Veganism: Ethics, Limits, and the Bigger Future

2026-03-23

Veganism is a philosophy that recognizes animals are sentient, and therefore we should not exploit them as commodities (animal slavery). For me, this is mostly an ethical position first, and only then a dietary choice.

One argument often discussed is that humans had strong herbivore patterns in the past. People point to things like the appendix and the tailbone as signs of evolutionary history from ape ancestors, and use that to support a plant-heavy view of human food history.

I also keep thinking about the God question: either God is not all loving, or not powerful enough, or our understanding is incomplete. In nature, animals attack and kill other animals for food, so it raises a deep question about why a world with this much suffering is designed this way.

On ethical and environmental grounds, veganism still feels strong to me. Even if someone says we should care about plants too, then we should still choose the path that uses fewer plants overall. Feeding animals and then eating those animals is less efficient than eating plants directly. Plants convert only a small fraction of sunlight, and each extra food-chain step adds energy loss.

At the same time, I still think vegan diets can be nutrient-deficient if not planned properly. I also believe a well-planned vegan diet can fulfill many requirements at a high level, but it demands more awareness. This is where nuance matters instead of black-and-white conclusions.

The scale of animal killing is huge: trillions of fish and around 80 billion land animals each year. Yes, animals also die in agriculture and in medicine-related testing, but compared to industrial animal consumption, that number is still much smaller.

I am also skeptical about using RDA and packaged-food metrics as absolute truth. Many standards are based on median-level analysis and can have publication bias. Sometimes unhealthy products still get marketed as healthy through labeling frameworks, and regulations are not equally strict everywhere.

Most of my micronutrient concern is around fats, protein quality, and vitamin conversion. Omega-3 from nuts and seeds is mostly ALA, but the body needs DHA and EPA, and ALA conversion is often low. The brain is highly fat-dependent, with DHA being a major component. For vitamin A, plants provide beta-carotene while the body needs retinol, and conversion can be limited; non-veg sources like fish or beef liver provide retinol directly. B12 is obviously a known concern in vegan diets. I am still exploring deeper evidence for vitamin C context in this broader debate.

When it comes to long-term thinking, Homo sapiens are relatively recent (around 2-3 lakh years), while the Sun is expected to make Earth uninhabitable in the distant future (around 0.5 billion years by some estimates for major water-loss conditions). So along with saving Earth now, I think similar or greater effort should also go into space technologies and finding future livable options after large-scale planetary risk. My current view is still very dependent on mechanistic science and observation while deciding recommended limits.