EarthSave Baltimore

Some of the most frequently asked questions about plant centered diets are:

"How do vegetarians and vegans get enough protein?"

Much confusion exists with regard to human protein needs. One otherwise very helpful book, written in the 1960s, called Diet for a Small Planet, actually added to that confusion by needlessly emphasizing the practice of combining various complementary plant proteins, such as beans with rice, in order to create "complete proteins".

The American Dietetic Association, and nearly all other authorities on nutrition, now says that we needn't concern ourselves with such complicated practices, and that we will get all the complete proteins we need as long as we eat a variety of plant foods throughout the day. In fact, if we are getting all the calories that we need, we will almost certainly get enough protein.

Another large point of confusion in Western culture is about exactly how much protein humans need. In infancy, we humans grow faster than at any other time in our lives. And presumably, that would be the time period in which which our protein requirements would be the greatest. But the protein content of human mothers' breast milk comprises only 5% of the calories of that food source.

The World Health Organization says that we only need 4 1/2 % of our calories to come from protein. Most Americans get from 15% - 17 % of their daily calories from protein, and that's actually harmful, especially when the protein is coming mainly from animal sources.

Problems commonly associated with the over-consumption of protein include gout, osteoporosis, kidney stones, and kidney disease.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, director of the Cornell/Oxford/China Health Project, states that the consumption of animal protein causes more cancers than does any chemical carcinogen. Dr. Campbell's book, The China Study, gives the details of that huge, comprehensive study.