In this two-part debate, George Monbiot, Guardian columnist, environmental campaigner and author of Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet, argues for the motion We Should All Go Vegan. Patrick Holden, Founder and chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, argues against it. Our chair is Alice Thomson, Columnist and interviewer at The Times.

Livestock farming contributes 14.5% of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Farm animals belch out massive amounts of methane, one of the most harmful greenhouse gases. They are also extremely wasteful of resources, using up 83% of farmland worldwide while providing only 18% of our calories, guzzling soya and grain that could feed humans more efficiently, and requiring vast amounts of water. As for our health, vegan sports stars such as Venus and Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton prove that you can be superfit on a plant-based diet, and research has linked vegan diets to lower rates of some diseases. That’s the argument made by the vegan lobby. But there are many experts who disagree on all counts. Take the environment. Few people realise the high carbon cost of growing crops – some 15-20% of the world’s CO2 output comes from ploughing – and that plants grown for food require vast amounts of fertiliser and pesticides that are derived from fossil fuels. Who’s right and who’s wrong?

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Meg Cox

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