We in the west have all to one degree or another been conditioned to crave the taste of cooked flesh. And as such, it is quite reasonable to not only desire meat, but also to experience psychosomatic symptoms like headaches or dizziness or depression or even “the shakes” after choosing to stop eating meat and replace it with cruelty-free alternatives. These symptoms in no way signify that our bodies “need” meat, of course – only that we are craving it – and yet they are very real symptoms nonetheless.

Then again, it is just as likely that your headaches are more than merely symptoms of intense craving. Indeed, meat & dairy products are both highly physiologically addictive substances for humans, and headaches can indeed ensue when we choose to eliminate such unhealthy “comfort-foods” from our lives. Of course, if that does prove to be the case with you, I would recommend simply taking an aspirin for your 15+ minutes of withdrawal-symptom pain … instead of ruining the entire life of another sentient being. Headaches are annoying, I will freely admit …

… but not nearly as annoying as a shot to the head from a bolt gun.

 

Current status of this Myth: Abated
Justification it provides for eating animals: NONE

Filed under: Minimizing the Myths of Meat by Scaughdt