So it seems that anyone who benefits from tax-payers dollars should not be allowed to express an opinion on a public forum.
In that case EVERYONE would have to SHUT up because every single person, whether in the public or private sectors is the recipient of tax-payers dollars in all kinds of ways. Even stay at home mothers and retired people living on the pension.

It also seems to me that in the shadows of such proposed censorship is a lurking totalitarian intent. Not unlike the policies of both the nazi and communist totalitarian regimes wherein all ideas had to fit within the dominant "social realist" party-line paradigm as defined and enforced by the ruling thought police. And we all know what happened to the promoters of "false consciousness", and deviants from the party line.

So too with the commisars of the "catholic" church which, via the inquisition, were (and still are) always looking for "heresies". Happily such "heretics" can no longer be executed, only ex-communicated

The great Jack Vance in his Demon Princes series of S-F described a planet whose inhabitants made veganism compulsory. After a few generations they became mindless herbivores who were hunted for their meat.

The calibre of this article suggests the author is well down that track.

Dear Pericles,

<<Well, pardon me, but every single one of the vegetarians I know claims to "eat that way" either for health reasons or simply because they can't stand the taste of meat.>>

I am vegetarian for religious reasons. It's neither about health nor about taste.

Dear Tony,

<<Vegetarians can get their B12 but the iron is still a problem.>>

The fact is that my iron levels are above average and I don't take any iron supplements. Ever heard of Popeye?

“Daffy Duck” – Thanks for your response to the “constructive” criticism on the article, with most comments so far saying something along the lines of anyone who has ever received any money from the government shouldn’t express an opinion about anything, rather than actually discussing the content of the article.

Tony – you argue that ‘the occasional serving of meat plays an important role in a healthy diet’. However, as Yuyutsu points out, you don’t need meat (or animal products in general) to get iron or any other nutrient. Any nutrient found in animal products you can get from plant-based sources.

The fact that we don’t need any animal products at all to be healthy is recognised by mainstream health organisations such as the American Dietetic Association, whose position is that:

‘Appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and … appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.’

http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.aspx?id=8357

Maybe you think they've been hijacked by vegans Tony?

>>Ever heard of Popeye?<<

Yes: he was a cartoon character. A fictional person although I doubt that bothers you much. Popeye could obtain temporary bursts of great strength by eating canned spinach. This is not supported by any known nutritional science: if the iron in a can of spinach gave people the strength of Popeye then a serving of liver would turn give them strength that would make the Hulk... um... pink with envy.

Canned spinach really isn't a good source of iron. Cooking (but not over-cooking because that will destroy some of nutrients) fresh stuff is better but it's still not a particularly good source of iron. Vegetables in general are not: the iron they contain is non-heme iron. Non-heme iron isn't as well absorbed by the body as the heme-iron you get from meat. Non-heme iron absorption can also be significantly affected by dietary factors; meat proteins and vitamin C improve its absorption while tannins (found in tea), calcium, polyphenols, phytates (found in legumes and whole grains) and oxalic acid (found in spinach) can decrease its absorption. Heme-iron absorption is not significantly affected by diet.

If we compare canned spinach with pan-fried beef liver we can see that the liver contains 6.2mg Fe/100g and the spinach only 2.3mg Fe/100g:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beef-products/3470/2

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2629/2

There is less iron in the spinach and that iron is not as efficiently absorbed by the body. Popeye should have been eating liver.

>>Any nutrient found in animal products you can get from plant-based sources.<<

Except cobalamin. The position of the Vegan Society is that:

>>The only reliable vegan sources of B12 are foods fortified with B12 (including some plant milks, some soy products and some breakfast cereals) and B12 supplements.<<

and

>>If for any reason you choose not to use fortified foods or supplements you should recognise that you are carrying out a dangerous experiment - one that many have tried before with consistently low levels of success... If you are breast feeding an infant, pregnant or seeking to become pregnant or are an adult contemplating carrying out such an experiment on a child, then don't take the risk. It is simply unjustifiable.<<

Do you think the Vegan Society has been hijacked by omnivores?

Cheers,

Tony