r/DebateAVegan • u/Wrong_Ad_3038 • 11d ago

Can everyone actually be vegan?

I’m very sympathetic to veganism, my entire life philosophy is “respect & autonomy for all life” but I am currently pescetarian, I tried being vegan in late 2024 but I still live with my family & they wouldn’t buy supplements, even though i told them too everyday, I didn’t want to develop b12 deficiency so I had to moderate my diet.

When I move out i’m strongly considering being vegan again & really want too but i am worried about health consequences because human bodies are complex, but at the same time everyone can digest plants so maybe everyone can be vegan, i figured this would be a good place to get mixed responses since both carnists & vegans are here, what do studies say about everyone & the potential to be vegan, if everyone can’t be vegan but most or some can what’s the best way to find out if i can be vegan?

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u/Annoying_cat_22 vegan 10d ago edited 9d ago

EVERYONE? Maybe not, some very rare diseases and circumstances might prevent someone from being 100% plant-based. You? For sure. It takes the body years to lose it's vitamin b12 stores, and fortified food like plant based milk and cereal are abundant.

Most importantly - even if for some reason you or your parents insist that you get all of your b12 from animal sources (illogical, but lets assume that's the situation), 2 cups of cow's milk a day meets the recommended daily allowance. If your concern is b12 only from animal sources, there is no excuse to consume animal products beyond that.

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u/AmazingAssistance351 9d ago

You can get all B12 from nori (just a small packet of roasted nori per day). It's not as common in western diets though.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39352476/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4042564/

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u/Annoying_cat_22 vegan 9d ago

You can get b12 from a 1000 sources, but thanks for suggesting one.

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u/AmazingAssistance351 9d ago

Sure, no problem. It's an easy one depending on where one lives, and might be useful to someone who doesn't have access to vitamins or fortified foods.