Journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has accused vegans of causing ‘huge amounts of pain around the world’ during a BBC discussion show.
Alibhai-Brown cited demand for soy, quinoa, and avocado as major issues with veganism.
She was discussing whether ‘vegans get a raw deal’ alongside vegans Adrian Chiles and Selene Nelson – the writer at the heart of the row which saw Waitrose Food magazine William Sitwell step down after he joked about killing vegans in an email to her, and Spiked Deputy Editor Tom Slater.
Vegan pain
My arguments are very simple,” she said. “Make the choices you make, but know what you’re doing. Actually veganism is causing a huge amount of pain around the world.”
When challenged, she added: “Soy has caused deforestation in huge areas. In parts of India, because the West has now got onto chickpeas, they cost more than chicken, and quinoa and avocados are causing such disruption among the poorest.”
Journalist Selene Nelson said: “The reason why soy is unsustainable is because 90 percent* of it is fed to animals, to livestock. So the only reason soy is unsustainable is because of the meat industry.”
*Different sources place this stat between 70-90 percent.
You can watch the whole segment here