Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
🌱Join my Substack to read regular articles from me and to support my work - thank you so much! earthlinged.substack.com/welcome
🌿 To donate to my work (thank you!): earthlinged.org/support & paypal.me/EdWintersEE
Today's guest:
Marlana Malerich is a PhD candidate at University of Sussex Business School where she is focussed on the plant-based industry in the U.K. and Europe. Prior to the PhD, she has worked over ten years at the intersection of food and sustainability, and has served as an adjunct assistant professor, focusing on animal agriculture and the future of protein.
Marlana co–founded Rooted Research Collective, a group of multidisciplinary academics whose mission is to transform research insights into actionable and data-driven strategies for a sustainable plant-based food system.
My books:
📚 How to Go (and Stay) Vegan: howtogoandstayvegan.com
📚 How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time): geni.us/howtoarguepb + if you’ve read the book, you can leave a review here! bit.ly/reviewedsbook
📚 This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You): geni.us/vppb
🖊️ Personalised/signed books: earthlinged.org/shop
Today's video:
Is the fear around ultra-processed plant-based alternatives really based on #science, and what does it teach us about the nature of misinformation? In today's episode of #TheDisclosurePodcast, I chat with Marlana Malerich about plant-based alternatives, #seedoils, RFK Jr., meat lobby groups and more.
🕒 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction from me
00:47 Marlana Malerich introduction
02:00 What is an ultra-processed food? The Nova classification
05:09 The merits and dangers of the ultra-processed categorisation
09:09 How the media uses the UPFs conversation to attack plant-based alternatives
12:11 The nuanced perspective around plant-based alternatives
17:05 The marketing of plant-based alternatives
19:08 Ultra-processed vs unprocessed plant milks
23:09 Should we eat something we can’t spell or pronounce?
29:52 Why is the UPF narrative appealing for consumers and is it classist?
34:01 RFK Jr. and seed oils
39:24 Understanding the cultural value of meat
42:00 Would it be better if we just didn’t have plant-based alternatives at all?
44:06 Do we need to change how we view plant-based alternatives?
46:41 Are plant-based alternatives stuck between a rock and a hard place?
49:48 How much of a role does politics have on the plant-based movement?
56:09 Carnivore diets, masculinity and identity
1:01:22 Is the picture rosier in the Europe?
1:04:55 How can we avoid the same criticisms for cell-cultured meat?
1:08:31 Can we vegans be our own worst enemy?
1:10:53 Should the ethical argument be used more in product marketing?
1:12:13 Is veganism going to progress?
1:16:33 Is there a positive that can come from the criticism of plant-based alternatives?
1:19:02 Outro
Watch next:
youtube.com/watch?v=JXv4NiWO2F0&list=PL03LZR09P2gRXFaGeJJ5XoZStuVJdHdHG
youtube.com/watch?v=GfiZ026XkZk&list=PL03LZR09P2gSQPYLJhbrssj4EeLP0qjL0&index=4
My recommendations:
🐶 Dragon’s-den backed vegan dog food - get 50% off with the code ED50: bit.ly/omnixedw
Listen and subscribe to The Disclosure Podcast:
Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/disclosurepodapple
Spotify: bit.ly/disclosurepodspotify
📱 Find more content: instagram.com/earthlinged / tiktok.com/@earthlinged / facebook.com/earthlingedpage
About Ed:
Ed Winters is a best-selling author, vegan educator, public speaker and host of The Disclosure Podcast. Ed has spoken at over 1/3 of UK universities and at every Ivy league college, including as a guest lecturer and Media & Design Fellow at Harvard University.
Marlana's work:
- rootedresearch.co
- rootedresearch.co/publications/nutrition-misinformation-digital-age
- rootedresearch.co/insights/upf-pbm-instagram-sentiment-analysis
- https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/ultra-processed-foods-plant-based-meat-guide-research-faq/
More sources regarding plant-based alternatives:
- sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666833521000320
- sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996923004027
- nature.com/articles/s41430-022-01099-1
Danish Action Plan for Plant-based Foods - https://en.fvm.dk/Media/638484294982868221/Danish-Action-Plan-for-Plant-based-Foods.pdf
🌱Join my Substack to read regular articles from me and to support my work - thank you so much! earthlinged.substack.com/welcome
🌿 To donate to my work (thank you!): earthlinged.org/support & paypal.me/EdWintersEE
Today's guest:
Marlana Malerich is a PhD candidate at University of Sussex Business School where she is focussed on the plant-based industry in the U.K. and Europe. Prior to the PhD, she has worked over ten years at the intersection of food and sustainability, and has served as an adjunct assistant professor, focusing on animal agriculture and the future of protein.
Marlana co–founded Rooted Research Collective, a group of multidisciplinary academics whose mission is to transform research insights into actionable and data-driven strategies for a sustainable plant-based food system.
My books:
📚 How to Go (and Stay) Vegan: howtogoandstayvegan.com
📚 How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time): geni.us/howtoarguepb + if you’ve read the book, you can leave a review here! bit.ly/reviewedsbook
📚 This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You): geni.us/vppb
🖊️ Personalised/signed books: earthlinged.org/shop
Today's video:
Is the fear around ultra-processed plant-based alternatives really based on #science, and what does it teach us about the nature of misinformation? In today's episode of #TheDisclosurePodcast, I chat with Marlana Malerich about plant-based alternatives, #seedoils, RFK Jr., meat lobby groups and more.
🕒 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction from me
00:47 Marlana Malerich introduction
02:00 What is an ultra-processed food? The Nova classification
05:09 The merits and dangers of the ultra-processed categorisation
09:09 How the media uses the UPFs conversation to attack plant-based alternatives
12:11 The nuanced perspective around plant-based alternatives
17:05 The marketing of plant-based alternatives
19:08 Ultra-processed vs unprocessed plant milks
23:09 Should we eat something we can’t spell or pronounce?
29:52 Why is the UPF narrative appealing for consumers and is it classist?
34:01 RFK Jr. and seed oils
39:24 Understanding the cultural value of meat
42:00 Would it be better if we just didn’t have plant-based alternatives at all?
44:06 Do we need to change how we view plant-based alternatives?
46:41 Are plant-based alternatives stuck between a rock and a hard place?
49:48 How much of a role does politics have on the plant-based movement?
56:09 Carnivore diets, masculinity and identity
1:01:22 Is the picture rosier in the Europe?
1:04:55 How can we avoid the same criticisms for cell-cultured meat?
1:08:31 Can we vegans be our own worst enemy?
1:10:53 Should the ethical argument be used more in product marketing?
1:12:13 Is veganism going to progress?
1:16:33 Is there a positive that can come from the criticism of plant-based alternatives?
1:19:02 Outro
Watch next:
youtube.com/watch?v=JXv4NiWO2F0&list=PL03LZR09P2gRXFaGeJJ5XoZStuVJdHdHG
youtube.com/watch?v=GfiZ026XkZk&list=PL03LZR09P2gSQPYLJhbrssj4EeLP0qjL0&index=4
My recommendations:
🐶 Dragon’s-den backed vegan dog food - get 50% off with the code ED50: bit.ly/omnixedw
Listen and subscribe to The Disclosure Podcast:
Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/disclosurepodapple
Spotify: bit.ly/disclosurepodspotify
📱 Find more content: instagram.com/earthlinged / tiktok.com/@earthlinged / facebook.com/earthlingedpage
About Ed:
Ed Winters is a best-selling author, vegan educator, public speaker and host of The Disclosure Podcast. Ed has spoken at over 1/3 of UK universities and at every Ivy league college, including as a guest lecturer and Media & Design Fellow at Harvard University.
Marlana's work:
- rootedresearch.co
- rootedresearch.co/publications/nutrition-misinformation-digital-age
- rootedresearch.co/insights/upf-pbm-instagram-sentiment-analysis
- https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/ultra-processed-foods-plant-based-meat-guide-research-faq/
More sources regarding plant-based alternatives:
- sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666833521000320
- sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996923004027
- nature.com/articles/s41430-022-01099-1
Danish Action Plan for Plant-based Foods - https://en.fvm.dk/Media/638484294982868221/Danish-Action-Plan-for-Plant-based-Foods.pdf
