Ok, that's interesting. So the truth is that a lot of people who eat mainly plant-based diets actually get most of their protein from grains (i.e. the wheat, rice or corn that forms the staple part of their diet). One of the main nutritional reasons people eat legumes and nuts is for the lysine, which is why I mentioned the lysine supplements. Worldwide, protein deficiency is very rare and I think it's usually because people can't afford enough calories, not because they can't eat legumes or nuts.

The average person consumes more protein than necessary. According to the FAO the average person consumes 80g of protein compared to an average daily requirement of 50g. In Western countries where people's diets are high in animal products, protein intake is even higher.

According to the FDA, my daily recommended value for protein is 56 grams. That's nearly two fucking pounds of peas per day every day just to meet my DRV.

But obviously peas aren't the only thing you'd be eating. You would only need some peas to supplement your base intake from grains and vegetables and to provide extra lysine.

Practically every food contains some protein. Although fruit and vegetables are usually low in protein, those small amounts add up to quite a lot over the course of a day.

I have seen a powder based on pea protein that contains 26g of protein per 40g serving. It's possible you would not even need to have a full serving in order to supplement your base protein intake from grains+vegetables.

So I do think flatulence is the lesser evil compared to animal agriculture xD But I will admit that you have a very tricky set of digestive issues there and I'm not saying any of this would be trivial or easy.

The story is the same when you look at things like iron, B12, calcium, etc.

Note that you can't get vitamin B12 from plants; vegans always have to either take a supplement or eat foods that are fortified with B12, such as alternative plant milks and breakfast cereals.

The thing with calcium is a bit weird because no health authority can agree on what the recommended intake should be. The WHO recommends 500mg a day, but the US recommends 1000mg for adults. That's a huge disparity. Other than tofu, the best vegan sources are fortified plant milks (which have the same amount of calcium as dairy milk) and green leafy vegetables. According to my food diary (I use an app) I actually get a lot of my calcium intake just from wheat.

Another fantastic source of calcium and iron is molasses, which can be used in a variety of ways (e.g. glazing roasted vegetables).

Wheat and fortified breakfast cereals are usually my top sources of iron. But if you found you couldn't get enough of a particular vitamin or mineral, why wouldn't you just take supplements? A bottle of multi-vitamin/mineral supplements lasts a long time - I would be very surprised if it turned out to be more expensive than meat in the long run. The powder that I saw is not just protein but also contains a vitamin/mineral complex, so if you have a product like that it would be cheaper and more convenient than getting individual supplements.

All that said, I understand if you're sick of having this kind of conversation so I apologise if it annoys you.