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The point is that people do seem to sense that there could be a liability or risk of eating simple, whole ingredients only and avoiding a larger variety of more processed foods. In the case of somebody going to a plant-based consumption of foods and giving up animal products, people also generally have some concern that this individual may be depriving themselves of some important nutrients which he or she otherwise would be consuming from eating animal products.
I think that this concern that people have surrounding this is based on some degree of reality. Ultimately, the idea of just living on simple, whole ingredients, particularly plant-based ingredients, is romantic and seems to create an image of an ideal scene where men and women are living in harmony with nature on Planet Earth. However, because of expedient modern agricultural practices, among other reasons, the soil quality has declined precipitously over the last century, resulting in whole foods being produced which are dramatically lacking in basic nutrients including vitamins and minerals.
It seems to be that people don’t really look at whole foods — like fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts and seeds — as amazing superfoods with the most amazing life-regenerating qualities. In a way, this is understandable, because these foods seem to have lost a bit of their sheen as a result of the way they get produced and harvested in modern times.
If you have ever tasted a piece of fruit which is grown in a completely natural, organic, non-commercial-type setting and which is allowed to ripen completely before picking, you’ll know what I am talking about — the experience is ecstatic and makes your toes curl and gives you goosebumps because it’s so sensual and delightful. Sadly, the vast majority of the time this is not the experience from the products we pick up from our local supermarket.
The quality of the produce in today’s modern world is generally subpar, and this does result in whole foods which are lacking in minerals, vitamins and nutrients. In a way, this does cause potential shortages and imbalances in the body and this can be of great concern. Even considering animal products, if the animal is eating food from soil which is depleted, then it too will result in having subpar nutrition itself.
In terms of somebody who is eating just plant-based foods, there is also concern about whether this person can be missing out on certain nutrients they would be getting from animal products. Certainly, there are nutrients which tend to be more abundant in meat, fish, dairy and eggs, which can include Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Iodine, Iron, Zinc, and Choline. Certain livestock and dairy farmers understand the importance of nutrition and actually supplement their animals in addition to what they are fed, which can result in more nutrients being found in that ultimate animal tissue which gets consumed by the end user.
Also, certain animal products contain more Omega 3s as compared with Omega 6s (which seem to be more rarely found in the plant world) which could result in a better balance of Omega 3 to Omega 6 in the body of somebody who eats animal products. Somebody who is just eating plant-based may be at risk of being imbalanced in this way and having too much Omega 6 fatty acids.
In this sense, the government health regulators achieve an important goal, which is to provide somebody who is eating more unhealthy and processed foods with more nutrition. However, in the process of that, a moral hazard has been created, because the source of the extra healthy nutrition in most cases is actually an unhealthy food to begin with, so if somebody’s body is craving one of these foods because it knows it will get the added nutrients, it is more often than not encouraging the individual to indulge in processed and unhealthy foods.
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