I’ve become slightly obsessed with vitamin B12. Many people (especially older folk) are likely to be deficient, with a particular (but not exclusive) risk for those with vegetarian or vegan diets. So I’ve done a little research into good, cheap and accessible sources.
You really want to avoid B12 deficiency. It can cause serious physical and psychological symptoms. It takes a long time to manifest, so by the time you know about it, it can be difficult to treat. Some effects can be irreversible. Everyone should take it seriously.
The source that comes out on top in my brief survey is purple laver (Porphyra spp). This pack costs £1.99 at the local Chinese supermarket. It’s much cheaper than obtaining the same quantity of B12 through eating meat. It has other nutritional benefits too. Image
Even if you had no other source of B12, this pack of purple laver would provide around two weeks’ supply. It re-hydrates in cold water in roughly 3 minutes. It has a slight, very mild seafoody taste.
mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/5/…
It's especially good in miso soup, but you can add it to almost any soup, stew, smoothie etc. Or you can eat it straight out of the packet.
There are plenty of other good and fairly cheap non-animal sources, such as some yeast extracts (check the ingredients, as not all of them contain it) and yeast flakes. Several brands of oat and soymilk are fortified with it.
viva.org.uk/health/be-sure…
It is false to suggest, as some people have, that you need an animal-based diet to be sufficient. Regardless of your diet, you should eat carefully. But we should resist attempts by the livestock industry and its lobbyists to promote their agenda with unfounded claims.
As it happens, the great majority of B12 supplements appear to be fed not to humans, but to livestock. baltimorepostexaminer.com/carnivores-nee…

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More from @GeorgeMonbiot

1 Jul
This is what @bbcbitesize is teaching our children about climate breakdown. I'm sorry, but it's an absolute disgrace. You could come away thinking: "on balance, it sounds pretty good". It could have been written by Exxon.
(h/t: @NickShepley)
bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guide…
The BBC has a long and disgraceful history of both-sidesing the greatest threat to life on Earth. Every so often, it puts out a memo claiming it has got its act together. Then it fails again. People who make this content believe "neutrality" = impartiality. It's the opposite.
Here is one of the "positive" aspects of the collapse of our life support systems it lists: "more resources, such as oil, becoming available in places such as Alaska and Siberia when the ice melts".
Are they actually trying to misdirect and bamboozle GCSE students?
Read 4 tweets
30 Jun
Not all of you will remember 1984, and the horrendous famine that killed a million Ethiopians. Those who do would prefer to forget it. But it's happening again, for the same criminal reasons, and once more the world is turning a blind eye.
My column.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
This famine has nothing to do with natural causes. It's striking Tigray, that was a world-renowned success story. Prosperity had been rebuilt through massive works to restore the land, protect ecosystems and raise crop production. The famine is gigantic and deliberate war crime.
The crime is being perpetrated by the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies, who are using hunger as a weapon of war. They were sent into Tigray by the Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed.
Guess what? He has a Nobel Peace Prize.
If there's any justice, he should end up in the Hague.
Read 11 tweets
28 Jun
In Private Eye, @drphilhammond makes an excellent point. Scientists tend to avoid politics "because they hate the bluff, bluster, lies and deceit. Science is about sensible guessing ... making errors, owning errors and learning from them ... the antithesis of politics.”
It's not just that many politicians are amazingly ignorant of science. It's also that the scientific, empirical worldview is often entirely alien. So when they have to respond to scientific findings - whether on covid or climate - they repeatedly screw up.
We are rightly exercised by the lack of diversity in public life. But one aspect we discuss too little is the diversity of academic disciplines. Politics and the media are overwhelmingly dominated by humanities students. Humanities are essential, but we need a wider mix.
Read 8 tweets
24 Jun
Oh. Any explanation, @Twitter?
After doing a Twitter poll last year, in which a great majority said I should overcome my hesitation about verification and apply, I did so when the facility reopened. There's no explanation given, which reinforces my concerns about the process.
.@verified Could you please explain why you have refused my request for verification? Thank you.
Read 5 tweets
23 Jun
The government is showering rich people's holiday homes with subsidies and tax breaks, fuelling homelessness and community death.
It's a total outrage.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Some of the facts and figures will make you rage and gnash your teeth. Massive subsidies for wealthy people, at the direct expense of the poor.
So why isn't this all over the papers?
Could it have something to do with the fact that a high proportion of editors and senior journalists have second homes?
Read 12 tweets
19 May
The Home Office treats travellers who do us no harm with extreme cruelty and viciousness, yet leaves the door wide open to Covid-19.
My column asks WTAF is going on at our borders.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
"A week into lockdown, there were 895 people in detention and none in quarantine."
I just can't get over how perverse and self-destructive this country is becoming.
Reading some comments below the line, I'm reminded that it's often the most sheltered people who say the cruellest things. People who can't imagine what refugees might be fleeing from. A failure of moral imagination often seems to be associated with comfort and security.
Read 5 tweets

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