Take a gander at this

A twelve year old girl with the spine of an eighty year old woman. Why? Vegan diet.

The youngster, fed on a strict meat- and dairy-free diet from birth, is being treated at the city’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children. She is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones. The condition is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium and is found in liver, oily fish and dairy produce.

When I lived in Seattle, I dealt with a number of people who were vegans, and looked down on anyone who wasn't a vegan. You know what I noticed, time and time again? The vegans were not healthy. They didn't look healthy. They didn't act as if they were healthy. Other than the self-righteous pride they had in themselves, there was no reason what so ever to convince me that they were living a healthier lifestyle than anyone else, and in fact were hurting themselves with their "I don't eat anything from any animal!" diet.

Anyone who looks at their teeth might notice that you have four rather pointy teeth on either side of your incisors. Those are called "canine" teeth, or eyeteeth. You have them for a reason. The human body is designed to eat more than just veggies. Our muscles are built with protein, which is severely lacking in most vegetables. Our bones and teeth require calcium, which is found in dairy products. And our bodies need vitamin D to absorb that calcium, which is found in other animal products.

Now, I knew quite a few vegetarians as well, but they had no problem eating eggs, or cheese, or other sources of protein. One woman I knew had severe problems digesting protein. She literally couldn't eat meat, it made her ill. But she could have cheese. So she had no problem mowing down a pizza, so long as there wasn't any meat on it. She was healthy.

Vegans? I never saw a vegan that looked anything like the picture of health they try to portray. They all looked not skinny, but sickly. Pasty skin. Lank hair. They looked like they had been starving themselves, and in some way they had. They were not eating what their bodies needed. All so that they could be self-righteous and look down their nose at me while I ate my fish, or steak.

Whatever. I recall a news story out of NYC about a vegan couple that killed their baby with a vegan diet. Gosh, do you think women lactate for no reason? THE HUMAN BODY NEEDS THAT NUTRITION! Especially as a kid! Even straight herbivores need milk as juveniles. Why do you think horses nurse? Or calves? Or fawns? Sure, they grow up to eat grass, but when they're young they need that calcium, that protein.

I am always amazed at how people who label themselves as enlightened can be so damn stupid. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised at all - the people who brag about enlightenment are normally the folks who are as dumb as a sack of wet hammers.