Fake Meat isn’t the Answer to the Climate Crisis, Says Alicia Kennedy

From oat milk at coffee shops, to cashew cheese at Target, to McDonald’s McPlant burger, it’s becoming easier to consume fewer animal products. That’s a win for the environment, given a livestock sector that’s responsible for about 15 percent of global greenhouse emissions, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. But simply offering substitutes to the American diet won’t be enough to stop climate change or the exploitation of food workers, land and animals, argues food and culture writer Alicia Kennedy’s new book “No Meat Required.” Kennedy joins us to share how the counter-cultural history of veganism, vegetarianism and plant-based eating can help us rethink American food norms and still uphold the cultures, flavors and joys of food.