• Family environment and parents' dietary beliefs/practices. (From issue #23 of the N.H. M2M): The father himself had been vegetarian for 13 years, and for the last four had maintained a diet of "80% living foods"--which we can take to mean roughly no more than about 20% of the diet (probably by volume since calories were not mentioned) would have been other than raw (but possibly juiced, or blended) foods. He also mentions eating potatoes and rice occasionally in this and another issue of the M2M. If we are being fair in making an estimate, we'd probably have to say that at most, rice would have constituted no more than, say, 10% of the father's own diet (half of the 20% non-living foods, given the mention of potatoes as a similarly occasional item).

• Particulars of father's diet (reflected to some degree in toddler's diet). The father also gave the following rundown of the particulars of his own diet (which, as we'll see, has an influence on the character of his son's as well) and to some extent his family's diet. (Little information was available for the mother's diet, except that it was influenced to some degree by her husband's diet, and the implication is hers too was likely vegan, or mostly so.) A typical breakfast would consist of bananas or grated apples with reconstituted raisins and a little tahini. Or alternatively a fruit smoothie consisting of fresh-squeezed apple juice, tahini, dates and bananas. Lunch was a salad of various vegetables at hand such as the usual items we are all familiar with: tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, onion, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, sprouts, all topped with a nut or seed dressing--often tahini--and/or avocado dressing. Fruit was a favored item for snacks later. Dinner was another raw salad for the whole family with the possible addition of steamed vegetables or potatoes.

• The son's diet was not much different, though perhaps heavier in fruit. Like the father's, his was "a mostly living foods vegan diet." The father also states that his son was unvaccinated--a sign generally indicative in the vegan community of serious commitment overall to these types of dietary/lifestyle regimes. The son was still breastfeeding at the age of 2 years and 8 months. Dietary consumption consisted of "6-8 bananas a day, apple juice, oranges, kiwis, apples, celery, dates, steamed potatoes, all sorts of vegetables, organic spelt bread, ricecakes, and his favorite spread right now is made with avocado, raw tahini, lime juice, raw cider vinegar, kelp, and a couple of capsules of bluegreen algae."

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Elimination of problem using supplements/animal foods demonstrates insufficiency of diet, regardless of exact cause.
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That even informed advocates acknowledge vegan diets should be carefully planned suggests that less margin for error is a real issue. Unfortunately, however, as we see above, some individuals simply don't do well on vegan diets even when conscientious attempts may be made. Often, more scientifically oriented vegan advocates will object in such cases that the diet wasn't "intelligently planned" enough. Yet if one must go to such lengths to be so conscientious and careful, what does this suggest?

The most logical conclusion is that there isn't as much margin for error on vegan diets in terms of nutrient deficiencies, while with the inclusion of animal products--a part of the natural human diet--or with the addition of artificial supplements to compensate for their absence, there is. (I do not mean, of course, to suggest that milk is ideal as an animal food. In view of the evolutionary and clinical evidence regarding potential long-term problems due to high saturated fat levels in dairy (among other things), flesh food would be the logical choice as the animal food we are most fit to eat. However, the vegetarian way of life does not permit this, so dairy (or eggs) often becomes the only choice available for those vegetarians who are willing to consider any animal products at all.)