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Fox News host Tucker Carlson tried taking on a vegan activist during a recent show – but failed to derail his message.
The Conservative TV presenter spoke to activist and author Gene Baur, President and Co-founder of Farm Sanctuary as part of his Tucker Takes On … series.
Over the course of the debate, the pair debated the moral right to eat animals, the dairy industry, and animal welfare.
Vegan views
Carlson opened the conversation saying: “You’ve got your views about what we ought to be eating, I do too – I love burrata – but I’m not trying to force anyone else to eat burrata. It seems to be taking quite a large step to assume you have the right to tell other people what to eat. Why are you doing that?”
Baur replied: “Well I actually not telling people what they must or must not eat, I just want people to think about their food choices and recognize the consequences of those and also recognize that not eating animals is an option we have.
“We grew up believing we need meat for protein, but actually we can live well without it. So it’s a choice we all need to make but we should make informed choices.”
The pair debate veganism. Subscribe to PBN’s YouTube Channel here
‘Not a crazy idea’
Discussing veganism, Carlson said he ‘doesn’t think it’s a crazy idea’, adding that he ‘love animals’ and doesn’t like the way factory farms treat them. But he added that he meets vegans who are fussy and look like they are ‘easy to push over’.
“Not all vegans are that skinny,” replied Baur. “In fact the only American weightlifter who qualified for Rio [Olympics] is a vegan. There are amazing vegan bodybuilders and athletes.”
Carlson admitted that Baur ‘makes a compelling case’.
Dominion
Carlson’s final question was: “Do we have dominion over animals or are they our peers? Are they same as people?”
Baur replied: “We have power over other animals and with a lot of power comes a lot of responsibility. So we can kill them but whether we should kill them is a bigger question.”
“Ok,” said Carlson. “I have to say I started this segment thinking ‘this guy is probably crazy’ but I think you’re actually reasonable and thoughtful and I don’t agree with everything you’ve said but I appreciate you coming on tonight.”
“And I appreciate your concern about animals and your open-mindedness to these issues,” said Baur.
You can watch the full interchange here
