vegan – Economist Writing Every Day

The Mythology of Rice and Beans

December 13, 2024March 22, 2025Zachary Bartsch3 Comments

I’ve written about proteins twice before. Once concerning protein content generally and then another concerning amino acid content of animal proteins. The reason that I stuck to animal proteins initially was because I held a common and false belief: Singular vegetarian foods aren’t complete proteins. The meat-eaters gotchya claim is that meats contain complete proteins. After all, we’ve heard a million times that beans and grains are often eaten together because they form a complete protein. The native North Americans? Corn and beans. Subcontinent Indians? Rice and Lentils or chickpeas. Japan? Rice and soy. Choose your poor or vegetarian population in the world, and they combine beans and grains. We’ve always been told that it’s because the combination constitutes a ‘complete protein’.

But you know what else constitutes a complete protein? Any of those foods all by themselves. What the heck. I haven’t been lied to. But I’ve certainly been misled. Let me briefly tell you my research journey. My recommended daily intake (RDI) are from the World Health Organization and the amino acid data is from the US Department of Agriculture. Prices are harder to pin down in a representative way, but I cite those too.

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Protein, Protein Everywhere

November 8, 2024November 11, 2024Zachary Bartsch8 Comments

If you’ve ever been vegetarian or if you have ever spoken to a vegetarian about their diet, then you have probably heard or asked “How do you get enough protein?”. While it’s important for health and economic achievement to get adequate protein, not too long after comes the questions about types and sources of protein. This question is relevant for vegetarians and vegans, but also people with meat allergies and people with religious dietary guidelines that prohibit meat always or seasonally. Let’s break it down.

Some omnivores are incredulous that vegetarianism can provide adequate protein or protein quality. But protein itself is relatively easy to get and any judgmental attitudes on both sides are mostly just vibes. Legumes and nuts tend to have a lot of protein. But relative to what?

The World Health Organization recommends that an 80-kilogram (176 lb) adult should get 66.4 grams of protein per day (0.83g per kg). That’s the protein content of about a 9oz of peanuts. Protein is super important and it’s luckily not that hard to get if you eat a variety of foods. Even if you’re trying to consume double the WHO recommended daily intake (RDI), it’s an easy feat.

Below is a table of some popular protein sources. The table includes the grams of protein per 100 grams of food, which makes the protein content a percent. The table also includes the number of grams needed in order to achieve the WHO protein RDI of 66.4 grams. The last column is for our American readers who need the serving to be in ounces.

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Vegetarian Culpability

January 28, 2021January 28, 2021Zachary Bartsch1 Comment

Do you remember that dentist who went to Africa and shot Cecil the lion? I had a vegan friend who said that she would boycott him – had he been her dentist.

I can’t tell you how many questions I had. Why boycott him? In a competitive market, it would have no long-run impact on his economic profits. Was it important that his murder of Cecil was part of his consumption/leisure behavior rather than part of his provision of dental services? Does trading with people who have different preferences make one morally culpable for their consequently afforded activities?

A Trip Down Reasoning Lane

Let’s take some things as given.

My friend is vegan and didn’t want Cecil to be on the receiving end of homicide (leon-icide?).
Big-game hunting was a consumption activity for, who I’ll call, the dentist.
Everyone has unique preferences – including moral tastes.
Voluntary trade makes both parties better off.
There are a variety of input combinations that a firm can adopt in order to create output.
Humans are responsible for their own behavior to varying degrees.

My understanding of my friend’s would-be boycott is that lion-hunting was a direct result of the dentist’s inappropriate preferences and economic empowerment. Therefore, boycotting the dentist would reduce the dentist’s budget, and consequently reduce his spending on improper activities. Knowing that the dentist would spend his income in this manner makes each transaction with him a contribution to satisfying his illicit preferences.