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Comment by hammock | Hacker News Reader

Beans + rice is easily the most common meal on the planet, as the cheapest complete protein source around. We live in a bubble, never mind saving the planet

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> complete protein source

On the “complete protein” concept, by a famous popularizer of plant-based protein-combining[0]

——

There is no need to combine foods at individual meals.

“In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because I assumed that the only way to get enough protein ... was to create a protein as usable by the body as animal protein. In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high-quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually, it is much easier than I thought. With three important exceptions, there is little danger of protein deficiency in a plant food diet.”

—-

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_for_a_Small_Planet

Edit: adjust description of what Lappé was popularizer of

Why did you quit there, leaving the 3 exceptions as a cliffhanger!?

> The exceptions are diets very heavily dependent on [1] fruit or on [2] some tubers, such as sweet potatoes or cassava, or on [3] junk food (refined flours, sugars, and fat).

This part could be important for some folks. :)

I wanted you to tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion? ;)

Thx for the amendment.

Animal protein still seems to be of higher quality. Even among rich vegans in first would countries, the children comparatively less developed compared to their peers.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570677X1...

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/113/6/1565/6178918?log...

Did you know that cows can up cycle agricultural waste into protein? Human's can't eat corn stalks, for instance.

We could upcycle agricultural waste by returning it to the earth. Let it decompose and return nutrients to the soil.

We do that, after the cows are done with it.

A quick Google search reveals that beans are not a complete, since they lack several essential amino acids.

Edit: correction, it appears that soybeans are the exception. But when one thinks of having a serving of "beans and rice", soybeans are unlikely to be the bean served.

That's why it's the beans+rice combination that's complete, because they're complementary in composition.

But the truth is that you don't need to eat them in the same meal, and most people don't have a shortage of grain in their diets if they aren't going out of their way to make it so. Porridge in the morning and lentils at lunch and you've done it.

Surely you can just eat more beans until you get enough methionine to satisfy your protein synthesis needs. We are not (yet, in the western world) at the point of having to eat a starvation diet (where the amino acid profile is actually important, since you are trying to eat as little as possible).

Pinto beans and rice are complete, for example. The amino acid deficiencies are complementary.

beans != beans + rice;

My mistake, I had blindly dismissed rice since it is commonly known to be a nutrient poor food. But several sources confirm the parent post and your comment are correct*. It's also too often repeated that a vegetable based diets will be lacking essential amino acids which seems like a gross falsehood now if you can get there with two wildly available plants that make up a common low-cost meal. I am baffled by the disconnect.

*I don't cite the source since I am unsure if there are caveats or if the claim is controversial.

I think the disconnect is that for meat you don't have to think about it. When it comes to plants, suddenly you have to know something about what you are eating. There are plenty of plant diets that are viable, you just have to research a little bit.

Everyone always mentions beans and rice, but Potatoes by themselves are a complete protein. Some of the essential amino acids aren't found in high quantities in potatoes, so you have to eat a lot of them if you go that route. They are missing some vitamins and minerals as well, so you have to add sweet potatoes if you don't want scurvy.

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