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Comment by Zarath | Hacker News Reader

Dunno why this is controversial. If you need to be taking supplements to get proper nutrition, then you're not eating correctly. Simple as that.

EDIT: I guess this only applies to Veganism.

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How about adding iodine to table salt? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodised_salt

Or pregnant women taking folic acid to prevent birth defects? https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/pregnancy/fo...

Or giving vitamin d to newborns? https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-special-circ...

Should these practices be stopped because they aren't "natural"? Are breast fed babies not "eating correctly"?

The only required supplement for vegans is B12, and that's not because of lack of meat. B12 is produced by bacteria and most of us live in sanitized environments, so there is no reliable sources of B12 any longer. It's possible that even the animals you eat are low in B12 due to cobalt deficiency in the soil[1], so I encourage you to check your levels and supplement if necessary.

Also, your argument is a classic example of an appeal to nature[2].

1: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/livestock-biosecurity/cobalt-def...

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_nature

Exactly. And a lot of foods you buy at grocery stores already include extra B-12 (e.g. soy/flax/oat milks, tofu, etc.)

There's a perfectly valid argument to be made that as we are able to get full nutrition from non-animal sources, even if that requires supplementation, that it's unethical and immoral to use animals as a source of nutrition.

To say "no, being a vegan is wrong because you can't get full nutrition from eating plants" is an invalid argument, because most vegans aren't arguing only on a health basis.

A lot of things are controversial here. HN is not exactly an unbiased group.

They say be nice in guidelines, and yet won't do anything about people outright accusing others in comments.

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