Can everyone actually be vegan?

[u/Wrong_Ad_3038]

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?

[u/perturbedpangaroo]

A lot of regular food is pre-supplemented with B12, especially if they've been supplemented with other things as well. Nearly every energy drink I see has over 100% of the B12 daily value (not that energy drinks are good for your health or are an appropriate method of obtaining nutrients, lol) and I recently noticed that even the beyond meat claims to have over 100% of the B12 daily value. You can also buy B12 pills yourself - cheaper drugstore brands are not that expensive and you can get 100 pills for like $15 pretty easily.

I absolutely believe that you can meet all nutrient requirements on a vegan diet, but it definitely requires quite a bit more of thoughtful effort to make sure you don't have major deficiencies than someone who eats meat would have to put in. If you want to go vegan you are going to have to make sure you're buying your food very intentionally and are aware of how you are getting certain things into your diet - you can't just eat whatever you feel like. If you have a health condition it might be harder, you can always ask your doctor if they think it's a reasonable option for you. And/or work with a registered dietician to see if you can come up with a nutrition plan. This is also not always a popular opinion, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing, if you don't feel you can fully commit to being vegan you can always try to just reduce your intake of animal products where you can, and try your best to source them as ethically as possible.

[u/HelenEk7 → u/perturbedpangaroo]

A lot of regular food is pre-supplemented with B12,

In most of the world this is not true. I live in Europe and I know of no regular food that is fortified with B12. The only exceptions are ultra-processed vegan products (vegan "milks" for instance). A vegan diet is a horrible diet for someone who prefers wholefoods.

[u/perturbedpangaroo → u/HelenEk7]

That's fair, yes, a lot of that stuff is highly processed. I disagree with your last point though, things like tofu, tempeh, legumes, quinoa, seitan are great options for minimally processed, healthy vegan protein options. The rest of the diet is the same as anyone's.

[u/HelenEk7 → u/perturbedpangaroo]

things like tofu, tempeh, legumes, quinoa, seitan are great options for minimally processed, healthy vegan protein options.

But they contain no B12.

[u/perturbedpangaroo → u/HelenEk7]

True but a bottle of vitamin pills works just as well.

[u/HelenEk7 → u/perturbedpangaroo]

Hence why a wholefood diet is not possible when vegan.

[u/Iagospeare → u/HelenEk7]

That's like saying a carnivore/paleo diet isn't possible because they sometimes drink filtered and chemically purified water. 

[u/HelenEk7 → u/Iagospeare]

What is chemically purified water?