Thread by @Telegraph

🌱The plant-based revolution is here to stay

But are the new vegan substitutes really the answer to our health and climate woes?

@XantheClay finds out the truth about vegan food👇
telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink…

There are compelling arguments for a vegan diet.

♻️The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change includes a policy recommendation to reduce meat consumption.

📉The NHS recommends cutting down on red meat, because of the connection with bowel cancer

telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink…

Are vegan options always a win-win?

🍔Some vegan substitutes are classified as 'ultra-processed foods.'

Andrea Rymer, a dietician at the Vegan Society says: “A lot of ultra processed foods are being produced which don’t hold a high nutritional value"

telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink…

🥛What about soy milk?

📈Soy production has surged over the past 70 years.

Intensive soy farming is responsible for the destruction of swathes of South American rainforest.

However, 80% of the world’s soy harvest is used for animal feed, so meat eaters bear a burden

🥛Gunter Kuhnle, a professor of nutritional sciences, says:

"If you’re reliant on milk for most of your calcium or protein and switch to a plant-based drink, you could run into problems. It contains isoflavins that can interfere with your hormone system"

🍽️The truth about Seitan

Pronounced “say-tan”, this wheat gluten has been used for centuries in Asia as a meat substitute

However, large-scale wheat farming is a monoculture, not providing biodiversity

telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink…

@XantheClay's verdict?

🥦 "Vegan food is here to stay, and we need to be asking more questions, whether it’s about the burger in our bun or the nut milk in our cappuccino"

telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink…

Read @XantheClay's food-by-food guide to vegan substitutes here 👇
telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink…