Response to NY Times Story: Death by Veganism
The New York Times today (May 21, 2007) carried an Op-Ed
piece about the dangers of a vegan diet, titled "Death by
Veganism," that deserves an immediate response:
For the original article see:
Death by Veganism - New York Times
This article, written by Nina Planck, who is identified as a
food writer and expert on farmers markets and local food, stems
from the case of a recent murder conviction of parents who
starved their 6 week old child to death by feeding him a diet of
apple juice and soy milk. She writes on her web site, "Among
many sources for this piece, I interviewed a family practitioner
who treats many vegetarian and vegan families."
For the story of the child's death see:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/13286030/detail.html
Here is the 150 word letter to the editor that I sent to the
New York Times (chances of publication by the newspaper are
obviously small):
Nina Planck's article condemning vegan diet contains serious
errors concerning the adequacy of plant foods. Plants do contain
all the essential amino acids in adequate quantities to meet
human needs, and even those of children (Millward). Vitamin D is
not found in milk or meat, unless it is added during
manufacturing. Sunlight is the proper source of this vitamin.
Plants manufacture beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A.
The original source of all minerals (including calcium and zinc)
is the ground. Plants are abundant in minerals; and they act as
the conduit of minerals to animals. The scientific truth is
protein, essential amino acid, mineral, and vitamin (except for
B12 which is synthesized by bacteria, not animals) deficiencies
are never caused by a diet based on whole plant foods when
calorie needs are met. Ms. Planck's distortion of nutritional
science is a serious matter that needs to be fixed.
Reference: Millward DJ. The nutritional value of plant-based
diets in relation to human amino acid and protein requirements.
Proc Nutr Soc. 1999 May;58(2):249-60.
Addition comments not sent to the newspaper.
Nina Planck writes: "You cannot create and nourish a
robust baby merely on foods from plants."
The scientific truth is: Babies at 6 weeks of age
require human breast milk and any other diet means malnutrition.
Imagine if the exact opposite approach killed an infant with a
formula made of pulverized beef and cow's milk, would this have
received similar worldwide press? I believe the case would have
been properly considered child neglect (intentional or not) and
have gone unnoticed except for those intimately involved.
"People love to hear good news about their bad habits" so the
tragedy of the death of an infant caused by misguided parents
who fed their infant apple juice and soy milk for the first 6
weeks of life has been used to justify eating meat and drinking
cow's milk.
Nina Planck writes: Protein deficiency is one danger
of a vegan diet for babies. Nutritionists used to speak of
proteins as "first class" (from meat, fish, eggs and milk) and
"second class" (from plants), but today this is considered
denigrating to vegetarians.
The scientific truth is: Confusion about our protein
needs came from studies of the nutritional needs of animals.
Mendel and Osborne in 1913 reported rats grew better on animal,
than on vegetable, sources of protein. A direct consequence of
their studies resulted in meat, eggs, and dairy foods being
classified as superior, or "Class A" protein sources and
vegetable proteins designated as inferior, or "Class B"
proteins. Seems no one considered that rats are not people. One
obvious difference in their nutritional needs is rat milk is 11
times more concentrated in protein than is human breast milk.
The extra protein supports this animal's rapid growth to adult
size in 5 months; while humans take 17 years to fully mature.
The world's authority on human protein needs, Prof. Joseph
Millward, wrote the following: "Contrary to general opinion, the
distinction between dietary protein sources in terms of the
nutritional superiority of animal over plant proteins is much
more difficult to demonstrate and less relevant in human
nutrition." (References in my April 2007 newsletter.)
Nina Planck writes: The fact remains, though, that
humans prefer animal proteins and fats to cereals and tubers,
because they contain all the essential amino acids needed for
life in the right ratio. This is not true of plant proteins,
which are inferior in quantity and quality — even soy.
The scientific truth is: Proteins function as
structural materials which build the scaffoldings that maintain
cell shapes, enzymes which catalyze biochemical reactions, and
hormones which signal messages between cells—to name only a few
of their vital roles. Since plants are made up of structurally
sound cells with enzymes and hormones, they are by nature rich
sources of proteins. In fact, so rich are plants that they can
meet the protein needs of the earth's largest animals:
elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and cows. You would be
correct to deduce that the protein needs of relatively small
humans can easily be met by plants. (References in my April 2007
newsletter.)
Nina Planck writes: Yet even a breast-fed baby is at
risk. Studies show that vegan breast milk lacks enough
docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, the omega-3 fat found in fatty
fish.
The scientific truth is: Only plants can synthesize
essential fats. Any DHA found in animals had its origin from a
plant (as alpha linolenic acid). The human body has no
difficulty converting plant-derived omega-3 fat, alpha linolenic
acid, into DHA or other n-3 fatty acids, supplying our needs
even during gestation and infancy.
Reference: Langdon JH. Has an aquatic diet been necessary for
hominin brain evolution and functional development? Br J Nutr.
2006 Jul;96(1):7-17.
Mothers who eat the Western diet pass dangerous loads of
environmental contaminants through their breast milk to their
infants. Meat, dairy and fish in her diet are the source of 80%
to 90% of these toxic chemicals. The cleanest and healthiest
milk is made by mothers eating a starch-based vegan diet.
Nina Planck writes: A vegan diet is equally dangerous
for weaned babies and toddlers, who need plenty of protein and
calcium.
The scientific truth is: Infants should be exclusively
breast fed until age 6 months and then partially breast fed
until approximately 2 years of age. Starches, fruits, and
vegetables should be added after the age of 6 months. The
addition of cow's milk causes problems as common as constipation
and as devastating as type-1 diabetes. (See my May 2003
newsletter on Marketing Milk and Disease.) Adding meat to an
infant's diet is one of the main reasons all children raised on
the Western diet have the beginnings of atherosclerosis by the
age of 2 years.
Nina Planck writes: "An adult who was well-nourished
in utero and in infancy may choose to get by on a vegan diet,
but babies are built from protein, calcium, cholesterol and fish
oil."
The scientific truth is: Babies are ideally built from
mother's breast milk initially and then from whole foods.
Hopefully, parents will realize that the healthiest diet for the
entire family (after weaning) is based on starches with the
addition of fruits and vegetables. (Vitamin B12 is added to the
diet of pregnant or nursing mothers and after 3 years of
following a plant-based diet strictly.)
Nina Planck has been allowed by the New York Times to exploit
the tragedy of a family and to spread commonly held, but
scientifically incorrect, information on human nutrition. The
author and the newspaper should be held accountable. Hopefully,
the end result will be that people desiring the truth will take
the trouble to look at the evidence. If this were to be the
case, then this New York Times article could be the beginning of
long overdue changes in the ways people eat. Write and tell
everyone you know that the New York Times has done a sloppy job,
and damage to the public, by allowing harmful lies to be
spread—especially when you consider that Planck's message
promotes a diet known to cause obesity, type-2 diabetes, heart
disease, and major cancers.
John McDougall, MD
www.drmcdougall.com
May 21, 2007
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