Lierre Keith and the false myth of the vegan diet

Will the vegan diet save the planet, or kill humans? When we eat a dish of cereals, or legumes, or vegetables, are we really sure that it is not contaminated with something animal? And are we really sure that it is enough to give up meat, fish, eggs and animal products to avoid being involved in the killing and exploitation of the animals themselves? What do we know about intensive farming? Have we ever wondered what happens to the planet when you risk compromising an ecosystem to make room for certain crops? These are just some of the questions that Lierre Keith, feminist, ecologist, writer and ex vegan, asks herself after having been a vegan and vegan activist for over twenty years, in the book “The vegetarian myth” .

It is very difficult to write about Lierre and his book, “Il Mito Vegetariano “, without risking being misunderstood or passing the wrong message: the book, published in Italy by the publisher Sonzogno (Italian edition and translation by Dr. Paolo Perucci), represents the personal story of the author, and in particular how the vegan diet has slowly undermined her health, and how becoming a farmer and breeder in ecological respect for the environment has made her think again about the possibility of succeeding without killing no animal, no living being; but it also represents an examination of the myth of the vegan diet, according to the reasons that push vegans to follow this diet.Ethical, political, nutritional reasons, and the basic idea of being able to save the world.

All things that Keith faces, bringing valid arguments to support her thesis, even if not perfect in the research work (an archaeologist disputed some points in the English version of the book), but better and more thorough than many books that speak feeding, and thus suffering a kind of public pillory by the vegan community. Here is a first big misunderstanding.Lierre, as a former vegan, does not “speak ill” of those who follow a vegan diet and cannot be easily contradicted, when he exposes a point of view, starting from his experience: he says that, just like intensive farming is not sustainable and is a barbarism (“cruel, wasteful and destructive”, he affirms), even intensive cultivation and monocultures are, and they are not even the lesser evil. On this I will give you a quick example.