Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
Diets are not religions, and they are not a perfect means to health. Like all things that one does for health—exercise, medicines, etc.—diets carry both benefits and risks. We should be more willing to talk about the risks and benefits of each diet so that we can be rational in considering what might work best for us. I believe that plant-based diets are the best approach for most people. But it makes my blood boil when people paper over the facts to push an agenda, or to get their followers to do what they think their followers should be doing. This causes polarization and confusion within the nutrition space, and it needs to stop. This video is a criticism of an approach that Neal Barnard has decided to take with his science communication. Neal Barnard’s approach is wrong and misleads others according to a paternalistic model that is not compatible with public health ethics in the 21st century. It may also put the lives of some patient subpopulations at risk. People working in the science communication community should strive to be better than this.
Diets are not religions, and they are not a perfect means to health. Like all things that one does for health—exercise, medicines, etc.—diets carry both benefits and risks. We should be more willing to talk about the risks and benefits of each diet so that we can be rational in considering what might work best for us. I believe that plant-based diets are the best approach for most people. But it makes my blood boil when people paper over the facts to push an agenda, or to get their followers to do what they think their followers should be doing. This causes polarization and confusion within the nutrition space, and it needs to stop. This video is a criticism of an approach that Neal Barnard has decided to take with his science communication. Neal Barnard’s approach is wrong and misleads others according to a paternalistic model that is not compatible with public health ethics in the 21st century. It may also put the lives of some patient subpopulations at risk. People working in the science communication community should strive to be better than this.
