this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2023
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Not sure how much I agree on the dairy part. Apart from the inherent ethical problems associated with it, dairy is an all around promoter of cardiovascular disease. My anecdote is that while I was vegetarian, I suffered from high BP and had to be put on meds. Once I went vegan, my BP dropped to the same levels as with meds before. I'm also prone to gout due to genetics. This change in lifestyle had to be the best step I took for my body.
Now, I see why this study had great results. Eating a varied diet, especially rich in whole foods is a good thing, dairy or no dairy. People just want cheese in their diet and that's a compromise a lot of studies do to reduce dropout rate and make people stick to a diet. It also makes dairy companies happy.
While most of this is interesting please take a look at the section "Water use of food products". Looks like cheese needs quite a lot of water.
I am neither vegetarian nor vegan, but I do tend to pick the foods I consume in sizeable quantities considering things like these.
I am not in any shape or form justifying cheese (over)consumption. Health isn't the only reason I advocate for a plant-based diet. The environmental impacts and carbon footprint of meat and dairy make a gas guzzling pickup truck pale in comparison. For me, cheese was the hardest thing to give up. That thing is addictive. But learning about the suffering that the animals endure, the environmental impact...I just could not go on like this.