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?