I Offer a Balanced Aussie Take for Peaceful and Tolerant Science from a Sensible Omnivore Who Supports both Herbivores and Carnivores
Why I Believe the New “Meat vs Lancet Eat” Report Sucks
G’day Mates, Happy Sunday!
I hope this post finds you well. Today is Sunday here and we had a big BBQ at our backyard. There were lots of meat but also veggie burgers. We don’t fight for food.
I have a juicy yarn for you today whether you like it or not. It is a peaceful one, not like a dividing one. First, look mates, I admit I love a good steak. Bit of garlic butter melting over the top, veggies on the side, maybe occasional cheeky ice cream with berries afterwards. That’s dinner sorted.
In our house, the dinner table’s a diplomatic summit. One of my grown-up kids is vegan, another’s flexitarian, a grankid is core carnivore, and my good sheila and I are proudly omnivorous, a peace-keeping species who believe both broccoli and brisket deserve a fair go.
So when I read the Lancet EAT debates and the recent backlash that tried to paint respected scientists as “mis-influencers,” I nearly spat out my kale smoothie (yes, mate, I drink those too sometimes to make my daughter happy).
Science or Schoolyard Scraps?
I’m inspired to scribble this yarn after reading a cracker of a story by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, a smart bloke who’s been building bridges between science tribes longer than most of us have been burning toast.
Yesterday, he dropped an eye-opener calling for peace, not another full-blown food fight in the science world. I figured I’d hitch a ride on his cool wagon and toss in my own two cents before the kale and the kebabs start throwing punches again.
An Invitation to Peace, Empathy, and Scientific Collaboration in Nutrition and Human Healing
Advocating plant-based diets is admirable, but defaming or shaming respected doctors and scientists with different…medium.com
And here we are — watching full-grown adults carry on like schoolkids, calling scientists villains just because they dared to say, “Hang on a sec, maybe meat’s not Satan in a saucepan.”
This so-called “Meat vs EAT-Lancet” report brewing for next month? It’s got less to do with science and more to do with playground politics.
Since when did questioning a headline diet turn you into a public enemy? What’s next? Detention for eating a steak sandwich in an Aussie pub?
The Logic Fails the Pub Test
If the so-called “Meat vs EAT” report wanted to expose shady industry ties, it needed evidence, not hashtags. Instead, it waved screenshots like a gossip column and called it “coordination.”
Sorry, but social media chatter isn’t proof of conspiracy. It’s proof that humans love to argue online. If I post a photo of my barbecue, does that make me a lobbyist for the sausage industry? Give us a spell.
But this so-called report I’m talking about has nothing to do with science. It reads more like a gossip column written by someone with too much time and too little data.
They’ve basically gone on an X (Twitter) stalking spree, tailing brilliant doctors and scientists, then calling it “research.” Give me a break — that’s not science, that’s digital stickybeaking!
Criticising EAT-Lancet Doesn’t Make You Anti-Science, Mate
Here’s the thing — just because someone gives EAT-Lancet a bit of a serve doesn’t mean they’ve joined the Flat Earth Society.
Some of the folks who copped a whack like Dr Jason Fung, Dr Nina Teicholz, Dr Georgia Ede, Dr Zoe Harcombe, my good old mate Prof Tim Noakes, and truth teller Dr Gary Fettke aren’t keyboard warriors in their pajamas. They’re serious researchers who’ve spent years studying, publishing, and occasionally poking holes in popular dogma.
That scientific approach doesn’t make them industry puppets. Iit makes them scientists doing their job. Science isn’t a church; you’re allowed to question the sermon without being labelled a heretic.
If every time someone said, “Hang on, mate, what about this evidence?” we shouted “MIS-INFLUENCER!” we’d still be bleeding people for bad humours and banning coffee.
I’d cop the report if it came with real evidence — money trails, emails, secret meetings in steak houses. But instead, it leans on social media screenshots and hashtags like a gossip magazine that ran out of ink.
That’s not proof. I’d call it pixel-picking. It’s like accusing someone of being a sausage lobbyist because they posted a photo of a Sunday BBQ.
Building an indictment on retweets and hashtags is about as sturdy as a napkin in a cyclone. Sure, it makes a lot of noise, but it won’t hold up when things get messy.
My Vegan Kid’s Got a Point Too
Now, before the vegans light up my inbox — relax, mates. I get it.
My vegan kid’s one of the healthiest people I know. Their fridge looks like a botanical garden, and they glow like they’ve swallowed sunlight. She takes a lot of supplements spending half of her salary for them. I respect that choice completely.
What bugs me is when good science gets drowned out by moral grandstanding. The EAT-Lancet crowd has noble goals such as saving the planet, reducing waste, improving health — all great stuff.
But somewhere along the line, it turned into “meat bad, plants holy,” and anyone who questions that gets lumped in with climate deniers, meat lobbyists, or industry puppets.
This is too juvenile like finger pointing in a schoolyard. That’s not progress. That’s polarisation with a quinoa garnish.
Debate Like an Adult, Don’t Divide Like Bullying Kids
Dr Yildiz’s take hit home: he wasn’t defending meat or demonizing vegies . He tired botht. He was defending open conversation.
He reminded readers that real science welcomes challenge. Shutting down critics doesn’t protect truth; it strangles it. We need respectful conversations without shaming and defaming.
He’s spent years promoting respect across platforms like Medium, Substack, and social media. If anyone’s earned the right to call for peace between plant-eaters and steak-sizzlers, it’s him. He did a great job in his story.
Now My Two Cents
Here’s my view, plain and simple:
- If you thrive on tofu, terrific.
- If you love lamb chops, good on ya.
- If you’re like me and eat a bit of everything, welcome to Team Balance.
Just don’t let ideological food fights burn the steak and the salad.
Science should be a table big enough for everyone, including carnivores, herbivores, and those of us who just came for dessert.
So yeah, “Meat vs Lancet Eat” sucks. It is not because plants are bad or meat is magic, but because shouting matches make lousy nutrition advice. Let’s get back to listening, learning, and maybe sharing a meal that includes both chickpeas and chops.
After all, peace is best served with good food, whatever’s on your plate.
TL;DR (In case you skimmed past the jokes)
- Slapping labels like “mis-influencer” on respected scientists is dangerous and cheap.
- If you’re accusing someone of being manipulated by industry, back it up with proof, not just X hashtags or buzzwords.
- Criticism of EAT-Lancet doesn’t automatically mean anti-science. Some critiques are valid, some might be off-base, but they deserve to be addressed, not canceled.
- I still like a good rib-eye, but I also believe in humility. The truth in nutrition does not fit on a trending X thread.
Here you go, you got it, mate. Eat what you like — guilt-free — and don’t let the food police ruin your dinner. Life’s too short to let shamers and defamers tell you what should be on your plate.
Skip the 68-page nonsense report; your brain will thank you. Go water the garden instead, grab some fresh air, and let nature, not some committee, feed your soul. Try to play some games as I do to stimulate your brain and have fun:
Check out this great post by my mentor Dr Mehmet Yildiz:
If you want to be better informed check out this piece “The Manufacturing of Anti-Livestock Discourse: Activist Tactics and the Discrediting of Scientists” at the https://www.aleph2020.org/
It was authored by many great scientists:
Prof. Frédéric Leroy (CoI; Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium), Prof. Keith Belk (Colorado State University, USA), Prof. Antonella Dalle Zotte (University of Padova, Italy), Prof. Stefaan De Smet (Ghent University, Belgium), Prof. Frank Dunshea (President of the World Association of Animal Production; University of Melbourne, Australia; University of Leeds, UK), Prof. Peer Ederer (GOAL Sciences, Switzerland), Prof. em. Bjørg Egelandsdal (Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway), Prof. Mario Estévez (Universidad de Extremadura, Spain), Dr. Mohammed Gagaoua (INRAE, France), Dr. Jean-François Hocquette (INRAE, France; French Academy of Agriculture), Prof. Anders Karlsson (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden), Collette Kaster (CEO of the American Meat Science Association, USA), Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie (IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group, USA), Prof. Michael RF Lee (Harper Adams University, UK; Co-Chair UK Universities Climate Network, Net Zero Group), Prof. Carol Lorenzen (Oregon State University, USA), Dr. Pablo Manzano (Basque Centre for Climate Change, Spain), Prof. Andrew Milkowski (University of Wisconsin, USA), Prof. Frank Mitloehner (University of California, Davis, USA), Dr. Fabio Montossi (Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria, Uruguay), Prof. em. David Pethick (Murdoch University, Australia), Dr. Rod Polkinghorne (Birkinwood, Australia), Prof. Giuseppe Pulina (University of Sassari, Italy), Dr. Andrea Rosati (Secretary General of the European Federation of Animal Science), Prof. Jason Rowntree (Michigan State University, USA), Prof. John Scanga (Colorado State University, USA), Prof. Alice Stanton (RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland), Prof. Robyn Warner (University of Melbourne, Australia), and Prof. Wilhelm Windisch (Technical University Munich, Germany)
About me
I am a retired healthcare scientist in my mid-70s, and I have several grandkids who keep me going and inspire me to write on this platform. I am also the chief editor of the Health and Science publication on Medium.com. As a giveback activity, I volunteered as an editor for Illumination publications, supporting many new writers. I will be happy to read, publish, and promote your stories. You may connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter where I share stories I read. You may subscribe to my account to get my stories in your inbox when I post. You can also find my distilled content on Substack: Health Science Research By Dr Mike Broadly. I also do guest-blogging. Welcome to Substackmastery.com! I started blogging at Blogger! For free content you can check My Substack profile and My Guest Blogging Site
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