Delicious Science with Dr Joanna McMillan
Jun 26, 2026 · 32 min · 10 segments
In this episode of *Delicious Science*, I’m diving into one of nutrition’s most heated debates: plants versus animals. Should we all be eating more plants? Are animal foods unfairly maligned? And can…
Joanna McMillanHost
Now, today's episode is one that I've been wanting to record for a long time because we're going to go right into the heart of one of those most heated debates in nutrition.
Should we be eating mostly plants? Should we be avoiding animal foods? Is red meat actually going to kill us? Or is it a nutrient dense food that's been unfairly maligned? And can we eat animal foods and still call ourselves environmentally conscious? I've got a lot to say about all of this.
We have influencers selling their particular carnivore or other type of programme.
And somewhere in the middle, there's ordinary people like you and me just trying to work out what on earth to make for dinner.
I've spent more than 20 years, actually almost 30, reading the research, translating it into real life and trying to understand both the big picture and the nuance.
And what the science says is much more interesting and more reassuring than either side of this food war wants you to believe.
By the end of this episode, I want you to feel confident, clear, and frankly, a bit relieved because the answer to this debate is not one side wins.
The answer is much more delicious and genuinely backed by the science of evolution, biology, geography, nutrition, and sustainability.
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Now, today's episode is one that I've been wanting to record for a long time because we're going to go right into the heart of one of those most heated debates in nutrition.
Should we be eating mostly plants? Should we be avoiding animal foods? Is red meat actually going to kill us? Or is it a nutrient dense food that's been unfairly maligned? And can we eat animal foods and still call ourselves environmentally conscious? I've got a lot to say about all of this.
We have influencers selling their particular carnivore or other type of programme.
And somewhere in the middle, there's ordinary people like you and me just trying to work out what on earth to make for dinner.
I've spent more than 20 years, actually almost 30, reading the research, translating it into real life and trying to understand both the big picture and the nuance.
And what the science says is much more interesting and more reassuring than either side of this food war wants you to believe.
By the end of this episode, I want you to feel confident, clear, and frankly, a bit relieved because the answer to this debate is not one side wins.
The answer is much more delicious and genuinely backed by the science of evolution, biology, geography, nutrition, and sustainability.
