Why Vegans Shouldn’t Wash Their Vegetables

DISCLAIMER: The advice is the title should only be used in conjunction with the precautions in the article! Eating vegetables without washing is potentially dangerous! The article does not discuss appropriate dosage of B12. Readers have to use their own judgement to determine whether following the advice in the article guarantees sufficient intake of B12.

There is one important thing missing in a vegan diet, Vitamin B12. Most vegans are very well aware of this and either eat foods that are enriched with vitamin B12 or simply take a vitamin B12 supplement.

Now some vegetables, for example seaweed, are said to contain B12. Unfortunately that has turned out not to be true. If B12 is found in vegan foods then it is added artificially. So taking supplements is very important.

Taking supplements has its drawbacks. It makes it seem as if a vegan diet is not healthy and might prevent people from adopting one. However there is one simple and natural way to get plenty of vitamin B12 without taking supplements or eating enriched foods.

First I need to explain to you how vegetarians and meat-eaters get vitamin B12. They get their B12 from animal sources. Animal products contain concentrations of B12 so eating enough animal products ensures you get enough B12.

But how did the B12 get into the animals you might wonder? Simple, animals ingest B12 when they eat vegetables.

I guess that you’re pretty confused now. After all vegans do nothing but eat vegetables. So how is it animals do get B12 from vegetables, but vegans don’t?

The answer is simply that animals don’t wash their vegetables. B12 is produced by bacteria that live in soil. Soil is on the leaves of vegetables animals eat and so enters their digestive tract.

It was in this way that humans first developed a need for B12. Man originally didn’t wash vegetables so for many years there was plenty of B12 to go around.

But over the years washing vegetables became more common. And so eating meat or other animal products became a necessity. In fact eating meat might have become an evolutionary success factor simply because we started washing vegetables.

So is it possible to turn back the clock? Is it safe to eat unwashed vegetables? Sadly no. Washing vegetables has become a necessity because of the increased use of pesticides. Before you can safely eat vegetables the pesticides need to be removed thus making washing necessary.

An additional danger is contamination of produce with bacteria such as e-coli from contaminated water, manure or through improper handling. This of course is a bit frustrating for vegans since e-coli is a by-product of animal-husbandry.

Organic farming reduces these risks, but if you do want to start eating unwashed vegetables you should try and get some information about the source. Do they really not use pesticides? Is the fertilizer they use vegan or does it come from animal by-products? Is there any chance of e-coli contamination from other farms in the area? Where does the water come from? How are the vegetables transported? The best option might be to visit the farm in person and check it out.

Or you can keep things in your own hand and grow your own vegetable garden. In your own garden you can guarantee the soil contains no toxic elements.

If you don’t have the option to buy safe organic food or grow it yourself or if you simply can’t afford these options, then continue to wash your vegetables and take a supplement instead. That works too.