Thread by @TyRBeal

A thread to clarify this tweet, which was sometimes interpreted differently than I intended by both sides of the plant-animal divide.

https://twitter.com/tyrbeal/status/1426451849280905218

For human and planetary health, I do think there needs to be moderation of animal-source foods at the population level, but how much depends on the context and method of production.

In my view, moderation would leave room for a very, very small amount of exclusive carnivores for those who absolutely need to be so for their auto-immune condition. And hopefully a much larger share of vegans, many of whom are making huge contributions to planetary health.

But I think it’s also important to recognize that plant-sourced and animal-sourced foods are not inherently healthy or unhealthy. It depends on the type of processing, quantity, dietary context, and individual.

And the same is true for environmental impact. Animal-source foods generally have a higher impact based on current average production practices per unit mass, kg, or protein. But there is a large variation in how they can be produced. It’s possible to produce then sustainably.

And plant-source foods can also be produced unsustainably. So the focus on just making sure diets are mostly plants is not that helpful because (1) diets are already mostly plants and (2) many plant-source foods can be unhealthy and unsustainable.

@Veganella_ @layaloves @MimiRossiJ This thread’s for you. I really do appreciate vegans. I’ll try to make that clearer going forward. I have an upcoming commentary on how to achieve nutrient adequacy and planetary health with lots of nuance. Stay tuned.