Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagram have acquired millions of followers promoting the carnivore diet. They say studies linking meat consumption and heart disease are flawed — and plant foods are making people sick. "Western medicine is lying to you," says content-creator Dr. Paul Saladino, who co-owns a company selling desiccated cattle organs.

The online popularity of the carnivore diet is undeniable. Yet, no controlled studies have been published confirming its advertised benefits. 

Our friends at WBUR’s podcast Endless Thread look at how social media cooked up the anti-establishment wellness trend.

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LINKS

• "Red Shift" (The New Yorker)
• "The 'You’re doing it wrong'-ification of TikTok" (Vox)
• "The Evolution of Diet" (National Geographic)
• "Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered" (New York Times)
• "Against Meatposting" (Heated)
• Endless Thread's unedited interview with Dr. Paul Saladino (WBUR)
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CREDITS

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Outside/In Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

This episode of Endless Thread was written and produced by Dean Russell and Ben Brock Johnson. 

Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Endless Thread is a production of WBUR in Boston. 

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