the same after they ate spirulina and tempeh; there was no change, clearly indicating no absorption by the body.
 * 4) The only reliable and absorbable sources of vitamin B12 are animal products, especially organ meats and eggs. Though present in lesser amounts, milk products do contain B12. Vegans, therefore, should consider adding dairy products into their diets. If dairy cannot be tolerated, eggs, preferably from free-run hens, are a virtual necessity.
 * 5) Some vegetarian groups claim that since humans possess grinding teeth like herbivorous animals and longer intestines than carnivorous animals, this proves the human body is better suited for vegetarianism. This argument fails to note several human physiological features which clearly indicate a design for animal product consumption. First and foremost is our stomach's production of hydrochloric acid, something not found in herbivores.
 * 6) Parasites are easily avoided by taking normal precautions in food preparations. Pickling or fermenting meats, as is the custom in traditional societies, always protects against parasites. In his travels, Dr Price always found healthy, disease-free and parasite-free peoples eating raw meat and dairy products as part of their diets.
 * 7) Similarly, Dr Francis Pottenger, in his experiments with cats, demonstrated that the healthiest, happiest cats were the ones on the all-raw-food diet. The cats eating cooked meats and pasteurised milk sickened and died and had numerous parasites.
 * 8) Salmonella can be transmitted by plant products as well as animal.
 * 9) Is eating meat or animal products is less "spiritual" than eating only plant foods? It is true that some forms of Buddhism do place strictures on meat consumption, but dairy products are almost always allowed. Similar tenets are found in Hinduism.
 * 10) Some have argued that cows and sheep require pasturage that could be better used to raise grains to feed humans. The pasturage argument ignores the fact that a large portion of our Earth's dry land is unsuited to cultivation.
 * 11) Unfortunately, the bulk of commercial livestock are not range-fed, but stall-fed. They do not ingest grasses and shrubs (like they should), but are fed an unnatural array of grains and soybeans. It is true that these foods could be fed to humans. The argument here, then, is not that eating meat depletes the Earth's resources, but that commercial farming methods do. Such methods also subject livestock to deplorable living conditions where infections, antibiotics, steroids and synthetic hormones are common. These all lead to an unhealthy animal and, by extension, an unhealthy food product.
 * 12) Without question, commercially raised livestock live in deplorable conditions where sickness and suffering are common. Additionally, some prescription drugs are derived from animals (e.g. //Premarin//) in torturous ways.
 * 13) In America, livestock animals are exempted from anti-cruelty laws and, typically, commercially raised livestock animals are slaughtered in ways that promote adrenaline release, which could have harmful effects on the people who eventually consume them.
 * 14) Commercial farming of livestock results in an unhealthy food product, whether that product be meat, milk, butter, cream or eggs.
 * 15) It is possible to raise animals humanely. This is why organic, "free-range" farming is to be encouraged: it is cleaner and more efficient, and produces healthier animals and foodstuffs from those animals. Each person should make every effort to purchase organically raised livestock (and plant foods). Not only does this better support our bodies, as organic foods are more nutrient-dense and are free from hormone and pesticide residues, but this also supports smaller farms and is therefore better for the economy.