The argument that foods like avocados, almonds, melons, kiwis, and butternut squash aren’t vegan crops up time and time again - but how true is it, why does it exist, and can you eat them on a vegan diet?

One of the criticisms of a vegan or vegetarian diet you see cropping up, again and again, is that it is actually responsible for large amounts of deforestation because it encourages people to consume more food products made from soy. Drink soy milk? Eat tofu or soy-based meat substitutes? Then is the destruction of the Amazon really on your hands?!

Ted Nugent went on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2018 and claimed that those who follow a vegan lifestyle are responsible for more animal deaths through the harvesting of crops and use of fertilisers and pesticides than people who choose to consume animals directly. Is there any substance to this oft-used argument against veganism?

In September 2019 the National Farmers’ Union published their Achieving Net Zero: Farming’s 2040 Goal that laid out its plans for making UK farming ‘carbon neutral’, but is it achievable and what would it mean for non-human animals? Dr Alex Lockwood writes.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) came out fighting this Veganuary with its ‘Eat Balanced’ campaign, spending a reported £1.5 million on ads that specifically mention vegan diets and nutrients such as B12 and iron. There’s a strong focus on health, some mention of the planet, but nothing about the impact on animals. So, of course, we’ve released our own ad to set the record straight.

Last year a study came out that pointed the finger squarely at people who drink soya milk as the true villains of Amazon destruction. Thanks to environmental author Tim Bailey, we take a look at the Sustainable Food Trust’s dodgy calculations, which the anti-vegan media was quick to amplify not least of all the Daily Telegraph.