When people find out that I am Vegan, the most common question is Where do you get your protein? As a Natural Bodybuilding Masters Champion and having been Vegan for 35 years, this question always seems strange to me.
My response is I get my protein from the same place every animal does plants. And then comes that odd look on their face, so I explain, All protein is made from Essential Amino Acids (EAA’s) and all of the EAA’s humans consume are made by plants, because only plants can make them. Animals cannot make EAA’s, which is why they are called essential, as all humans and other animals must get them from food.
Here is how EAA’s are made via nitrogen, carbon dioxide and H20 (hydrogen) using photosynthesis:


This is also how Essential Fats, Carbohydrates and Fiber are made. All polyphenols, phytonutrients, most antioxidants, and almost all vitamins and minerals are made bioavailable by plants. D3 is not a vitamin, it is actually a hormone generated from sun exposure and B-12 is made by bacteria, not animals.

Plants are producers of nutrition and animals/humans are consumers of nutrition. So why feed all of these plant-made micro and macro nutrients to animals, creating all the waste, ecological impact, pollution and land use instead of just getting them directly from the plants?

In business we know that buying from the source can be much more profitable than buying from a middle man.

As you can see in this image, if I told you give me $41 Million and I will give you $7 million in return, this would not be in alignment with the ideals of the Law of Exchange, but that is exactly what we are doing every time we cycle plant nutrition through an animal. 

The Law of Exceeding Value has shown me that along with the protein I get from plants, I also save money, save the environment, save my health and save animals from suffering and dying needlessly. That is one of the most value I have ever received in a single choice.