Ross Clark Ross Clark

Tofu truths

Why everything from avocados to quinoa and almonds aren’t as environmentally friendly as you think

issue 26 January 2019

Last week’s Lancet report and its ‘planetary health diet’ of next to no red meat will have bolstered the egos of vegans who claim that they are doing the Earth a favour. But just how environmentally friendly are many of the alternatives favoured by vegans?

Fancy a bowl of quinoa, a grain stacked with amino acids, magnesium, phosphorous and iron, which in 2013 enjoyed the endorsement of the UN as a ‘superfood’? Not so fast.

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