Can you name one stable vegan culture or civilization?

Question

I have doubts about the sustainability of the vegan life - it's one thing to become a vegan after a childhood of being an omnivore, but another for a vegan to produce children, raise them on a vegan diet, and have them healthy enough to reproduce.

Can anyone name a long-lasting vegan civilization or group?

By long-lasting, I mean at least 5 generations of nothing but vegans. Groups that accept members from the non-vegan population don't count ... they are importing omnivores to maintain reproductive health.

India doesn't count - they use milk and eggs.

Answer 1

Buddhist Monks don't eat animals, not even fish.

Answer 2

That's a good question. The term "vegan" wasn't even coined until 1944, so I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a long-lasting vegan civilization! Although I understand that many Jains follow a vegan diet (no eggs or dairy).

I also know kids who are being raised on vegan diets and are perfectly healthy. (Their mothers were vegan during pregnancy, too.) You can see some photos and stories of vegan kids here: http://veganhealth.org/articles/realvega...

Also, the American Dietetic Association is one of the nation's leading nutrition experts and it states that balanced vegan diets are fine for all ages: "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence."

http://eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs....

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

"...vegan to produce children, raise them on a vegan diet, and have them healthy enough to reproduce." Excuse me?

"healthy enough to reproduce", what are we, livestock (I'm not gonna go into the resulting puns of that one)?!?!

As for sustainability, can you name a civilization that is ABSOLUTELY omni without "importing" some vegans and vegetarians to "maintain reproductive health"? For goodness sake!

On a serious note, veganism (when done properly - just like with being omni) IS a perfectly healthy way to live.

I really think you'd get a lot out of "www.veganbodybuilding.com". Check out some of those guys (they are VEGAN by the way) and then tell me we'd have to "import" omnis. Also, "veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchild... has quite a few healthy and active vegan since conception kids.

You can contact me for more info if you wish.

Answer 4

Read the screename. Tradition is not scientific. Your theory is a fallacy of logic.

Just because there may not be a civilization of 5 generations of vegans or more dosen't proove that veganism is not healthy. And who knows, maybe there is one out there. And I bet you they lived a lot longer than civilizations who eat/ate lots of meat/dairy.

Answer 5

Um, you didn't say on earth, so I'll say the cow-people of Planet Vegemite, who have been peacefully grazing for centuries unbeknownst to us, since we have not discovered them yet.

Answer 6

There is no civilization in the history of the Earth that has thrived eating as vegan. Veganism is only possible in today's world of "special" ingredients and things made with all sorts of unusual substitutions.

Civilizations throughout history eat what they can get, and they certainly don't complain if they eat honey, or an egg (for heaven's sake).

Look, you can be a vegan now... it works. But if the supermarkets closed and all the vegans went hungry, you can guarantee they'd be eating some animal products.

Answer 7

No.   It is natural for us to eat meat.

Answer 8

Borneo headhunters- oh sorry they eat longpigs and vegans. mmm indians perhaps...

good question c'mon yo pulse eating beanfreaks i can smell you in there

Answer 9

My fiance was an Anthropology major, and he said there was a civilization that was completely vegan, except for once a year, they have a celebration where they slaughter pigs.

Here's my theory of why there are practically no civilizations that are completely vegan, especially in societies where there are comforts.  When people are looking for convenient ways to get their calories, they go towards meat since it is rich in them and fat.  People are drawn to fat because of our drive to keep warm and have energy that has passed down from our ancestors.  So we're driven towards instant satisfaction.  Also, eating vegan foods requires a lot of eating to get enough calories and fat, and people don't like that extra time wasted in things like that.  Our ancestors main purpose in existence was to survive, while nowadays, it's all about comfort and ease.  A vegan diet would make much more sense.  And yes, our earliest ancestors were primarily vegan.  Hunting came after gathering, especially with shortages of food with less nomadic expenditures and changing climates.

Hope that makes some sense.  It's only my theory, but I think it's pretty valid.

Answer 10

cali

Answer 11

The Hindu's?

Answer 12

Jains, Gnostics.

Answer 13

africa

Answer 14

Why do you have doubts about the sustainability of the vegan life?

And just because there may not be a "civilization" of vegans (wouldn't that be great?) dosen't mean that the health benefits of being vegan are invalid.

Tons of people of people raise healthy vegan children. I don't see why you need a "civilization" to proove that.

Answer 15

Bhutan

Answer 16

I don't know of any, but I do know that vegans live longer than meat-eaters AND they are better lovers.  So if there was a vegan civilization it would grow and bloom pretty well.