Vegans win in habits alone.
Vegans are environmentally aware.
Vegans eats more whole and unprocessed foods than omnivores.
Vegans are generally more informed than omnivores.
Vegan diets are much more environmentally sustainable (if you omit most grains and soy).
Vegans tend to eat better foods, whether this means fruits and veggies that are in season, or just organic foods in general.
HOWEVER.
While the typical omnivore is unhealthy and uninformed (eating mostly meat and grains and paying little attention to veggies and legumes), a well-informed omnivore can eat 70% plants and still be just as healthy as the typical vegan. Maybe even more.
In addition, while lacto-ovo vegetarians have been observed in indigenous populations, vegans have not. As in, our genetic line has been eating animal products for so long that to omit them completely can easily cause complications. The idea of being vegan is a modern invention. Even “herbivorous” apes eat insects every once in a while.
So, if you’re really concerned about being healthy, limit your meat intake to about 30% (preferably with as little grains as possible—they can do nasty things), but do try to consume some kind of animal product at least once a week, whether it be seafood, eggs, beast or fowl.
Personally, I’ve started eating egg whites (with the occasional yolk thrown in) for breakfast, along with salmon every so often.
/<3
Disclaimer: I’m pretty sure it’s possible to go vegan and still be healthy. But remember that health is more important than environmental impact. LDL is really your only concern when eating meat (it’s the only bad thing animal matter has that plant matter doesn’t), but if you’re only eating animal products every so often (30% or less) it’s probably not going to become an issue. Besides, 100 people eating 70% vegan makes more of an impact (environment-wise) than 5 people eating 100% vegan. So chill.
Double-Disclaimer: Going vegan without getting the proper nutrients has been shown to cause birth defects and even miscarriages. The same is true of many diets containing high amounts of white carbohydrates (more than 40%). Vegan or omnivore, watch your vitamins and lay off the carbs.
