Human health

Animal source foods (ASFs) are evolutionary foods and provide key nutrients. There is no reason to eliminate their consumption from a health perspective, well on the contrary. People who nonetheless decide to do so on ethical or environmental grounds should keep in mind that the robustness of such restrictive diets depends on knowledge, resources, and careful supplementation. Although it needs to be acknowledged that omnivore diets are often not well-formulated either, eliminating some of the most nutrient-rich foods from the human diet would further undermine the prospect of adequate essential nutrition in an already problematic foodscape. Moreover, restricting or eliminating ASFs may not be suitable for everyone, potentially causing damage in populations with elevated needs, such as the young, pregnant and lactating women, older adults, and the metabolically challenged.

 

Adequate essential nutrition

• Humans biology is adapted to meat and animal fat
  

• Not all (micro)nutrients are easily obtained from plants 

• Animal source foods bring in high-quality protein

• Benefiting populations with elevated needs

• Restricting animal source foods puts the young at risk  

The evidence to promote heavy restriction or avoidance is insufficient

• Animal source foods: the health controversy
  

• Observational evidence is mostly of low certainty

• The Blue Zone argument for plant-based diets is flawed 

• Intervention studies do not suggest harm

• Biochemical mechanisms for harm are unconvincing
  

Perspectives in the era of nutritionism

• Redefining healthy diets?