Take your freaking B12

I hope that most vegans, quasi-vegans, and vegetarians know that you must get a reliable source of B12. There’s B12 analogs in some algae and other plant sources, but it’s not the real deal. You are harming more animals (farm animals) by getting sick from a B12 deficiency. A sick vegan harms animals by not representing the vegan diet in good health. Better to not be a vegan. Really. It's that annoying to me! It's a bacteria, you can probably get it from your own poop, but seriously it's much better to get a supplement. Put it under the tongue and let it dissolve.

This is an excerpt/quote from VeganHealth.org):

Halstead et al. (8) reported that some Iranian villagers with very little animal product intake (dairy once a week, meat once a month) had normal B12 levels. None had megaloblastic anemia. Their average B12 level was 411 pg/ml which was quite high considering their diet. The authors speculated this could be because their diets, which were very low in protein, allowed for B12-producing bacteria to ascend into the ileum where the B12 could be absorbed. They also speculated that because they lived among their farm animals and their living areas were littered with feces, they picked up enough B12 through contamination.

Halstead et al.'s 1960 report was in contrast to Wokes et al.'s 1955 report (9) in which numerous British vegans were found to have neurological symptoms of B12 deficiency.

Conclusion

It is possible that some vegans can ward of overt vitamin B12 deficiency, and even mild B12 deficiency, through B12 production by bacteria in the small intestine. However, this is an usual condition, especially in Western countries, and should not be relied upon, including by raw foodists.

Links:

http://www.ajcn.org/content/8/3/374.abstract & http://veganhealth.org/b12/hcy#alzhttp://www.veganhealth.org/b12/int#iran