pwithnall reviewed Great Plant-Based Con by Jayne Buxton
Raises interesting points, but draws selective conclusions from data and could be a quarter of the length
2 stars
The core points the author makes – that plant-based diets aren’t a magic bullet to solving climate change, that they can be nutritionally deficient if you’re not careful, and that sometimes the reporting/marketing around them is wildly optimistic/biased/incorrect – are all valid.
However, the book is too verbose, uses derisive language about various groups of people (mostly vegans), and fundamentally ignores the fact that fixing the climate crisis will take emissions reductions in all areas of society. So using data (correctly, as far as I can see) to show that the emissions from meat production are (for example) only a quarter of those from transport is valid — but then the book suggests that this means our diets don’t have to change and really we should only be caring about fixing transport.
We should be caring about fixing transport, and also our diets. The book is full of these false …
The core points the author makes – that plant-based diets aren’t a magic bullet to solving climate change, that they can be nutritionally deficient if you’re not careful, and that sometimes the reporting/marketing around them is wildly optimistic/biased/incorrect – are all valid.
However, the book is too verbose, uses derisive language about various groups of people (mostly vegans), and fundamentally ignores the fact that fixing the climate crisis will take emissions reductions in all areas of society. So using data (correctly, as far as I can see) to show that the emissions from meat production are (for example) only a quarter of those from transport is valid — but then the book suggests that this means our diets don’t have to change and really we should only be caring about fixing transport.
We should be caring about fixing transport, and also our diets. The book is full of these false dichotomies, as well as numerous annoying strawman arguments.
It’s pretty irritating to read, even once you get beyond the inflammatory title and cover.