A recent study called beer and fries part of a plant-based diet. That’s problematic for more reasons than you’d think

Nutritional science can easily be distorted when presented to the public—and in this case, some used it to vilify plant-based meat.

Earlier this month, a study was published in the Lancet, linking “plant-based ultraprocessed foods” (UPFs) to heart disease and early death. After years of doctors and other health experts telling us that plant-based eating is nutritionally superior, that eating more vegan foods will extend our lives and fight our risk of serious diseases, it’s surprising to hear the opposite. And media outlets like the New York Post and the Daily Mail took this supposed finding even further, singling out plant-based meat in particular with headlines like “Vegan fake meats linked to heart disease, early death.”