The Food Industry Lies to You

The Western diet is killing people, and the evidence isn’t new. Heart disease, diabetes, stroke, obesity - entirely preventable diseases are the leading causes of death, and they all share a common denominator: animal-based diets. Meanwhile, those who reject them? Lower rates of disease, longer lives, and fewer trips to the doctor. This isn’t a fad. It’s biology.

The Science Is Clear - But the System Is Rigged  

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) recently reaffirmed what health experts have been saying for decades: properly planned plantbased diets are nutritionally adequate at all stages of life. Not only that, but they actively reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

According to the AND’s latest position paper, plant-based diets are associated with:  

- Lower risk of heart disease

- Better blood sugar control and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes  

- Lower cholesterol levels

- Improved weight management

The British Dietetic Association, the American Heart Association, and the World Health Organization have all reached the same conclusion. Yet the dominant narrative still revolves around “lean meat” and “low-fat dairy,” despite overwhelming evidence that eliminating animal products altogether offers the best outcomes.

The meat and dairy industries don’t want this information to go mainstream. Billions are spent on marketing to convince people they need animal products, despite the fact that everything required for optimal health - protein, iron, calcium, omega-3s - is readily available from plants. The food industry profits from confusion. The more people doubt their ability to thrive on plants, the longer they remain trapped in a system designed to make them sick.

The NHS Is Drowning - And the Solution Is Right in Front of Us  

Heart disease is the UK’s leading cause of death, responsible for 160,000 deaths per year. Every few minutes, someone dies from a heart attack or stroke. Meanwhile, diabetes has skyrocketed from 1.4 million cases in 1996 to over 5 million today.

The NHS spends billions treating diet-related diseases, while the solution, plant-based eating, is ignored. If the UK switched to a plant-based diet, new research estimates the NHS could save £6.7 billion annually.  

- 1.3 million fewer cases of type 2 diabetes

- 2 million fewer cases of chronic disease overall

- Fewer hospitalisations, fewer medications, and fewer preventable deaths

But instead of promoting real dietary change, governments tiptoe around the issue, pushing watered-down guidelines that keep people dependent on pills, surgeries, and a healthcare system buckling under the weight of preventable illness.

The Myth of “Balanced” Eating  

The phrase “appropriately planned” appears in every official statement about plantbased diets. But here’s the reality: all diets need to be appropriately planned. A junk food diet - vegan or not - isn’t nutritionally adequate. But a whole-food, plant-based diet? It’s a powerhouse.

Common concerns like B12, iron, and protein are easily addressed.

There is no essential nutrient in meat, dairy, or eggs that is only found in animals. The only thing missing from a plantbased diet? The cholesterol, saturated fat, and inflammation that fuel chronic disease.

Food Justice and Health Inequality

Not everyone has equal access to healthy food. In many communities, particularly in the USA, fast food is cheaper and easier to find than fresh produce. Supermarkets push ultra-processed products while whole foods remain out of reach. The result? Higher rates of diet-related illnesses, particularly aamong poor and marginalised groups.

This isn’t a coincidence. The food industry deliberately targets vulnerable communities with cheap, disease-promoting products. The people suffering most from diet-related diseases are often those with the least access to fresh, healthy food.

From the Womb to the Dinner Table: Food Preferences Start Early  

Getting toddlers to eat their vegetables can be difficult, but what if the problem started before they were even born? New research suggests that a mother’s diet during pregnancy shapes a child’s food preferences before they even take their first bite.

A study from Durham University found that babies exposed to vegetables in the womb - through what their mothers ate - reacted more positively to those same foods after birth.

Early exposure matters. Babies start developing taste preferences in utero. If they’re introduced to bitter greens before they’re even born, they’re more likely to accept them later. Meanwhile, the modern Western diet steers children towards hyper-processed, sugar-laden junk from day one, setting them up for a lifetime of poor health.

The Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know This

If a pill could prevent and reverse heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, it would be headline news. But when the answer is simply not eating animals, it’s suddenly controversial.

The science is clear. The solution exists. But governments, corporations, and the food industry are invested in keeping people sick because there’s no profit in healthy people.

Time to Face the Facts  

We know the Western diet is killing people. We know plant-based eating prevents and perhaps reverses major diseases. The question isn’t whether we need to change - it’s why we haven’t done it yet.

The good news? Every meal is a choice. Choose life. Choose health. Choose justice.