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Conversations with carnists are rife with frustrations, perhaps none more so than being told that the facts you are spouting are “opinion,” or having someone’s unsubstantiated opinions being thrown around as fact. The girls discuss some of the most common carnist “facts” and vegan “opinions” and how to respond to them.

In This Episode

  Our dear friend Katie B inspired this episode, the topic was her idea and a great one at that. She sent us this comic, which cracked us up. So many times, as a vegan, you are privy to information that others are ignorant to, whether willfully or by happenstance. Trying to impart that knowledge on others is always tricky, particularly when the other party refuses to see facts as fact and insist that the truth you’re spilling all over them is opinion. Equally infuriating is when carnists push their opinion as fact.

Topics covered in this episode:

Carnist “facts” that are actually opinion

• “We’re on top of the food chain”
• “We needed meat to evolve”
• “There’s no health risks in eating meat”
• “Hunting is necessary”
• “We’ve ALWAYS eaten meat”

Vegan “opinions” that are actually facts

• “Factory farming harms the environment”
• “Eating fish is extremely harmful”
• “Animals have feelings and emotions, and experience pain”

Links and Information

News

• Bill Requires Labs to Retire Cats and Dogs from Testing Passed in California (One Green Planet)
• Meat-Loving Republicans Cowed the White House Into Ignoring Expert Nutrition Advice (Slate)

Articles and Research

• [Chart] Carnivore, Omnivore and Herbivore
• [Video] Deer Hunting: Overpopulation Solution or Cause? (Bite Size Vegan)
• [Article] Why you can all stop saying meat eating fueled evolution of larger brains right now (Evolving Health Science)
• Cowspiracy: Facts from the Movie on the Environmental Impact of Animal Consumption
• Homo Naledi: This Face Changes the Human Story. But How? (National Geographic)