RTE Claire Byrne featured veganism in a panel discussion with Sandra Higgins, Go Vegan World, and chef Oliver Dunne. Sandra Higgins argues that we are morally obliged not to use other animals on the basis of their sentience while Dunne fails miserably in his attempts to justify animal use. Audience members also joined in the discussion.

This show demonstrates the misinformation on veganism that still exists in the Irish public mind and how it is fostered by a narrow and short term view of the place of humans on this planet by those who profit from animal agriculture including those who are employed directly or indirectly by the industry. Examples of the lack of understanding of our moral obligation to other animals and how our use of them impacts on us include Oliver Dunne’s statement that animal agriculture is responsible for 5% GHG emissions when, in fact, the figure is more than 30% in the Irish context. In this interview viewers will hear an Irish dietitian’s presentation of a plant diet as potentially dangerous and difficult based on a single case study, which is extremely poor science and demonstrates a lack of knowledge on the science of plant nutrition. The show offered little opportunity for indepth discussion that would have been educational for viewers but it is a credit to Claire Byrne that the topic was discussed on Irish television.

You can watch the discussion here:

For more information please see our links on this website to:

Animal Agriculture & The Environment

Diet & Human Health and www.nutritionfacts.org

Our moral obligation to other animals