The Great Plant-Based Con - by Jayne Buxton (Paperback)

About the Book

Almost every day we hear a call for us to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy, with the long-term goal for many being the widespread conversion to a totally vegan lifestyle. 'Plant-based' has become a term so worthy and ubiquitous that many people have forgotten their historic antipathy to an extreme vegan cause. But what if the statistics driving the plant-based movement were misleading or even false? What if we were being manipulated by a happy coalition of vested interests that includes environmentalists, Big Pharma, Big Food, established dietary advice organisations, and even a little known but rich and powerful religious group with a long-standing commitment to a vegan diet? What if removing animal foods from our diet was a serious threat to human health, and a red herring in the fight against climate change?

Book Synopsis

WINNER OF THE INVESTIGATIVE FOOD WORK AWARD AT THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARDS 2023

'The most incredible book' Delia Smith

'Persuasive, entertaining and well researched' Sunday Times

Plant-based is best for health, go vegan to help save the planet, eat less meat... Almost every day we are bombarded with the seemingly incontrovertible message that we must reduce our consumption of meat and dairy - or eliminate them from our diets altogether.

But what if the pervasive message that the plant-based diet will improve our health and save the planet is misleading - or even false? What if removing animal foods from our diet is a serious threat to human health, and a red herring in the fight against climate change.

In THE GREAT PLANT-BASED CON, Jayne Buxton demonstrates that each of these 'what-ifs' is, in fact, a reality. Drawing on the work of numerous health experts and researchers, she uncovers how the separate efforts of a constellation of individuals, companies and organisations are leading us down a dietary road that will have severe repercussions for our health and wellbeing, and for the future of the planet.

THE GREAT PLANT-BASED CON is neither anti-plant nor anti-vegan - it is a call for us to take an honest look at the facts about human diets and their effect on the environment. Shocking and eye-opening, this book outlines everything you need to know to make more informed decisions about the food you choose to eat.

Review Quotes

[A] forensic examination of the evidence ... Buxton is brilliant at reminding us of some basic statistical truths, ones that are usually forgotten these days ... It's refreshing to read a book which recognises that life is complicated--Mark Mason, Daily Mail, Book of the Week

A brave, well-researched and highly readable book that confronts the many myths about meat, health and climate change. Buxton's deep dive into the science and politics of these questions makes this book a must-read for anyone who cares about their health - or the planet--Nina Teicholz, science journalist and bestselling author of THE BIG FAT SURPRISE

A calm, incisive dissection of veganism's salvationist claim to protect human health and the planet--John Lewis-Stempel, Country Life

How I have waited for this book! A much needed, fact-packed, lucidly argued demolition of pervasive, endlessly recycled, anti-animal source food propaganda, and a very welcome, closely argued, well-reasoned defence of our traditional omnivore diet--Joanna Blythman

In THE GREAT PLANT-BASED CON, Jayne Buxton provides insightful analyses and thoughtful alternatives to narratives about plant-based diets, human and environmental health. Her engrossing account is food-for-thought for everyone, be they herbivorous, omnivorous, or carnivorous. I promote this entrée at every opportunity--Fred Provenza, Professor Emeritus of Behavioural Ecology, Utah State University and author of NOURISHMENT: WHAT ANIMALS CAN TEACH US ABOUT REDISCOVERING OUR NUTRITIONAL WISDOM

Intelligent and very well-researched ... [Jayne is] able to be objective and speak out without losing a university seat or a research grant, but with knowledge of the food industry from a career in consultancy. She has sifted through all the scientific arguments fairly and produced a very readable book that explains it all in a way that can easily be digested ... a fascinating read and its intelligent explanation of the way that Big Food makes us ill, and Big Pharma makes another fast buck curing us, may yet make it a seminal classic, similar in its impact to Rachel Carson's brilliant exposé of chemical pesticides, Silent Spring, two generations ago. There is no doubting Buxton's conclusion that we have been conned ... a brave book--Jamie Blackett, Daily Telegraph

Jayne Buxton's compelling read THE PLANT-BASED CON challenges the 'plant-biased' narrative sweeping across the globe and embedding itself into the very fabric of our society. Jayne takes a deep dive into the vested interests and religious ideology shaping the plant-based con, leaving no stone unturned ... I highly recommend this book!--Belinda Fettke, https: //isupportgary.com

The most incredible book--Delia Smith, The Food Programme, BBC Radio 4

THE GREAT PLANT-BASED CON is absolutely exceptional. When you've read works of Gary Taubes and Nina Teicholz, you'll need to add this to your essential reading list. I was ignorant of so much that is so elegantly explained--Professor Tim Noakes

THE GREAT PLANT-BASED CON is persuasive, entertaining and well researched ... the book will help to alleviate the guilt many of us feel about our diets--Louise Eccles, Sunday Times

With incredible skill, Jayne Buxton captures the edifice of intellectual and cultural fraud behind today's mythology of the safety plant-based eating. Everyone needs this important and timely book--Sally K. Norton MPH, nutritional scientist and author of TOXIC SUPERFOODS

About the Author

Jayne Buxton is an ambassador for the Real Food Campaign and the Public Health Collaboration. In her twenty years as a published author Jayne has written on a wide variety of subjects. Her work includes a work of non-fiction, two novels, many short stories, a blog, and journalistic pieces for The Independent, The Guardian and others.