I don’t judge people for eating meat. I generally don’t even say a word unless provoked. When people find out I am vegan, all of a sudden everyone becomes an expert on what I may be missing in my diet. I feel like people start looking at me like I must be dying inside. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of unhealthy vegans out there, but there are just as many (more actually) unhealthy meat eaters out there as well. I find myself defending my choices. (Hey, I have never said ugh, how can you eat that plate of grilled flesh?) So, if you are going to question a vegan about their choices, prepare for some major fact dropping. We have an arsenal full of them. Here are a couple of common questions I get asked when I tell people I am vegan, so you don’t have to ask the next vegan you meet.
The first question I get asked is “Where do you get your protein?” After all these years, I still find this question funny. I really want to respond with “Where do you get your calcium?” I will explain why shortly. Let’s just break this down a bit. I promise I will stick to just the basic facts. Protein is one of three macronutrients and is made up of 20 amino acids. Of these 20, 9 cannot be made by the body and therefore, need to come from the food we eat. These are referred to as essential amino acids. I am not sure if this is where the protein deficiency myth was born. Some mistakenly believe that these essential amino acids are only found in animal products or that you need a complete protein source to get these amino acids. Meaning they are all together in one food. All 9 are found together in soy and quinoa. Whoa, I know. Blew your mind right? I can get all 9 essential amino acids without eating a hunk of flesh. While the body does need these essential amino acids, we do not need to get them all from a single food. As a matter of fact, these amino acids are found in a variety of vegan foods. Below this post is a great infographic providing information on vegan sources of protein.
So, now we have that out of the way. I really do get plenty of protein as long as I make healthy choices.
The second most common thing people say when I tell them I am vegan, is “How do you live without cheese?” I laugh and say because I made a choice not to and I am a bada$$ who is in control of my life who cares about cows or I am sorry that you bow down to cheese. Maybe I don’t say these out loud, but I want to (sometimes). I generally say, well after a while the thought of cheese made me want to…….you get the point. Cheese is gross!
So my question to non-vegans is this, Where do you get your calcium? Most will answer milk. The answer is yes but how may surprise you. The cow gets the calcium found in its milk from the plants it eats. Yes that’s right. PLANTS. Did you know that amino acids are in meat because they are originally synthesized by the plants they eat? Yes, you read that right. Animals get the amino acids found in their meat by eating plants or by eating other animals that eat plants. PLANTS!
Mic Drop
In all seriousness, I hope you found this helpful. Getting into a debate over this can sometimes get complicated and turn ugly. Eating as a vegan really is not complicated. It’s actually quite easy. It’s a choice that some make for diet reasons and others make for compassionate ones. Some for both reasons. Now that you have some basics facts, I hope the next time someone tells you they are vegan, you may simply say “Good for you” or ask questions like “What are your favorite sources of protein?”
With much love,
Jamie, XO
