1507378 I think maybe the pone's evolutionary ancestors eat eggs by stealing them from birds nests, maybe that will give them forwarded facing eyes.

1507723 Well remember ponies would have much better stomachs to get all the nutrients from plants, like in real life.

1504358

There are a lot of things I don't agree with you on, this is not one of them.

Here is an interesting thought for anyone who wants to try and noodle on it. "Sweet Apple Acres and the pig farm Rarity's parents own both raise an animal that serves no other purpose but as livestock for consumption. Why would ponies do such a thing as raise pigs if it was not neccisary or profitable in some way?"

My theory is that Equestria probably does raise livestock for consumption on a less than industrial scale and then probably exports those products to other nations that have large populations of meat eaters.

1507625
Ok, first of all, you go through the trouble of finding a source, but you don't link to it?

More importantly though, I don't think we are actually disagreeing.

The argument you were originally responding to, as I understand it, is not one that advocates a strict vegetarian diet, but one that advocates a strict decrease in meat consumption, and one that applies almost exclusively to the developed world (which is made up by more than the US I might add).

Vegetarianism: Economics and diet

According to the Worldwatch Institute, "Massive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease their health care burden while improving public health; declining livestock herds will take pressure off rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. As populations grow, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of declining per capita land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the world's chronically hungry."

See? Massive reductions, and only in industrial nations.

As for the goat thing. We are talking about different things. It may be the most widely consumed red meat (had no idea btw), but at the same time, the people eating it don't exactly eat a lot of it, do they?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef

Beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, accounting for about 25% of meat production worldwide, after pork and poultry at 38% and 30% respectively.

That makes up 93% of the worldwide meat production.

That is the point. It makes sense to keep up with meat production for a number of reasons:

- Human beings are designed to eat it. We can manage without, but it makes diet more tricky
- For the very reason you pointed out. Some environments are more suited to grow grass
- Sustainable agriculture relies on techniques such as crop rotation, which often benefits from growing cattle based crops and usage of animal manure as fertilizer (fed with crop residue).

Check this: Crop rotation

1507723
That could be part of it, but if vegans can get their energy intake from vegetarian meals, I wouldn't think that is much of an issue.

We have seen Twilight make a meal out of a daffodil sandwich in the same way we would make a meal out of a ham sandwich.

Plus dairy and eggs are plenty of energy efficient.

1508020
Sure, but before developing agriculture, ponies would not have had a way to get dairy, and eggs would have been much scarcer.

1508077
But...without agriculture you can't have such things as flour or sugar that you need to make candy, cakes and pastries

And milk and eggs, you also need them to make that stuff.

1508138
Exactly. Before agriculture, ponies were were hunter/gatherers like we were, and only switched it up to a primarily vegetarian diet after the invention of agriculture. Ancient ponies were likely also more energy efficient, with less powerful magic and lkttle to no ability to control the weather, advanced magic and weather control happened after the development of agriculture. That would mean that ponies had agriculture for a much higher percentage of their species's history, which has it's own implications I wouldn't delve into here.

1504358
You are comparing everything with what we have in the human world, that's... well, not wrong, but, just not smart.
Let's see how to rebuke these...
1) Earth ponies 'grow magic', teleporting, airships/balloons/train(s)/pegasi.
2) Zebras, potions, alchemy.
3) X-ray, magical scans, innate magic, atmospheric magic or just Magic.

So, what would really happen if a human completely ditched meat, and took up the ponies' daily diet?

As long as we haven't exactly done that, we will not know.

1507939
Hehe, sorry about that Normally, I wouldn't forget to link something, but I guess it just slipped my mind due to real life distractions.

I don't think we're disagreeing here either. If anything, we're arguing two different things that are tangentially related in two different ways, but our respective stances aren't incompatible.

I was just challenging the assumptions apparent in the wording of the post I initially replied to. It sounded like he was saying that the reason people in 3rd-world countries don't eat very much meat is because the land is better used to raise food crops rather than livestock. That, in turn, carries the assumption that only land capable of supporting crops for human consumption is agriculturally useful. I just wanted to point out that that simply isn't the case. If the land can't support the plants you want to grow, bring in animals that can eat what does grow and eat them (because that's how food chains work).

I may be guilty of putting words in someone else's mouth (If so, I apologize. That wasn't my intent). It was the way 1504450 presented his argument that I wanted to address.

Edit: Just to be clear:
Could people in industrialized regions stand to eat less meat? Yes.
Should they eat less meat? Probably.

Thanks to modern industrial farming techniques, the major issue regarding world hunger right now isn't production or capacity for production. It's distribution.

1507698
No.
Just no.

1508396
Fuck, that's lazy.

"Everything will be fine, because magic."

1507698
Far more nutritious? Maybe.
Far more tasty? Not.. really, the products the companies make are supposed to smell and taste good, but they dont have any real concerns about what they put into that stuff that we consider 'good', for all we know, McDonalds could have rat-meat between the burgers and are just making it look like(in public) that they are making things out of 'real' meat. Or the celery we eat may actually be refurbished petroleum/oil remains.
But hey, how do we know? We don't.

1509364
Yep, but it works, and I can make magic complicated if you want to...
Also, who made that quote?

1509364
Being "lazy" does not invalidate anything he said. There is magic in Equestria, and, most importantly, it is functional magic, which may not be as cool as lobbing 'balls of pure energy' everywhere, but for a human in Equestria it's an incredible stroke of good luck. We know from the series that investigative magic exists (star swirl) and that inventing new spells is not something that takes years of development, or at least there are those who don't need to do that (Twilight, and presumably the other princesses as well). This combined with Unicorn magic being functionally oriented and humans being able to at least survive for a really long time on a no-meat or even a vegetarian or vegan diet makes me think that they'll be able to work something out.

Of course, many authors either ignore the problem of diet or make mistakes if they adress it.

1504358 I didn't know some of this. Adding this thread to my resources.

1507196
We only see one griffon in the show and she doesn't eat meat for as long as we see her. I didn't think I needed to clarify the difference between eating stuff that is sentient and stuff that isn't.

1509818 1509865

*Sighs* Fine, let's do this...

On your first point:

Earth ponies 'grow magic'

There is no evidence to support the "Earth Pony Magic" theory. Bronies just thought it up, because they thought that it wouldn't be "fair" that pegasi to have flight, and unicorns to have magic, but earth ponies don't have any supernatural abilities.

teleporting

The show lets us know that teleportation is very difficult to do. Twilight Muthafukkin' Sparkle, the Element of Magic, had difficulty mastering the spell for self teleportation. It's not until "Applebuck Season", that she finally manages to pull it off without trouble. We don't know when she first started studying the spell, but the first time we see her use it, is in the series premier two parter. She shows dizziness, and disorientation directly afterward. Even though, it's just herself, and just traversing the distance of around twenty feet.

In "The Ticket Master", she uses the spell on herself, and Spike, with much more disastrous results. (Scorching of bodily extremities, disorientation, and severe dizziness.) We can draw the conclusion that teleporting non-self objects, and distance, make the spell more dangerous and difficult to use. This means that teleportation is not a viable method of transporting goods over long distances.

airships/balloons/train(s)/pegasi

All of these are much more expensive, and much slower forms of shipping than anything what humans use. I never wanted to say that being healthy without meat would be impossible in Equestria. Just that the human would have to be much more careful than here, and that it would be more expensive. If anything, this argument strengthens my theory.

On your second point:

Zebras

What about them?

potions

All we know about the potions that Zecora makes, is that they can cause and dispel magical effects. Potion brewing is nothing like chemistry, and trying to say that Zecora could just mix up the exact potion that a human needs to maintain a healthy body, is just... Not very wise. Zecora doesn't know everything, and she certainly doesn't know exactly what nutrients an unknown alien species would need to stay healthy.

Even if she did somehow know exactly what a human needs for their body, potion brewing wouldn't be the way to supplement their diet. As I said earlier, potions have only been shown to cause and dispel magic, not take the place of chemistry.

alchemy

Alchemy is not chemistry, either. What The Elder Scrolls series shows us is not what alchemy really is.

Although alchemy would probably actually be a magical school in Equestria, it would not help in this case. Alchemy is the study of magical resonances found in objects. These objects could be refined plant or animal matter, but most often, the study was centered around the magical properties of metals and minerals.

The practice was trying to find ways to cause transmutations. Alchemists theorized that, with the correct magical resonances, and the proper focusing circle and runes, a magical reaction should occur, that could transform the focus of the spell, into something else. Lead to gold, etc.

Alchemy would have little use in helping a human maintain a healthy diet.

On your final point:

X-ray, magical scans

So, unicorns could possibly be able to tell what was wrong with the human. (Assuming that magic could successfully be used on a human without danger of harming them.) Does that automatically mean that they would know exactly how to fix the problem? Or that they would have the knowledge and capability to create the proper chemical supplements or technology needed to fix the problem?

I don't think that it does.

innate magic, atmospheric magic or just Magic

So the universe and/or unicorn doctor would know exactly which magic spell to use to change the intricate chemical balance inside the anatomy of the unknown extraplanetary creature, without killing them? Really? We don't even know if the creatures on their planet use electrochemical functions to run their bodies, like we do.

TL;DR:

No, magic is not a good excuse.

P.S. No one made that quote, I was putting the point of your argument into words.

1509865

inventing new spells is not something that takes years of development, or at least there are those who don't need to do that (Twilight, and presumably the other princesses as well)

This is not true. The only time we have seen the creation of a new spell (in fact, maybe even a whole new type of magic) is in the last episode, where Twilight uses the knowledge of the magic of friendship that she has been accumulating for the entire duration of the show to finish a spell Starswirl has spent years working on.

It was in fact a very long, drawn out process and required the efforts of two magical prodigies.

1510380

There is no evidence to support the "Earth Pony Magic" theory.

It is worth noting that, while far from a done deal, Heart Warming Eve has clearly implied that only earth ponies can grow food.

1510380
And you are so sure of you're theories because...? Have you been there, actually proved that you're theories are real(istic)? How do you even know that they're universe has the same fundamental laws as ours does? Maybe it even has a mind of its own.
What I am trying to say is that as long as we actually have not been in Equestrian, these arguments are moot, pointless, we could speculate all we want, sure it makes good entertament, but besides that? This is useless.
Trying to cram ponies or Equestria in general into our worlds perspective is just stupid.

P.S - That was not my argument, misunderstood, this is.

1510514

And you are so sure of you're theories because...?

Because evidence from the show and real life back them up. I didn't form these theories because I thought it would be funny. (Like that hypothesis I came up with about human skin.) I formed them because that's what the evidence suggests. Just like any scientist, I don't make something up and then find evidence; I find evidence, and then create a theory to fit it.

1509809
No we don't. I know where my apples, figs, cherries, pears, plums, potatoes, radishes, corn, blackberries, blueberries, and mint come from, though. I grow 'em.

It's been a terrible year here for pears and plums, though... should have invested in more fig trees. They're going gangbusters.

1510380

There is no evidence to support the "Earth Pony Magic" theory. Bronies just thought it up, because they thought that it wouldn't be "fair" that pegasi to have flight, and unicorns to have magic, but earth ponies don't have any supernatural abilities.

It is stated explicitly in Hearth's Warming Eve that Earth Ponies are the only ones who can grow food, but I'm assuming you know your canon and mean that they can't do anything special with the crops like making them grow faster or making them more nutritious, which is indeed not canon so we can ignore that as we're trying to find a canon-compatible solution to this problem.

section on teleportation (cut for length)

The Ticket Master takes place before Applebuck Season, so I could also draw the conclusion that she hadn't mastered the spell back then and assume she could pull it off now with additional 'passengers' with no trouble at all. What I'm trying to say here is that you can't draw any conclusions from that single event. I do agree with you on teleportation not being a viable transportation method, but simply because so few ponies can use it.

All of these are much more expensive, and much slower forms of shipping than anything what humans use. I never wanted to say that being healthy without meat would be impossible in Equestria. Just that the human would have to be much more careful than here, and that it would be more expensive. If anything, this argument strengthens my theory.

You're assuming several things here. First, you assume that the transportation is expensive. That hardly seems to hold ground when you think of how close Canterlot and Ponyville are to each other - you can see the castle from the town. Secondly, you assume that sky or train transportation is slower than what we have. Over large distances I would agree, but if we're talking about the relatively short Ponyville-Canterlot distance we don't use our fastest means of transportation either. There may still be a difference, but in whose favor that is is indeterminable with the limited information we have, as well as being neglegible as even by handcart (hoofcart?), the slowest possible transportation method it looks like the trip from the capital to Ponyville could be made within a day. And even if we consider the rest of Equestria, according to the map it isn't that big so transportation would still be very well doable even at sub-human standards.

Zebras, potions and Alchemy

I'm not making an argument either way here because we have too little canon information on the subject.

So, unicorns could possibly be able to tell what was wrong with the human. (Assuming that magic could successfully be used on a human without danger of harming them.) Does that automatically mean that they would know exactly how to fix the problem? Or that they would have the knowledge and capability to create the proper chemical supplements or technology needed to fix the problem?

Without danger - probably, since Twilights body-altering spell she only used for the first time worked flawlessly. If given the chance to study the human a bit with the help of their magic I would think it would at least be safe for the human, even though it may not go as flawlessly as the wing spell for Rarity.
As for the fixing, you can replace 'technology and chemistry' with 'spells'. Since we're assuming spells for analysis spells could also be used to try and fix the human. And about not having the solution when they find out about the problem, they could get some temporary solutions going, such as extra beans and for example spinach in the diet until something permanent is found. Keep in mind that they'd have months if not years to find a solution before serious medical problems start cropping up.

So the universe and/or unicorn doctor would know exactly which magic spell to use to change the intricate chemical balance inside the anatomy of the unknown extraplanetary creature, without killing them? Really? We don't even know if the creatures on their planet use electrochemical functions to run their bodies, like we do.

No, but after some research they could, as discussed in the previous section.

1510752
All right, first of all, I'd like to point out that none of this is disproving my initial theory that humans would not be able to take on full time vegetarianism without serious consequences. Now that that's out of the way:

Teleportation:

I know which order the episodes took place in. In fact, I did a little extra research, just to be sure.

What I was trying to say, was that: If Twilight Sparkle, probably the greatest magic user of all time, had trouble teleporting herself a few feet, regular unicorns definitely wouldn't be able to teleport objects other than themselves across cities.

But, you seem to already agree with me on that, so it's all good.

Transportation:

You're forgetting that the goods need to be shipped to Canterlot, before they can be shipped to Ponyville. As we've already cleared up, they can't just magically teleport from where they originate. They need to be manually shipped.

With zeppelins, and airships, you need large amounts of fuel, as well as the gas needed to fill the balloon. Those things add significantly to the price of shipping. Plus, there's the risk that the ship would crash.

With hot air balloons, you need large amounts of fuel, and there isn't really enough room to transport anything in the first place, let alone that it would be faster to just walk it to it's destination.

With pegasi, well. You can't fit a lot of supplies on one pegasus, and I don't think that one pegasus would be able to fly anything from one country to another.

With trains, you need tracks, as well as a team of engineers to make sure that the tracks and train never break down, as well as fuel. Those things add significantly to the price of shipping.

With sea transport, we've never seen any boats in Equestria, we don't even know if they have any kind of sea based importion methods.

Magic doctors:

Yes, but I'm trying to say that being a vegetarian in Equestria would be both harder, and more expensive than it would here, on earth. Even if the human did manage to get a doctor who eventually found out what spell to use, the human would need to pay the doctor a lot of money, for his specialized care.

1510503
The spell she used on the parasprites seems awfully specific, along with her not realizing it would change their appetites so drastically implies that she came up with it herself, since if she had read about it Twilight of all people wouldn't have overlooked that.

There's also the spell in Hearth's Warming Eve, but it isn't very clear whether it was an invention of Clover or whether it was created by Twilight as some sort of effect, since, according to the story, it is the friendship that drove away the Windigoes, not the spell.

There's also Twilight copying Sombra's spell from seeing Celestia perform it, which demonstrates that just by the effects it had she was able to figure out how it was done. Then, if she knows what effects a spell she is inventing must have, shouldn't she be able to that as well? At the very least it would help her with it.

1510996

The spell she used on the parasprites...

Was most likely some kind of animal control/hunger suppression spell that wasn't designed with the parasprites in mind, which would explain the unintended consequences.

There's also Twilight copying Sombra's spell from seeing Celestia perform it, which demonstrates that just by the effects it had she was able to figure out how it was done.

No it doesn't. It is fairly common in fiction for gifted characters to be able to replicate complex techniques after having witnessing them being performed only once.

For example in Dragon Ball, I believe Goku was able to learn his signature move Kamehameha after having witness it being done only once.

But the key aspect is that they actually have to see it being done. Just knowing what it does is not enough. And obviously replicating something being done right in front of you, is a very different affair from coming up with something new yourself.

1504358
Vegetarian is an old Indian word for "bad hunter"
You're right, it's impossible for a person to survive without the nutrients of meat.
In the show, they are shown eating a lot of flowers and grasses that aren't digestible by a human. That really cuts out a good 70% of the ability, and then the remaining ~30% isn't enough to supply a human enough nutrition. Just reassuring what you said to be right.

But, at the same time, the ponies obviously know about gryphons, and they are certainly carnivorous, so they shouldn't be foreign to the concept of meat eating

1507939
I just had another thought after rereading your post. Wikipedia really isn't a very reliable source (even for an internet argument) because the articles we quoted from appear to conflict. On closer inspection, the goat meat article measures 'widely consumed' by percentage of world population eating it. At the same time, the beef article appears to measure 'widely consumed' by percentage of production (I'm assuming by weight here, because it's the only thing I can think of that makes sense in that context).

That then raises the question of where goat meat falls in the percentage of production by weight. On that same token, one can't assume that goat is the only meat consumed by that 70% of the world population. Also, does fish and seafood count as meat? Where does that fall?

I shudder to think that some of my peers in college try to use Wikipedia as a source in serious research papers (We're told not to, but I know they do it anyway)

1511652
No, I don't think there are any problems with the articles.

As you say they define "widely consumed" differently, but to the best of my knowledge of the English language (granted I'm not a native speaker) both ways are accurate.

Goat is the most widely consumed meat in the world because it's eaten by a larger number of people and pork is also the most widely consumed meat in the world because it is eaten in larger quantities.

That then raises the question of where goat meat falls in the percentage of production by weight. On that same token, one can't assume that goat is the only meat consumed by that 70% of the world population. Also, does fish and seafood count as meat? Where does that fall?

Fish and seafood don't count. As of 2007 less than 2% of the worldwide meat production is goat - http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/themes/en/meat/backgr_sources.html

Granted, you probably don't want to use wiki to do research papers, but all in all, contrary to popular belief, you would be pretty hard press to find wrong information on it.

My two cents:

The biggest nutrients which typically get missed in a vegan (not vegetarian) diet are: Vitamin B12, Calcium, Iron, and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Assuming that food in Equestria has the same makeup as food on Earth*, B12 and Calcium aren't problems at all--both can be gotten in milk or cheese. Twilight milked the cows in Boast Busters; milk won't be a problem. I can't remember if we've seen cheese in the show, but it's hard to imagine that the ponies have been keeping cattle and haven't figured it out.

Iron. Many cereals and flours IRL are fortified with iron. Assuming that the ponies don't do that, it's still not a problem. They have steel, which means they have iron ore. They also have grinding wheels; we saw the buffalo using one (not to mention, swords, screw drivers, spear tips, and the like implies that they exist). Grind up some iron ore, eat it, and presto. No iron deficiency. And if you think that's a silly way to get elemental iron, grind up some of your Cheerios and run a magnet over the powder. Those fine black flakes that stick to the magnet? Yeah. Iron.

Omega-3 fatty acids. You need (ideally) EPA and DHA. Granted, not having them doesn't pose any short term risks, but studies show that Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of certain health problems, and have some anti-inflamitory properties. EPA isn't a problem even in a vegan diet; your body can make it from ALA, which is found in flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, and walnuts, among other things. Since there's a pony named Flax in the comic, they probably have flax (which is also used to make fabric, rope, and paper). You're not going to get your DHA from those sources, though. Your best bet, in a vegetarian diet, would be algae oil, which might be unattainable in Equestria. Otherwise, you're just going to have to take the risk of getting atherosclerosis.

This is assuming, of course, that you don't just ask Magnum if you can borrow his fishing pole for a while and catch yourself a couple of fish. Or have Fluttershy get them for you.

(You may be able to get some of these nutrients from insects, too; however, I have done no research on that topic, so I'd hate to speculate.)

Iodine's another nutrient that's easily available in the industrialized world (iodized salt); however, it is also present in milk, eggs, and baked potatoes (with skin).

*if their food isn't made up of digestible things, it's not going to be vitamin or mineral deficiencies that will do our human in; it's going to be straight-up starvation.

Incidentally, our bodies aren't too good at digesting cellulose, so aside from being a great source of fiber, eating hay, straw, grass, leaves off trees, or a host of other typical herbivore foods won't do us much good.

1511525

You're right, it's impossible for a person to survive without the nutrients of meat.

I went vegetarian in '96 and never bothered with supplements of any type. Since I'm presumably dead now, I can only assume that they have computers in the afterlife. That's a relief; one of my major concerns with being dead was the lack of internet access.

1510543
And you believe evidence from a show that may or may not be accurate?
Please read this again: "What I am trying to say is that as long as we actually have not been in Equestria, these arguments are moot, pointless, we could speculate all we want, sure it makes good entertament, but besides that? This is useless."
We do not have any solid proof.

1510623
Hmmm, well, good luck with your garden!

1513831

Grind up some iron ore, eat it, and presto. No iron deficiency. And if you think that's a silly way to get elemental iron, grind up some of your Cheerios and run a magnet over the powder. Those fine black flakes that stick to the magnet? Yeah. Iron.

Oh yeah, I am so going to do that ;D
If my country would have Cheerios...

1513881
Nah, you are right now a computer program who thinks he is a real person ;3

1515868
Thanks! It's tasty.
(Lives on a farm)

1516596
Lol, alright, good luck with the farm too!

1517346
Thanks!

Figs...

1513881
...you cannot be 100% healthy... I'm not saying you are malnourished... but you can't be 100% healthy...

1520969
Of course he can. If you know what you're doing and have easy access to the wide variety of foods you need to make such a diet work (not unthinkable if you live in an industrialized country), you can be healthy on a strict vegetarian/vegan diet. The thing is, many people jump into it without doing their homework (for various reasons I won't go into here) and wind up with health problems for their trouble.

Edit: Personally, I could never survive without meat simply because I find many of the foods I would have to substitute to be unpalatable.

1521074

Granted, I understand. Thanks

1520969

In modern, industrialized countries, vegetarians and vegans actually live slightly longer than omnivores--although not because of anything specific about their diet, just because they tend to not engage in other risky health behavior (like smoking, for example).

My point was, though, it's a myth that you can't get all the nutrition you need from non-meat sources, because you can. Assuming that the Equestrians have similar plant life to Earth, you'd be physically fine on a vegetarian diet.

Realistically, I'd think that other factors would probably be as significant. A human in Equestria would likely get more exercise than the average human--they don't have cars, after all. There's probably significantly less air pollution in Equestria. Admittedly, as the OP suggested, if one ate only party treats, it wouldn't be a very healthy diet, and even on earth, a vegan can overindulge in sweets, let's say (a diet comprised exclusively of Mountain Dew and Oreos is vegan, although certainly not healthy).

But hey--don't take my word for it. I'm just some guy on the internet. Ask friends who are vegetarian or vegan, see what they have to say about the subject.

1511652

I shudder to think that some of my peers in college try to use Wikipedia as a source in serious research papers (We're told not to, but I know they do it anyway

I use it a lot for writing, when I need a quick overview of a topic, or a fast answer to something (what's the thing around Celestia's neck properly called? Was the 68 Chevy C/10 offered with an automatic transmission?).

For real research, though, the best thing about Wikipedia is the sources at the bottom--assuming they're not totally made-up (certainly a possibility)--now one has a convenient list of sources to pursue that will cover the topic at hand. It's very frustrating when one checks out two books about forensic analysis in the Kent County, MI morgue, and they never once mention whether the Grand Rapids crime lab does non-human DNA analysis in house or if they send it to MSU.

1515860
Dude, that's like saying that all quantum physics is wrong, because humans can't physically see the particles they are talking about. This theory is based on how a human would realistically react in a hypothetical situation, in the first place. It doesn't matter if I can't prove this theory beyond a reasonable doubt, because it will never become prudent.

Why are you getting so worked up about this? It really holds no real weight in the slightest.

1521438
Just so you know, I wasn't trying to suggest that humans in Equestria would never be able to be healthy without meat, just that supporting a vegan/vegetarian diet in Equestria would be both harder, and much more expensive.

I'm suggesting this because:

1) Living in a non-industrialized society would limit a human's access to the proper foods.
2) Living in a non-industrialized society would limit a human's access to the proper supplements.
3) Living in a non-industrialized society would limit a human's access to the proper medical care.

Equestria doesn't have access to the advanced science, technology, and medicine that we take for granted in first world countries. It would really be much easier to just simply eat meat.

P.S.
Vegans/vegetarians don't live longer than omnivores, just because meat is bad for you. The reason, is because most omnivores either don't care, or just don't know that the amount of meat most people consume is unhealthy. If everyone actually cared about their nutrition, and ate the proper amounts of nutritional food, and actually exercised, omnivores would live just as long as vegetarians.

1521651

Just so you know, I wasn't trying to suggest that humans in Equestria would never be able to be healthy without meat, just that supporting a vegan/vegetarian diet in Equestria would be both harder, and much more expensive.

Agreed; I was responding to some of the other posters, who seemed to believe that "it's impossible for a person to survive without the nutrients of meat" Yes, there are some nutrients which are more challenging to get without eating meat, and, depending on the number of calories expended, even getting enough calories at all could be a challenge.

1) Living in a non-industrialized society would limit a human's access to the proper foods.

Maybe. One of the big 'don't knows' about pony society is their ability to store food long-term. They have the concept--AJ has an apple cellar--but we don't know how sophisticated their food-storage system is, and while they might not have any trouble surviving the winter on silage, it could be more of a challenge for the human. On the other hand, human bodies are surprisingly tolerant to varying availability of nutrients, so that might not be an immediate problem. For example, it takes a while to get scurvy.

2) Living in a non-industrialized society would limit a human's access to the proper supplements.

Again, depending on what kind of food crops the ponies have, this might not be a problem. A good, well-balanced vegetarian diet requires no supplements whatsoever.

3) Living in a non-industrialized society would limit a human's access to the proper medical care.
Equestria doesn't have access to the advanced science, technology, and medicine that we take for granted in first world countries. It would really be much easier to just simply eat meat.

They also presumably don't have too many meat inspectors, which is something that we take for granted here in the US anyway. Sure, cooking the meat properly will probably kill most harmful bacteria, but what about when the human's butchering it? If we assume that the average HiE doesn't know how to survive on a vegetarian diet, is he going to know how to safely butcher a cow? Do the ponies have access to good antibiotics?

As to the medical care--Fluttershy and Dr. Goodall seem to do well enough for the animals, and they do have a hospital, and Rainbow healed quickly from a broken wing, so I think speculation on that could go either way, realistically. Maybe magic doesn't cure humans like it does pegasi, or maybe they've got potions and spells that can fix practically anything. If the physiology of the human is too far different from the ponies, he's dead anyway, since he won't be able to digest any of their food.

Vegans/vegetarians don't live longer than omnivores, just because meat is bad for you.

Agreed--I said that it was because they generally made better lifestyle choices; again, this was in response to the 'ermegerd if you don't eat bacon you'll die' type of comment. To be fair, in the US anyway, most large-scale food poisoning has involved plants, not meat (probably largely because people don't take proper precautions--like washing their fresh spinach before eating it).

Personally, I think that a good story can be written either way. A vitamin or mineral deficiency can be a good plot point (it worked for Piers Anthony in the Mode series), and it's certainly believable. It could be something that's needed by humans (vitamin C comes to mind). The ponies winter food supplies could largely be something that the human can't eat, so he has to suffer on a diet of apples, bread, and eggs until the next harvest (they do have jam, so I suppose he'd have something to put on the bread). It could also largely be glossed over. The human could be knowledgeable about what he needs in his diet, or he could have no idea. One of my stories ends with the human dying of a presumed deficiency of some sort, although neither he nor the ponies know what.

But this could be a topic largely ignored, as well. Just like bacteria, viruses, and the like are often ignored (what would happen if a human got cutie pox?). I'd like to read a story where it's well-handled, but, like you say, the "I went to Equestria and started eating hay and now I'm in the best shape of my life" is probably a little bit overused. If nothing else, converting to a pony diet would probably cause some . . . regularity issues for a while. And they don't have Activia in Equestria.

1522065
All good points, my good man.

1522090

1521522
And how do you know if quantum physics isn't wrong? Also, I think you misunderstood what I meant under solid proof.
Exactly, this situations is hypothetical, but you seem to say that never like some rock solid evidence...
Also, bold text does not mean I'm getting worked up.

It really holds no real weight in the slightest.

Oh, but it does.. it does.

1524391
If your end goal was to grind down my patience, congratulations.

Arguing with you is like arguing with a creationist. You just refuse to see the evidence right in front of your face. I can't help you see the proof, because you refuse to acknowledge it's existence.

I give up.