Claim Verification: "You must eat animal protein to meet daily protein needs effectively." — Disproved

Automated fact-verification of the claim: "You must eat animal protein to meet daily protein needs effectively."

Verdict: DISPROVED

Key Findings

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) — the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals — holds as its official position that "appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate" and appropriate "for athletes" (B1, fully verified).

A 2019 peer-reviewed systematic review in Nutrients (PMC6893534) found "there is no evidence of protein deficiency in vegetarian populations in western countries" (B2, fully verified).

Cleveland Clinic confirms that "mixing and matching those protein sources can get you all the amino acids your body needs" from plant foods alone (B3, fully verified).

3 of 3 independent authoritative sources confirm plant-based diets can fully meet daily protein needs, directly disproving the absolute "must" claim.

Files

proof.py — Re-runnable Python verification script

proof.md — Structured proof report

proof_audit.md — Full verification audit trail

proof_narrative.md — Plain-language summary

proof.json — Machine-readable structured data

Generated by Proof Engine v1.0.0.