The segment, which referenced data from documentary What the Health, saw Dr. Robert Lustig, a neuroendocrinologist who advocates for low-carb diets, go head-to-head with Dr. Garth Davis, a bariatric surgeon and physician.

They discuss whether plant-based diets are healthier than animal products, whether meat is really killing us, and if industry-funded studies are just muddying the waters of medical research.

With this exclusive re-upload, watch see these doctors thrash out their arguments.

The post WATCH: Could This Be The Best Nutrition Debate Of All Time? appeared first on Plant Based News.

The Australian activist is well known for his appearances on Good Morning Britain, where he has challenged Piers Morgan’s infamous anti-vegan views.

This time he’s taken on a farmer, who takes exception to Joey’s views on the farming industry.

Watch the debate in full below:

The post Vegan Activist Joey Carbstrong VS Farmer: Live TV Debate Gets Heated appeared first on Plant Based News.

This week’s vegan-bashing article award goes to the Independent who has published an astonishing piece claiming that tofu ‘could’ be worse for the environment than meat – according to farmers!

Their arguments are getting increasingly ridiculous as the number of people ditching meat continues to rise.

The story came from a talk given by Dr. Graham McAuliffe of the Rothamsted Institute, who spoke at the National Farmers Union this week explaining that his unpublished research on tofu suggests that it could have a more drastic impact on the planet than beef, pork, and chicken.

His findings, he said, should be interpreted with caution given they were currently just a proof of concept. So, basically meaningless then.

Plant foods have a lower impact

“Without a doubt, peas and groundnuts always have a lower environmental impact than any livestock products,” said McAuliffe, “But if you look at tofu, which is processed so there is more energy going into its production, when you correct for the fact that the protein in it is not as digestible compared to the meat-based products, you can see that it could actually have a higher global warming potential than any of the monogastric animals.”

Monogastric animals only have one stomach (the clue is in the name) like us, horses, rabbits, rats, dogs, and pigs. Cows are ruminants, they have complex, four-chambered stomachs. So why is beef included in the list of meats that tofu may be worse than? Olivia Petter, who wrote this article, should have looked up ‘monogastric’.

Whilst she was at it, she should have read Joseph Poore’s study, which she quoted in her article, saying that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint (from food) by up to 73 percent. Poore’s study, which attracted much praise from fellow scientists, shows how catastrophic the environmental impact of meat and dairy foods are compared to plant foods – including tofu – see Poore’s graph here or the BBC’s simple diagram here.

Own goal!

Calling tofu a ‘processed food’ and implying it takes a lot of energy to produce is a bit of a stretch – it’s hardly as if to get a burger a cow just hops in between your buns!

Tofu is a traditional food made by coagulating soya milk and pressing the curds into a block – a very similar process is used to make cheese in fact; so does the NFU say cheese is a processed food to be avoided for the sake of the environment? That’s what you call an own goal.

Tofu is a low-fat great source of protein and should not be considered an ultra-processed food. If you look at the ingredients of Cauldron Foods tofu for example – who’ve been making tofu in the UK for 40 years – it contains water, soya beans and calcium sulfate (a coagulant which improves the calcium content of tofu).

This is not a highly processed food in the same league as bacon, sausages or hot dogs, and it is also not linked – as they all are – to environmental damage and cancer.

Eat more tofu

Targeting tofu as an environmental villain is ludicrous given that so much of the devastating deforestation in the Amazon is being done to grow soya for animal feed so that people can eat meat.

Much of the soyfoods consumed in the UK are made with organic beans sourced from Europe and the US. If you care about the environment, you should ditch meat and eat more tofu!

To find out more about how going vegan can benefit the environment see Viva!’s Envirocidal report.

See here for the recipe for Cheatin’ Tofu Katsu Curry, shown above.

This article was originally published by Viva!

The post Claims Tofu ‘Could’ Be Worse For Environment Than Meat Branded ‘Meaningless’ appeared first on Plant Based News.

Is this the greatest nutrition debate of all time?

This video, which was originally uploaded on Plant Based News‘ YouTube channel towards the end of 2017, garnered a massive 500,000 views in under four months.

The video removed after a few months, for reasons that are not entirely clear.

What is clear, is that the topics discussed in the video created a huge controversy.

Now, with this exclusive re-upload, you can finally see these medical figures thrash out their arguments. What is the best diet? And is meat really killing you?

The post WATCH: Is This The Best Plant-Based Nutrition Debate Of All Time? appeared first on Plant Based News.

Veganuary adverts have been removed from buses in Shrewsbury and Telford – sparking outrage amongst vegans. 

The ads, which encouraged the public to ‘try vegan this January’ were placed on 20 Arriva buses in the Shropshire area – funded by the Shropshire Veggies and Vegans group.

Back in January this year, a senior councilor in the area dubbed Veganuary ads as a way of promoting ‘fake news of vegangalists’. 

However, Arriva denied recent claims that the new ads were removed because of the content – adding that the group would be fully reimbursed for the cost of the ad. 

‘Not offensive’

Local resident Helana Ride said to Plant Based News: “The adverts wording is not offensive, the images are not gruesome, but it would appear that the truth hurts and that Arriva has bowed down to complaints and removed the Veganuary campaign from their buses. 

“We live in rural Shropshire where support for farming and hunting is high. It’s exactly the sort of area that needs exposure to a different point of view.”

‘Impartial’

According to the Shropshire Star, a spokesperson for Arriva said:”Advertising on our buses is managed by a third-party company where an approval process is in place. 

“A recent customer complaint brought it to our attention that our agreed sign-off process with this third-party had not been followed on this occasion. We can confirm that the adverts have subsequently been removed. 

“Arriva is and continues to be impartial and the decision to remove these adverts does not relate to the content, but was taken as the agreed procedure was not adhered to.”

The post Veganuary Adverts Removed From Buses Sparks Outrage appeared first on Plant Based News.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) has u-turned on its decision to ban beef from its on-campus outlets following backlash from students. 

UEA enacted the ban last month, saying students are becoming more concerned by the climate crisis and are looking at how to curb food-related emissions. 

Farmers from the NFU also slammed the University’s decision, saying it was ‘disappointed’ in the verdict and had contacted UEA to discuss the ban.

‘Undemocratic’

However, the ban was branded ‘undemocratic’ by Jess Barret, a journalist for the University’s student newspaper, for insufficient consultation ‘to the wider student body’, the Caterer reports.

Student Union Councillors held a second vote on December 5 where 52 percent voted to reverse the ban, 36 percent voted for it to remain, and 12 percent abstained. 

‘Environmental impact’ 

Sophie Atherton, Campaigns and Democracy Officer at UEA said: “Research demonstrates that beef production is a critical contributor to climate change; beef requires 28 times more land to produce than pork or chicken.”

While opposition Jack Annand, Union Representative for the Cocktail Society at UEA said: “Trying to bridge the price gap between meat and non-meat alternatives is a better way to combat the environmental impact of beef.”

The post UK University U-Turns On Beef Ban Following Backlash appeared first on Plant Based News.

Producer of The Game Changers* James Wilks says he is ‘considering doing more’ plant-based documentaries. 

Featuring on Joe Rogan’s podcast to refute the film’s criticism from Paleo advocate Chris Kresser, Wilks says he ‘would have made a ten-hour film’ if it was possible. 

‘Amazing scenes’

“A couple of arguments that have been made: ‘half of the athletes you found you didn’t put in the film because they stopped being vegan’,” Wilks explains.

“[That’s] completely not true, there were also a bunch of experts we didn’t put in the film who we could’ve put in and we didn’t because there wasn’t room. 

“In filmmaking, it’s called ‘killing your babies’ – there were amazing scenes that would have been really convincing that we couldn’t put in. 

“The evidence in the film is far less than one percent of the evidence that I [collected].”

When Rogan asks Wilks why he doesn’t turn The Game Changers into a Netflix series – Wilks reveals that he is ‘considering doing more’. 

You can watch the full podcast, which has attracted more than one million views, here.

*James Wilks co-produced The Game Changers with Joseph Pace, who was also a writer on the film.

The post The Game Changers Producer ‘Considering Doing More’ Plant-Based Documentaries appeared first on Plant Based News.

A new Christmas advert from the BBC has been branded as an ‘agenda against livestock farming’ by the National Farmers Union (NFU). 

The animated advertisement features a turkey wearing a jumper that reads ‘I Love Vegans’ – while pointing to a map of the UK with photos of meat-free dishes. The ad also shows turkeys cheering as it’s announced: ‘less of us have been gobbled this year’. 

‘Deeply concerned’

According to the Telegraph, Stuart Roberts, Vice President of the union said: “We are deeply concerned that the BBC appears to have started campaigning for a vegan diet in advertising for its Christmas programming, none of which appears to cover veganism in its schedule. 

“It doesn’t appear to sit within the BBC’s editorial guidelines, which clearly states that they shouldn’t be a campaigning organization, and this advert takes our concerns about the BBC’s impartiality in its coverage of meat issues a step further.”

‘Comedic and playful’

The BBC denied that the advert is ‘anti-meat’ or an ‘encouragement’ of veganism.

 “The cartoon turkeys in ‘Go Vegan!’ t-shirts are intended to be comedic and playful in keeping with the slightly surreal, exuberant spirit of the film, rather than any kind of endorsement or encouragement of a vegan lifestyle,” a spokesperson for the BBC said. 

The post BBC Christmas Advert Branded An ‘Agenda Against Livestock Farming’ appeared first on Plant Based News.

Ex-vegan YouTube star Alyse Parker, formerly known as Raw Alignment, has been slammed online for promoting an ‘extreme’ carnivore diet. 

Parker, who announced she was no longer vegan back in March this year, posted a video sponsored by ButcherBox titled I Tried The CARNIVORE DIET For 30 Days [ex-vegan]. 

‘Sell out’

In the video, the vlogger states that ‘most advocates for the carnivore diet say meat contains all of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to not only survive, but to thrive’.

As a result, Parker has received a significant amount of backlash – with her video attracting 4,300 dislikes – and has been branded a ‘sell out’. 

‘Dishonest’ 

“I think what everyone in the comments is trying to get at is not that you’re wrong for having changing opinions, views, interests, etc,” one user commented.

“It’s the fact that you seem dishonest because you had nothing but praise for other diets until you came out as deciding to not be vegan. And now you’re completely against veganism…to an extreme. It’s confusing and makes your audience unable to connect with you.”

Another user said: “At this point we are all just watching in awe of the contradictions you make [in] every single video,” to which Parker replied: “Just simply trying new things and keeping an open mind.”

The post Ex-Vegan YouTube Star Slammed For Promoting ‘Extreme’ Carnivore Diet appeared first on Plant Based News.

Outraged farmers have urged the public to ‘not pay attention’ to BBC Documentary Meat: A Threat To Our Planet.

Presented by Liz Bonnin, the documentary aims to ‘investigate the impactful that our hunger for meat is having on our planet’s environment’. 

Please do not pay attention

“Avoided angry tweeting whilst watching BBC #MeatAThreatToOurPlanet,” Agriculture and Forestry Policy Adviser Eleanor Kay wrote on Twitter.

“But it’s great to see UK farming Twitter defend itself from misleading comparisons. UK standards of production are justifiably high, so source sustainably and buy British!”

London butchers Buckinghams also Tweeted saying ‘please do not pay attention to the BBC program tonight’ and used the hashtag ‘meat with integrity’ to describe its livestock.

Just watched #MeatAThreatToOurPlanet & I just ended up crying throughout. Not only is the meat & dairy industry having such a negative impact on our world but we keep forgetting the innocent animals being exploited and killed. The solution is simple: Go Vegan!

— lucy (@iamlucymay) November 25, 2019

‘Does that sound sustainable?’

Many vegans defended the documentary, with one user commenting: “So many moaning that these farming practices don’t happen in the UK. The program is called Meat: A Threat to our Planet. Last time I checked the UK wasn’t the only country in the world. A shocker for some I know #MeatAThreatToOurPlanet.”

Another said: “All the people telling themselves this is just vegan propaganda and that they can buy local their way out of this (or pretend to for Twitter), we kill three billion animals a day, use 83 percent of farmland to produce 18 percent of global calories. Does that sound sustainable?”

Meat: A Threat To Our Planet? Is available to watch on BBC iPlayer

The post Farmers Urge Public To Not Pay Attention To BBC Documentary ‘Meat: A Threat To Our Planet’ appeared first on Plant Based News.