I don't think so. Not much of it at least.
The current zeitgeist is that fruits and veggies are not only necessary, they are the most important form of food we can eat. But are they really? Do we need plant matter or just the micronutrients that plant matter offers?
Lately I've scaled back on my intake of plant matter considerably. A typical daily diet for me is the following:
Breakfast
2 tins of wild caught mackerel in olive oil or the same volume amount of pickled herring or eggs or...
Tablespoon of coconut butter
Handful of blueberries from my blueberry bushes (which will end soon as the season is almost over)
Cup of coffee with unhomogenized heavy cream (sometimes raw cream when I can get it)
Lunch (if I have it. If I eat a bit more protein in the morning, I often am not hungry for lunch)
Fatty sashimi or rare fatty roast beef 1/2 to 1 pound of either
Tablespoon of coconut butter
Dinner
Steak, fish, lamb, organ meat - whatever my wife buys - eaten till I'm full
Maybe a bit of salad or a peach or a slice of onion (usually not)
Glass of red wine or two (or three, ahem)
This is how I feed my kids too (sans the wine).
I have been eating like this for a few months now - ever since I saw Dr. Barry Groves presentation. I feel perfectly fine. Better in fact. One thing I have noticed is that I don't need to go to the bathroom as often and when I do, a lot less comes out and it's a lot less smelly. I now have no gas, bloating or other intestinal quirks. (Was that too much information?)
The fact is that meat and other protein rich foods are the most nutrient dense foods available. I wrote about this last month. If in addition to these you eat a smattering of nuts, seeds, seasonal fruits and veggies you're not missing out on anything you need in the micronutrient department (this assumes you are healthy and do not have any genetic issues whereby you need more of something due to malabsorption or other issues). But you can take supplements if this is the case.
I know many people like plant matter. Fine by me. But plant matter is hard to digest - we don't have the enzymes to digest cellulose which is mostly what plant matter is - and thus it's rough on the intestines. They call it roughage for a reason!
What we need is nutrients - not plants. Thoughts?