The Cult Diet That Hates Plants
A breakdown of the carnivore diet’s recent rise in popularity and the negative impacts associated with it
Image Credit: Hazel Zavala
As we were pitching ideas back and forth for what to write about for this month’s topic, we were drawn to one thing in particular – the growing popularity of the carnivore diet within the health & wellness space. Baffled by some of the social media content that we were seeing, we decided it would be important and relevant to our interests to unpack this movement further. If an increase in the consumption of animal-based products was suddenly being pushed as medical advice, we wanted to understand why and what impacts it might have on human and planetary health. After all, meat consumption has been linked to several major chronic diseases, and animal agriculture is one of the leading contributors to climate change.
The Troubling Rise of the Carnivore Diet
With the powerful influence of social media and the ability for trends to spread rapidly, another new fad diet has made its way into our feeds. Referred to as the carnivore diet, this newest trend goes against almost all nutrition guidelines by eliminating a majority of foods. To follow this way of eating, people are encouraged to swap out fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds for the sole consumption of animal-based products: meat, eggs, animal fats, and dairy products (primarily butter). Popular proponents of the carnivore diet, such as Dr. Paul Saladino, Dr. Shawn Baker, and Brian Johnson aka “the Liver King”, strongly believe that plants are the enemy and have convinced themselves that “they’re trying to kill you”.
Although it’s hard to imagine how a movement that villainizes plants could be taken seriously, part of the reason the carnivore diet has risen in popularity is that its promoters see it as a way to return to ancestral eating patterns and claim that it can be a powerful remedy to alleviate health issues. In The Carnivore Code, the closest thing the movement has to a manifesto, Dr. Saladino emphasizes that modern food systems have failed us by making us sicker due to the production of ultra-processed foods. Akin to various other internet trends from the past few years, such as “homesteading” and “unschooling”, the carnivore movement appeals to dissatisfaction and encourages people to reject modernity and embrace tradition. So-called “meatfluencers” swear by the fact that our ancestors subsisted on animals almost exclusively and argue that we must do the same because our diets have changed too quickly for our genes to keep up.
It’s a pretty compelling argument when you pair this historical framing with the hundreds of anecdotal examples on social media where people credit the diet with improving their skin, their mental wellness, and their gut issues. What’s not to like? In a world that is increasingly complex, people love to seek out a quick fix that promises to solve all their problems. At a glance, the carnivore diet appears to check off a lot of those boxes because it’s easy to follow and allegedly has a high success rate amongst its followers.
However, it’s not that simple. What the meatfluencers on social media fail to point out is that the movement is deeply riddled with misinformation. The idea that our ancestors solely ate animal flesh is blatantly inaccurate. An attempt to label the ancestral human diet is impossible because as our world was changing, so, too, was the diet of our ancestors. As one might expect, those living in the forest had a different diet from those near the ocean or the open savanna. Factors such as climate, location, hunting proficiency, food-processing technology, and available resources all contributed to varying dietary patterns. Therefore trying to advertise the carnivore diet as a return to our roots is incredibly manipulative.
But the manipulation doesn’t just stop there! It also extends to the unverified health claims being marketed and sold by the leaders of the carnivore diet. Rather than point to peer-reviewed research as evidence, the movement relies on the influence and power of social media success stories to convince others to get on board. Using anecdotal evidence to support medical advice is not only dangerous but also really bad science! There is a distinct lack of peer-reviewed research that validates improved health outcomes from the carnivore diet. Whereas, a substantial body of literature shows that high consumption of animal products is associated with nutritional deficiencies and can lead to adverse health effects. By completely eliminating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plant-based proteins, diets like these simply can’t provide consumers with the nutrient-dense pattern of eating that the body needs.
Planetary Impacts
On top of the misinformation that this movement spreads, there are also negative planetary consequences to be considered by an increase in the consumption of animal products. Indeed, food production puts a lot of pressure on natural resources and ecosystems… and some products have more impact than others!
As the graph below illustrates, the production of animal-based products generally results in higher greenhouse gas emissions compared to plant-based products. Among all food products, beef is by far the most resource-intensive to produce.
But how exactly do meat and dairy products— staples of the carnivore diet—impact our climate and environment? Let's break this down.
Global Meat and Dairy Production/Consumption Trends
While it’s easy to criticize the carnivore diet for incentivizing more people to eat higher amounts of animal products, thus causing greater planetary harm, overall interest in the carnivore diet remains limited to certain Western countries. However, the fact that it hasn’t caught on globally has not stopped the demand for animal-sourced protein to grow. The truth is that meat and dairy products are an important source of protein for a large share of people around the world and production has risen continuously for the past 60 years.
From 2016 to 2024, global meat production rose by 10.6%, increasing from 317 million metric tons to approximately 350.75 million metric tons, and it is projected to reach 391.5 million metric tons by 2033. During the same period, cow milk and butter production increased by 18.7% and 20.4%, respectively.
Although production has universally risen, the supply and consumption of meat and dairy products vary significantly across countries. Lower-income countries, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia, have the lowest rates of consumption, while high-income countries tend to have the highest consumption of animal-based products. That said, as developing countries become wealthier, their consumption is expected to rise.
While we began this post discussing some of the absurdities of the carnivore diet, the reality is that the world is continuing to head in a direction that favors animal-based products over plant-based products. As we’ve outlined, this is dangerous for many reasons and highlights the tricky nature of transitioning to more sustainable food systems: populations in low-income countries have a right to develop and to improve access to nutritious foods, including animal-sourced protein. At the same time, the consumption of animal products needs to dramatically decrease if we hope to stay on track with global climate goals. Therefore, it is the responsibility of high-income countries to reduce their overconsumption, paving the way for a more equitable and sustainable global dietary transition–one in which all countries can eventually shift toward healthier, lower-impact diets.
