Actually B12 occurs in soil and even in some plants (algae, fungus) without animal manure, so please stop talking as an expert and confusing less knowledgeable people.

"Vitamin B12 is made by bacteria and fungi, but not by yeasts or higher plants. Friendly bacteria resides in large quantities in the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans. Since the manufacturing site of B12 in humans is not located where absorption occurs, humans cannot rely on its availability."

In a natural environment, vegans get B12 from natural sources - mostly the soil as I described. It is also a micro-vitamin which is not required daily or in large amounts - in fact people have gone 20 years or more without any ill effects. That said, I agree that a vegan living in the modern world should take a B12 supplement - most of us don't pull our carrots from the ground.

But to say that there are no natural vegan sources of B12 is nonsense. The issue has more to do with how food is processed after being grown and harvested.

I think you underestimate the social pressure you're encountering. Convenience is an issue, I realize. Like I said, it varies with the company you keep.

Actually, yes. That's what a conformist is.

I was not being condescending, just honestly evaluating the situation. "Conformist" is not an insult to me. We all conform sometimes, because it's easier. When it comes to diet, I am not much of a conformist - my health is not something I would trade for "convenience". How convenient is heart disease and cancer?

I can eat french fries 24/7 and its vegan. That doesn't make it healthy. I don't know what you were eating. Just because a diet is vegan doesn't alone make it healthy, and every body is different, as you observed.

I think if you find an optimum vegan diet for you, with fresh fruits and raw vegetables, you will notice health improvements. That's not to say the differences are always dramatic, especially in the short-term. Over the long term, the benefits are typically considerable.

Depends on what you mean by superior. If someone tried to tell me that eating vegetables was superior to drinking motor oil for optimum health, I wouldn't feel too offended, but that's me.

I realize that - the blurb was for the metabolic issues. If you think you need meat for energy, I would suggest a) don't give into the craving, and b) eat green leafy vegetables like raw chard and kale, because they are high in B vitamins. The meat craving you describe most vegans pass through quickly. It sounds like you never challenged it successfully, and thus your body never made the adjustments. And your diet was deficient in some area - perhaps lacking enzymes from eating mostly cooked foods. A little ginseng is good for energy too. Generally, a balanced vegan diet provides more energy effect than a meat diet. In research on the subject, meat-eaters are lethargic and quick to tire and vegans are energetic and recover quickly (these are generalizations, of course).