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[text flickering]

[tense sparse music]

[upbeat acoustic folk music]

- [Tom] My name's
Tom; that's me.

I was born in Yorkshire.

I was a normal child
growing up, sort of.

Look at that cummerbund.

Played a lot of football.

I ran quite a lot.

[film projector whirring]

Even won myself a few medals.

[crowd cheering]
[crowd applauding]

I had two dogs.

[dog barking]

Oh, yeah, and I didn't eat meat.

[record scratching]

In fact, I've never eaten meat.

Okay, so maybe my childhood
wasn't that normal.

'Cause that was the 1980s.

Everybody ate meat.

But since then,
things have changed.

Veganism is on the rise and
it is continuing to grow.

There are countless articles

now stating the potential health

and environmental benefits
a plant-based diet can fix.

But for every positive
story related to veganism,

there seems to be another
two that contradict it.

And I still can't go a day

without hearing from friends,
colleagues, and strangers

wanting to share the
many reasons they
could never go vegan.

Like, "Vegans are malnourished,

Climate change doesn't exist.

Cheese, bacon.

The food is bloody disgusting.

B12, protein.

"Animals are there
for us to eat."

Is it all just one
big plant-based con?

Why was I even raised this way?

I need to know more.

I need to know why so many
people continue to say,

"I could never go vegan."

[tense thoughtful music]

I've never eaten meat because
I was raised that way.

I was curious why my
parents made this decision.

So, when I was out one
sunny day, walking my pooch,

I decided to give
my mum a quick call.

[dog panting]

[phone line ringing]

- [Tom's Mum] Hello?

- Hi, Mum. It's Tom.

I've just got a quick
question for you.

When you first told people

you weren't gonna eat meat
anymore, how did they take it?

- [Tom] Of course,

I've heard this more than
anything else since being vegan.

So, I decided to track down
some of the UK's top doctors

and nutritionists so they
could tell me all about-

- Protein.

I think everyone who's vegan
has heard the question,

"Where do you get your protein?"

- The answer is so simple

that I feel completely stupid
repeating it every time.

You know, every single plant
food has protein in it.

Our largest land animals

and strongest land
animals on this planet,

the elephants, and the great
apes, and the giraffes,

are all eating plant foods.

- In the West, there
really are no cases

of protein deficiency

because we are actually getting
an abundance of calories,

and we know that Western vegans

get more than enough protein.

- The average person needs
about 0.8 to one gram

per kilogram of body weight.

Okay, fine, if you're an athlete

or if you're bodybuilding,
trying to build muscle,

if you're playing
a lot of sports,

then your protein
requirements do increase.

But again, only to about 1.6
grams per kilogram body weight.

So again, it's not as
high as people think,

and it's all achievable
with a vegan diet.

- [Tom] As it turns out, Minil
knows what he's talking about

when it comes to
getting enough protein.

[upbeat rock music]

[record scratches]

In fact, I quickly realized

there's a whole host of
professional athletes,

past and present, benefiting
from a plant-based diet.

- I think there is
this big misconception

around you can't be
vegan and strong.

But there's many of us

that are just living
examples of that.

- [Tom] And it's not just
professional athletes either.

I was finding ordinary people

benefiting from a
plant-based diet, too.

Ordinary people doing
extraordinary things.

Like Dean Maher, who's
climbed Mount Everest,

which is quite high
by all accounts.

- Yeah, it's like
a plant-based diet

is our superpower, really.

It's just that recovery.

The last race I did
was a 100-mile race.

And the next day, unless I
really pushed into my quads,

my legs weren't sore at all.

- [Tom] And Mike Coppock, who
I met up with in Barcelona,

as he was about to
attempt yet another

ultra running world record.

- I'm about to attempt
the fastest known time

on the 225-kilometer GR
5 route, near Barcelona.

- [Tom] What I found
even crazier about Mike

is that he'd just done
a full shift at work.

Rather than go home and
rest like a normal human,

he was about to attempt the
world record without any sleep.

Why would you do
something like this?

- [laughs] Yeah,
it's a good question.

- [Tom] Despite years
and years of marketing

linking athletic performance
to meat consumption,

more and more athletes are
adopting a plant-based diet.

Like Lisa Eble, three times
CrossFit champion in Germany

and three times medalist at the
German Weightlifting Champs.

[dramatic orchestral music]

- For me, it's the right way.

It's good for the animals,
it's good for the environment,

and it's good for my body.

I know I can go to an
80-kilo bar and snatch it.

That's easy. [laughs]

- [Tom] And Jeremy Reijnders,

two times CrossFit
champion of Holland.

- I noticed already in
the first couple of weeks

that I had more energy.

I had the same kind of
training but I was less sore.

I was even able to add extra
training during the week

because I could
handle more volume

because I felt like I was
already ready to go earlier.

- [Tom] Kate Strong,

three times static bike
world record holder

and ex-triathlon world champion.

- I was able to
digest it quicker,

which meant that I
could recover quicker

after very heavy
training sessions.

I was sleeping better;

I was waking up more
alive, more refreshed.

Feeling better, having
more positive thoughts.

- [Tom] Ryan Stills,
powerlifting world champion.

Alex Morgan, Olympic
gold medalist

and two-time World Cup winner.

Lewis Hamilton, seven-time
Formula 1 champion.

Chris Smalling, ex-Premier
League-winning footballer.

Cheavon Clarke,
Ex-Olympic boxer.

Dotsie Bausch, cycling
Olympic silver medalist.

- [Dotsie] I had no idea

I was literally
ingesting rocket fuel

when I switched over to plants.

I stood on the Olympic podium

just five months shy
of my 40th birthday.

- [Tom] Carl Lewis,

who ran his fastest
ever times as a vegan,

and tennis superstar,
Novak Djokovic.

I could keep going, but I
think you get the point.

I wanted to get a
sense of how impressive

these athletic feats were,

so I made the somewhat
foolish mistake

of challenging Lisa to a
race walking on our hands.

- Well done!

[Lisa laughs]

Yes!

- [Tom] Safe to say, I
won't be doing that again.

- [laughs] Yeah!
- Ah!

- [Lisa] Good job!

[hands slapping]

- You don't have to follow
those stereotypical norms

of being able to
achieve something

through eating animal products.

I feel like it's just
been almost embedded

into the fitness industry
that you must have to do it,

but we're calling
bullshit. [laughing]

I don't know if I'm allowed
to swear, sorry. [laughs]

- [Tom] You can swear.

[light thoughtful music]

[phone line ringing]

[door clunking]

- [Tom's Mum] Hello?

- Hi, Mum. It's Tom again.

You know before, when I
asked how people reacted

when you said you
didn't eat meat,

was it just protein
they mentioned

or was there anything else?

- [Tom] So, basically
37 years ago,

my mum was hearing the exact
same thing I hear today.

Thankfully, my new doctor
friends were ready to clarify

whether they think
vegans should be fearful

of nutrient deficiencies.

- What we know about a 100%
plant-based or vegan diet

is that it can meet
your nutritional needs

for all stages of life,
and this has been endorsed

by some of the major dietetic
associations around the world,

including the BDA
here in Britain.

We've also got the American
Dietetics Association

and the Canadians.

- [Tom] It was evident
that the majority

of essential nutrients
were available

in abundance in a
plant-based diet,

but like any dietary pattern,

a small handful just need a
little extra care and attention.

- Iodine deficiency
is a global problem,

and it's one of the
commonest global deficiencies

that we face.

- This trace nutrient
is essential for health,

especially thyroid function,

and we only need a
very small amount.

- [Tom] Best plant
sources are sea vegetables

like nori, dulse, or wakame,

which I imagine for a lot
of people, myself included,

sound like made-up words.

Other options of iodine
include fortified plant milks,

yogurts, and breads, iodized
salts, or a supplement.

Vitamin D is another nutrient

that just needs a little
more care and attention.

It's also known as
the "sunshine vitamin"

because over 90% of it is
derived from sun exposure.

It's actually a vitamin

that more than half
the global population

have insufficient levels of.

It is fortified in various
plant milks and breads,

but if you live in the
Northern Hemisphere,

work long hours indoors, or
enjoy role-playing as a vampire,

you should probably supplement,
especially in winter.

And of course, everyone's
favorite nutrient

of concern for vegans: B12.

- This is a really
important vitamin

that's actually made by
microbes in the soil.

- A supplement is the
most reliable way.

And it's important to mention
that many people who eat meat

are also deficient
in vitamin B12.

- [Tom] Rohini was right.

B12 wasn't just a nutrient
of concern for vegans.

In the US, people
above the age of 50

are told to supplement with B12

regardless of dietary pattern,

partly because B12 found in
meat comes attached to protein

that requires stomach
acid for removal

and proper absorption.

Many older adults

don't have enough stomach
acid for this process,

so they're encouraged

to get some of their
B12 from supplements

or fortified foods.

All dietary patterns
take planning,

but there seems to be a much
greater focus on the vegan diet

than most others,

and that's despite
the fact that vegans

are at no greater risk
of nutrient deficiencies

than meat eaters.

As it stands, they're
actually more likely

to have a higher
intake of nutrients

than both vegetarians
and omnivores.

- Actually, the most
prevalent diet in the UK,

you know, the typical British
diet, is far from optimal.

We're so deficient in
a number of nutrients.

- But the number one
dietary deficiency

that you should be
thinking about every day

is dietary fiber deficiency.

This is a deficiency
that affects

about 90% of people in
high-income countries.

And why is that?

It's because our food
systems have changed so much

that we depend on meat, and
dairy, and processed foods,

and junk foods for 60
to 80% of our calories.

Fruits, vegetables,
legumes, nuts,

and seeds in their
unprocessed form

generally account for
maybe 10% of our calories,

and this is a perfect recipe
for a fiber-deficient diet.

- So currently, in the UK,

only one in 10 adults
gets enough fiber.

- [Tom] What?

Only one in 10 adults
get enough fiber?

Wow!

And it's even worse in the US,

where it's only 5%
that get enough.

A similar story in
Canada, too, and Europe.

And this is despite the fact

that an adequate
intake of dietary fiber

is associated with
good digestive health,

a reduced risk of heart
disease, stroke, hypertension,

certain gastrointestinal
disorders,

obesity, type 2 diabetes,
certain cancers,

and not to mention
having a good poo.

- Fiber is only
found in plant foods,

and many people are
surprised to learn

that there is actually zero
fiber in any animal products.

- [Tom] What's crazy

is that even a large
chunk of vegetarians

don't get enough fiber.

As I continue to investigate
the various reasons

people give for not going vegan,

I also ask friends and
family members to help

by sending the most common
reasons they've heard.

One that popped up
a fair few times

is this idea that consuming
meat is masculine.

But what does it actually
mean to be masculine?

Does it mean the biggest?

The strongest?

The most athletic?

A protector? Provider?

A carer of those around him?

Whatever it means, a
large amount of people

associate red meat
with masculinity.

I've heard people argue that
it's because men are hunters

and women are gatherers;
therefore, we're masculine.

But that scenario played
out a long time ago.

I'm not quite sure how shopping

in the frozen aisle of your
supermarket for a piece of meat

screams masculinity
in quite the same way.

Despite this, growing up,
I vividly remember adverts

trying to sell
manliness as a meal.

♪ I am man; hear me roar

♪ The number's too
big to ignore ♪

♪ And I'm way too hungry
to settle for chick food ♪

♪ 'Cause my stomach's
starting to growl ♪

♪ And I'm going on the prowl

- [Tom] So just how big a
role does advertisement play,

and why is it so effective?

- We don't notice it, because
it's around us all the time,

and it's until you stop and go,

"What on earth is
going on there?"

that you suddenly start going,

"Well, that's really
messed up, actually."

Lying on her back in a very
sexually provocative way,

legs in the air with high heels
on and fishnet stockings on.

It's really quite
a bizarre image.

Men like to consume
the bodies of women.

Men like to consume
meat as well.

So in order to establish
masculinity, manliness,

you can kind of do that by
engaging with the practice

of consuming these bodies
in this fragmented,

objectified way.

- Sex sells; it always has.

And for years, men
have been sold products

based around
masculinity and sex.

I mean, the car and
tobacco industries

have been doing this
for a long time.

But it was perhaps
the meat industry

that took it to a
whole new level.

Attractive woman,
reference to oral sex.

Phallic-shaped object
entering woman's open mouth.

Aspirational penis size.

"Eat this sandwich,
be a man, get hungry,

get horny, get fed, get laid."

But seriously, is
meat masculine,

or is it just clever marketing?

If advertisements focused
on women consuming meat,

then men would likely
consume less meat.

And it's believed that
it's actually men suffering

with masculine fragility that
are more likely to eat meat.

And what of the
act of sex itself?

[computer keyboard clacking]

We know from various studies

that high meat consumption
can impact blood flow.

And as you can imagine,

healthy blood flow is essential
for healthy erections.

Whereas high consumption
of plant foods

can improve blood flow to the
heart, brain, and the penis,

thanks to flavonoids

and cyanins found in various
plant foods like apples,

blueberries, and citrus fruits.

Healthy blood flow,
healthy erection.

So with all that being said,

is red meat really the
most masculine choice?

[laptop lid clunks]
[cell phone buzzing]

Now, I have no idea how my
mum stumbled across this chap,

but safe to say I was impressed.

I wonder when he went vegan?

I decided to go meet
him and find out.

There are a lot of
people who believe,

perhaps you get to a certain age

and you think, you
know, "There's no point

in me changing anything now;
it won't make a difference.

You know, I've been this way
all my life; what's the point?"

- [Paul] My message
has always been,

it's never too late to
do anything, you know?

So I challenged myself
to do a million press-ups

between the age of 80 and 90.

I wanna do 100 ultramarathons
before my 100th birthday.

- [Tom] Paul became
vegan in his early 60s

and didn't start
running until he was 82.

But has he seen any differences
to his health by going vegan

over 60 years into his life
and starting running so late?

- Well, I've got
about 30 friends,

email friends I see
regularly, play cards with

and go out walking with.

All of them, without exception,

are on some form of medication.

I'm not. No meds, nothing.

[gentle contemplative music]

- [Tom] As incredible and
aspirational as this sounded,

it was also anecdotal.

In reality, I can
find individuals

that champion any
dietary pattern and
claim to be thriving.

What does the science
say about longevity

in a whole-food
plant-based diet?

Well, it turns out,
Paul has a point;

it really is never too late.

If a 20-year-old switches from
their standard Western diet

to an optimal diet

that is predominantly
whole food plant-based,

it's estimated to increase
life expectancy by 13 years,

even making a halfway
transition to the optimal diet,

and it's expected to
add a further six years.

That's because
eating extra legumes

can add over two years
to life expectancy,

whole grains another two
years, and nuts 1.7 years.

Of course, most people I
know are older than 20,

but that's the thing.

60-year-olds making the
change, just like Paul did,

could live eight years longer,

and 80-year-olds introducing
these foods into their life

could be expected to
live a further 3.4 years.

Paul was onto something with
his claim about medication.

Vegans are up to 58% less likely

to require medication past
the age of 60 than omnivores

and vegetarians.

[deep thoughtful music]

At the end of my
chat, Paul asked me

if I wanted to join him
on his next ultramarathon.

I didn't really,
let's be honest,

but he's over 50
years older than me;

I couldn't exactly
say no, could I?

- [Announcer] Three, two, one!

Go!

[crowd cheering]

Good luck, everyone! Good luck!

We'll see you when you get back.

[contestants chattering]

- [Tom] We're off, Paul.

We're off.
- We're off mate. Yeah.

[contestants chattering]

Put any disease
that you think of

next to a plant-based diet
online and see what comes up.

And inevitably, it'll
say a plant-based diet

is beneficial to any
of those conditions.

- [Tom] All right, Paul,
challenge accepted.

[deep thoughtful music]

- What should we eat?

What should everybody on
the planet strive to eat?

- The Global Burden
of Disease study

showed us that food has now
overtaken other risk factors

as being the biggest thing

that drives chronic disease
in the Western world.

- 74% of the British adults
are carrying excess weight.

They're either
overweight or obese.

- When it comes to
chronic disease risk,

we know that genes
only really account

for between 10 to 15% of cases,

and there is a huge
amount that we can do

in terms of our lifestyle.

- Studies of
populations over time

show us that the
more plants we eat,

the less chances of heart
disease we have in the future.

- There is only one
dietary component

that consistently has been shown

to increase one's risk of
developing bowel cancer,

and that's meat.

Even consuming just
200 grams of fruits

or vegetables per day can
reduce your risk by 22%.

That's one apple a day to
keep the oncologist away.

- Prostate cancer is
the most common cancer

that is diagnosed in men.

- And hormone-dependent
cancers are, in fact,

more likely to be driven

by the increased consumption
of animal products,

including meat and dairy.

- So the World Cancer
Research Fund states

that "A healthy diet
for cancer prevention

is one that's centered
around fruits, vegetables,

whole grains, and beans."

That's pretty much a
whole-food, plant-based diet.

The American College
of Cardiology

recommends a plant-based diet

for preventing
cardiovascular disease.

So that's our two top killers
taken care of there and then.

- Eight out of 10 women will
suffer from hot flushes,

and we know that historically,
women who have eaten

whole plant foods,

women who have soya
regularly in their diet

tend to suffer less.

- The American College of
Clinical Endocrinologists

recommends a plant-based diet

as a first-line prevention
for type 2 diabetes.

- My own father was diagnosed
with type 2 diabetes

in his 50s.

- I think the penny dropped

when I realized that I was
losing my vision in both eyes.

- And he put it into remission

using a whole-food,
plant-based diet.

- I felt much healthier,
and I'm in remission

with regard to the diabetes.

- Irritable bowel syndrome,
digestive discomfort,

bloating, gas, indigestion

affecting more than
one in five people.

We have got to look at
the food on our plate.

Because the science
clearly tells us

that the standard Western diet,

which is a high meat, high
dairy, high processed food,

high junk food diet, a
plant-deficient diet,

is the perfect diet to generate
terrible digestive health.

- You know, when you
read the studies,

the stats tell us that 80%

of the chronic illnesses
that we see in the NHS

could be pretty much wiped out

if we, as a population or
citizens, adopted a healthy diet

and other healthy
lifestyle behaviors.

- It's not about
labeling yourself as
vegan or plant-based,

or even flexitarian.

It's about choosing
to build your meals

from the ingredients

that are proven to
benefit human health.

- If we shifted the
whole of our population

towards a plant-based diet,
whether it's 85%, 90%,

or even 100% for
those that can do it,

we would radically reduce
our risk of illness,

and that would make
my life so much easier

as a cancer doctor.

- [Tom] My nan died of
a massive heart attack

a few years ago.

Since then, I've
lost other relatives

to various chronic illnesses.

I never once spoke to them
about the food they ate

or their lifestyle.

Maybe it wouldn't have
made a difference,

but maybe it would.

The real kicker is the fact
that I didn't even try.

Over in Scotland, Sophia
has very kindly invited me

to watch her defend her British
at the Powerlifting Champs.

Powerlifting consists
of three attempts

at three different exercises:

Squat, bench, and deadlift.

In an ideal world,
you make the lift,

then you increase the
weight on your next attempt.

Sophia is off to a great start

with two fantastic opening
lifts of 157.5 kilograms

and 165 kilograms.

On her third squat, she's
going for 170 kilograms.

[upbeat techno music]

[audience cheering]

[audience applauding]

And she nails it.

But I quickly learn,

it's not gonna be plain
sailing for Sophia.

She's got some
strict competition

in the name of Susanna Argile.

Susanna is about to
attempt the British record

with a massive
198-kilogram squat.

[upbeat techno music continues]

[audience cheering]

- [Announcer] It's a good lift!

And a new British
record for Susan Argile!

- [Tom] At the end of round
one, Susanna's in the lead,

with Sophia back in third place.

[upbeat techno music]

[car engine whirring]

Back in Barcelona, Mike
is off to a great start,

as he tells me when
we meet up with him

at the first checkpoint.

- Yeah, pretty good.

Reasonably fresh.

Just been taking
it slowly. [sniffs]

Trying to go as slow
as possible. [laughs]

- [Tom] You're ahead
of schedule then?

- Yeah, a little bit.

- [Tom] The weather
is truly awful.

Worse than in the UK,
if you can believe that.

But it's not deterred
Mike in the slightest.

- I'm pretty pleased
that it's light now,

and now still feeling
reasonably good.

The legs are still
working pretty well.

So 76 kilometers.

Yeah, I'm still feeling
reasonably fresh.

Yeah, avocado and bean
wraps are the best.

[people chattering]

See you tomorrow.
- Yep, yeah.

- Yeah.
- Have a good time.

- Bye.
[contestant laughing]

- [Tom] And just like that,
Mike's back on his way,

and is two hours ahead
of the current record.

While out on a walk with Chan,

my mum kindly sent
me another argument

she's had quite a
lot over the years.

[cell phone buzzing]

It was a good question because
I also hear this a lot.

So, is it more expensive?

[tense thoughtful music]

- Some people really think so.

And if you go to some
supermarket chains,

you might get away
with that impression,

especially if you buy sort of
highly processed, you know,

burger replacements.

But based on basic ingredients,

on the cost of
basic ingredients,

it doesn't seem to be the case.

We wanted to really
dig out some data

and look at how expensive
different, healthy,

and more sustainable
dietary patterns,

including a vegan dietary
pattern, would actually be.

The biggest cost
reduction we found

for vegan dietary patterns,

and the least for
pescatarian dietary patterns.

Those could actually
be more expensive

in high-income countries.

One thing to illustrate this

is if we look at the weekly cost

of a normal food
basket for one person,

in the US or other
high-income countries,

it would be about $50 per week.

You can cut that down to
just a little bit over $30

if you were to buy
the ingredients

for a vegetarian or vegan diet.

- [Tom] Clearly, there's a cheap

and expensive way
to eat vegan foods,

so processed foods
obviously play their part

in why people think this way.

Plant-based milks are
also 60% more expensive

than their dairy counterparts.

And this is troubling when
a large portion of people

are actually
intolerant to dairy.

But what about fruits?

Cost of fruit is believed
to be the barrier

from stopping 1/3
of people in the UK

from eating enough of it.

And somehow,

this means that four
ultra-processed beef burgers

are actually often
cheaper than four apples.

And upon further research,

I seem to find an
explanation for this:

$540 billion has been dished
out in government subsidies.

I mean, subsidies don't
have to be a bad thing.

Surely, if used correctly,

they could both drive
food prices down

and protect a global food
system that works for all.

But when used incorrectly,

then nearly all
the money pumped in

could harm people's health,
the planet's health,

and drive inequality.

The biggest beneficiary
of these subsidies

is animal agriculture,
such as beef and dairy.

In the UK and many
other countries,

livestock farmers
simply wouldn't survive

without the taxpayer.

In Wales, a country where
a large amount of land

is used to farm sheep, the
average farmer's income

hovers around zero
pound per year,

meaning almost all the
money a farmer receives

comes from public subsidies.

What's worse is that the
majority of subsidies

around the world don't
even benefit local farmers.

In the US, 10% of farmers mop up

77% of their
country's subsidies.

In the EU,

they get the money based on
every hectare of land farmed.

The landowners, i.e. the
rich, just get richer.

I wondered about how much
money arable farmers get.

And thankfully, I had
just the person to ask.

So I decided to head over to
Iain Tolhurst's organic farm,

in slow motion.

Do you benefit from
any subsidization?

- No, at the moment, we don't
get any subsidies at all.

We have had little bits
of money in the past.

It was never more than
0.3% of our turnover.

- [Tom] How can that be?

This is one of the richest
countries in the world,

and yet people
have clearly stated

they can't afford to eat
certain fruits and veg

because of cost.

A country where only 8% of
children aged between 11

and 18 are eating enough
fruits and vegetables,

yet we're offering a
pittance in subsidies

to arable farmers.

- So if governments wanted
to make a difference,

they would subsidize
the price of fruit

and vegetables at
the point of sale.

- [Tom] But that isn't
what governments are doing,

so it turns out that
is why four apples

cost more than four
processed beef burgers.

[dog panting]
[deep thoughtful music]

[cell phone buzzing]

This really got me thinking,

because if animals are
here for us to eat,

then which animals do we mean?

[light thoughtful music]

There are currently over
6,300 species of mammal,

and a further 10,000
species of bird.

Yet in the UK, US, and
the majority of the West,

we only eat a handful.

We eat the same animals over
and over and over again.

The UK's meat consumption is
actually currently reducing,

but we still kill and consume
2.6 million cows and calves,

10 million pigs, 14.5
million sheep and lambs,

and over 950 million
birds each year.

In the US, it's more like
34 million cows and calves,

131 million pigs,

and 9.3 billion chickens.

In one country, in one year,
they eat 9.3 billion chickens.

And worryingly, in the US, meat
consumption is on the rise.

If these animals really
are here for us to eat,

then why do we eat so few?

There's literally thousands
of species to choose from.

- In meat-eating cultures
around the world,

people learn to classify
a small handful of animals

as edible.

All the rest they
classify as inedible

and often disgusting and
even offensive to consume.

So, even though the
type of animal consumed

changes from culture to culture,
all cultures tend to think

of their own choices as rational

and the choices of other
cultures as irrational

and often even offensive.

- [Tom] In other
parts of the world,

they do eat vastly
different animals

to the ones we consume in the
UK, US, and most of Europe.

In Japan, they eat wasp
crackers, tuna's eyeballs,

and dolphin.

In France, you can
order frog risotto.

In parts of Cambodia,
they fry spiders.

And in parts of Asia,
they eat cats and dogs.

Animals that in the US, it's
not only morally frowned upon,

but it's illegal.

- In the West, for
example, we don't eat dogs,

but in the East, in some
places, people do eat dogs.

But they don't eat
all kinds of dogs.

They eat certain kinds of dogs.

So, it's offensive to
eat certain breeds,

but eating dogs who
are mixed breeds

is not offensive to many people.

So, there really is not
a rational classification

for why certain animals
are deemed edible

and others are not.

- [Tom] Why don't
we farm and eat dogs

like they do in
large parts of Asia?

It'd be quite easy to manage.

Dogs are docile.

That's why we test on
thousands of them every year

in the cosmetic and
pharmaceutical industry.

It would probably be just as
easy to farm and eat them, too.

- When we look at a
hamburger, we see food,

we don't see dead animals.

And we feel appetized
often, anyway.

We feel appetized
rather than disgusted.

Now, if somebody were to
tell us that that hamburger

was made from a
golden retriever,

chances are we would
automatically see
that hamburger now

as a dead animal
rather than as food,

and we would automatically
feel disgusted,

and often perhaps even
sad, rather than appetized.

- [Tom] 26% of the UK population

have a dog as a companion
animal, and 24% have a cat.

People the world over
love their cats and dogs.

Although clearly not everywhere.

In China, anywhere between 10

and 20 million dogs
are killed every year,

five million in Vietnam,

and another two
million in South Korea.

Which is why so many
people in the West

campaign passionately
against it.

But why?

What's the point?

I mean, in India, Hindus
consider cows sacred,

yet we eat over 2 1/2
million every year in the UK.

Should they protest
and sign petitions?

Would we listen?

Why do these ethical
double standards exist?

Why can you donate to help
prevent animal cruelty

on the oldest animal
charity website,

but then on their
assurance scheme website

find recipes on the best
ways to cook the animals?

If these animals are
truly here for us to eat,

we seem to be particularly
selective in which ones we mean.

The idea of chopping up my dog

and eating his flesh is
a truly horrible one.

But how different is it really?

[dog faintly barking]

[cell phone buzzing]

[Tom groans]

- [Cody] Tom, it's Cody.

Quick question.

What makes people turn vegan?

I mean, we've been eating
meat since cavemen times.

There's cave paintings of
cavemen hunting animals.

There's no cave paintings of
cavemen digging vegetables.

Also, talking of animals,
animals eat other animals.

I'm an animal.

You're an animal.

You know, we've even got
the same teeth as animals.

Carnivorous animals, anyway.

You know, canines and all that.

I'll send you a picture of
me teeth, just to clarify.

Anyway, sorry if I've
ruined your trip.

Enjoy this and-

[cell phone beeps]
[Tom sighs]

[cell phone buzzing]

- [Tom] My friend's mouth

gave me a newfound
respect for dentists.

But I was curious to know,

who has the biggest canines
in the animal kingdom?

It's probably not
what you're expecting.

The hippopotamus has the largest
teeth of any land animal.

Their canines can
reach up to 1.5 feet.

But they eat grass and fruit.

They don't eat meat.

And sure, some
animals, like lions,

use their canines to
tear away at meat,

but others use it
for social signaling

and to help defend
external threats.

Basically, I'm not sure the
mere presence of canines

really proves anything.

I mean, have you tried tearing
raw meat with your canines?

Because some people actually
have, and it's not easy.

[computer keyboard clacking]

It's not what our
teeth are designed for.

They're built for crushing
and grinding, not for slicing.

That's why they
move side to side.

But what about this argument

that we're all part
of the animal kingdom

and we should follow
the lead of the big cats

and other predators?

I mean, they're
not vegan, right?

- And I'm just gonna say
absolutely, they're not vegan.

And they'll kill each
other for their survival.

But animals also
don't fly planes.

They don't go to space.

They don't have Amazon delivery.

So, to compare us to the animals

doesn't really work
as an argument.

- [Tom] What were our
ancestors' diets like?

Was it all meat?

Did they eat plants?

What about whole grains?

Does it even matter?

- The take-home message
is that these hominins,

they would eat whatever they
could get in their mouth

and get some
nutritional value from.

- Our ancestors ate to survive.

They ate meat and
plants for that reason.

And probably more plants
than most people realize.

There's also evidence to suggest

we've been eating whole
grains for 100,000 years.

But even if there wasn't any
evidence to suggest that,

who cares?

Our ancestors were trying
to make it to the next meal

and avoid starvation.

Humans today live in a
much more complex society

than our ancestors.

We ask moral and
ethical questions.

We want to know what's
good for the planet.

What's good for us.

What's good for our wallet.

Here in the West, we're trying
to avoid the chronic diseases

that are our biggest killers,

so doesn't it make
sense to eat the foods

that help them achieve that,

regardless of how many of
them our ancestors ate?

I mean, there's so much
evidence for eating a diet

that's rich in plants
and whole grains,

so would it really
matter one way or another

if our ancestors, 150,000
years ago, didn't eat them?

[cell phone buzzing]

[groans] I'm tryna sleep here.

[Tom sighs]

- [Cody] Hey up,
it's Cody again.

I've just thought of
a fourth one actually:

It's vegan food.

It's foul, honestly.

Anyway, I'll say that-

[light thoughtful music]

- [Tom] Is vegan
food terrible then?

How come so many people
are genuinely surprised

when they eat something vegan

and find they actually like it?

- "Oh, that's not bad.

This is vegan food?"

And slowly you start
to see them open up

and go, "Oh, I
could probably do...

What's the name of that one?

Is that recipe in
this book here?

Okay, great."

And when they taste the food

and realize that
it's really tasty,

then they kinda go, "And this
is gonna make me healthier?"

- "It's affordable.

This is gonna make
me lose weight.

This is gonna help
me lower cholesterol.

This is gonna fill me up.

This is gonna make
me have more money.

And it's gonna save me
on healthcare costs."

And suddenly, you
start realizing

how much this can affect
your life in a positive way.

Suddenly, you go, "Oh, I'm
gonna do more of this."

- [Tom] I was fortunate to
spend some time with them,

get an idea of how
they approach cooking,

and also put together a
couple of delicious meals.

- Typically, you're
using fresh ingredients.

You're using herbs,
you're using spices,

you're using things in season.

As a society, we're
very addicted to a
certain type of food.

And it's not until you
can wean yourself off that

that you can stand back
and go, "Oh, my goodness!

Like, I was
sacrificing my health.

I was sacrificing
my well-being."

Now it tasted good, but this
food can taste even better.

- [Tom] These meals
were quick and easy,

like their Philly steak sandwich

made from lion's mane mushroom

or their famous
five-minute chickpea curry.

Let me tell you,
they're both delicious.

- What vegan or whole-food
plant-based offers

is food that tastes amazing,
leaves you feeling good,

having more energy.

- Most people have this
one-dimensional view of veganism

as people who eat salads all
day, which is totally wrong.

You know, you have people
from different cultures

and backgrounds who
eat a variety of meals

which are nutritious,
healthy, filling.

- [Tom] In fact, it only
takes a quick internet search,

and you'll find countless people

cooking up the most
delicious vegan meals.

I also frequently hear that
people could never go vegan

because it's too difficult,

that they wouldn't know
what to cook at home,

and they wouldn't be
able to shop or eat out.

So how hard is it?

[groovy upbeat music]

Believe it or not, I'm
not a professional chef,

but to create delicious,
healthy, and quick vegan meals,

you really don't need to be.

Experiment with it;
start with one-pot meals.

Think of your favorite
cuisines and dishes;

they will almost always
be flavored with plants,

so play around with
herbs and spices.

Everything I'm cooking here

can be done in 15
minutes or less,

and most can be batch-cooked
to save time later.

You don't need to miss out
on the foods you love either.

Put the word vegan in front
of your favorite dishes

and just see how many
recipes it brings up.

♪ You are

- [Tom] And what about
shopping and eating out?

How hard is it?

In the UK, every
major supermarket

now has a full vegan range.

There's over 14,000 vegan

or vegan-friendly
restaurants in England alone.

And in the US, 48%
of restaurants serve
vegan dishes now.

And it isn't just
the UK and the US;

veganism has gone truly global.

The top five vegan-friendly
cities in the world

are now spread across
four continents,

and there's over
186,000 businesses

from 180 countries on
the Happy Cow platform.

It has never been easier
to eat or cook vegan.

But what of the meat
alternatives on the market?

How convincing are they?

Sure, we know if it's
the health benefits

you're striving for,

then whole plant foods
are always better.

But what if you
just wanna feel like

you're tucking into your
favorite burger or chicken dish?

As it happened, I had a
little experiment planned.

I have to present people
with three dishes,

telling them one's
meat and two are vegan.

I wanna know if people
can tell the difference.

Let's see how good these
meat alternatives really are.

It quickly became apparent

that not only did
everybody like the food,

they also kept choosing
different options
as the meat dish.

- Maybe the burger.

- Yeah, I'd probably say burger.

- Okay.

- I was torn between the
sausage and the chicken.

- I think the chicken was meat.

- Yeah, I'd probably
say a burger then.

- I'd say the
sausage was the meat.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

- The reason why I chose
chicken as being chicken

is 'cause it looks fibrous.

- Would it surprise
you if I told you

that they're all vegan? [laughs]

- It would to me, it would.

That burger was great.

Really, really.

Yeah.

- I actually preferred
that chicken to chicken.

- Oh, did you?
[group laughs]

- And if it wasn't meat,

it's much better than
I thought it would be.

- Well, I thought the
burger was fascinating

'cause it was actually
a better burger

than a meat burger was.
[Tom laughs]

- It was, yeah.
- The sausage is my favorite.

So that's number one.

- That's what surprised me.

It was all really, really nice,

and it was a guess
which wasn't the meat.

I didn't have a clue.

- Now, this was just a
fun little experiment.

I really just wanted to know

if the meat alternatives
on the market

were convincing enough
to make people believe

they were actually eating meat.

And it seemed to work.

If nothing else, I
think we can agree

these meat alternatives are
pretty damn good these days.

What about baking?

I hear a lot of people tell
me they could never go vegan

because they love
baking too much.

Well, thankfully,
my friend, Steph,

happens to run an incredible
vegan bakery business.

And better yet, she
invited me over to test out

some of the delicious
treats she was baking.

Now, obviously,
this is pretty far

from the whole food goodness I
was previously talking about,

but it's good to know
that on those occasions

where you wanna treat yourself
to a cake or a muffin,

you won't be missing out.

[upbeat electronic pop music]

[upbeat electronic
pop music continues]

Steph uses ground flax

to recreate the same
effect an egg might have.

While this is clearly
not a health food,

there's no denying
it's delicious,

and it shows how
creative vegan bakers

are becoming in the kitchen.

[upbeat electronic
pop music continues]

I'm gonna make a mess.

- Okay.

- Mmm!

Oh, my word!

[Stephanie chuckles]

It's so good!

- Thank you.

- [Tom] In fact, I like
Steph's baking so much

that I asked her to bake
the cake for my wedding.

- Most people have so many
barriers in their heads

and so many kind of
resistance to it,

and it's really taking
that simple step

and trying these things.

- This starts with you.

Your food choices,

you make every single meal
support the world that we want.

- [Tom] Round two.

Bench.

[sparse tense music]

Susanna managed 105

and 110 kilograms on
the first two lifts.

She's going for 115 kilograms
on the third attempt.

[audience cheering]

[weights clanking]

[audience applauding]

Sophia's chasing,
trying to close the gap.

She managed a 107.5

and 112. 5 kilograms
in the first two lifts.

She's going for a personal
best and a new British record

on a third attempt with
a massive 118 kilograms.

[upbeat electro-pop music]
[people chattering]

- [Judge] Go!

[audience yelling]

[weights clanking]

- [Announcer] Put some
weights on the bar!

Three lead weights!

Good lift!

New British record!

- And she gets it, but it
hardly makes a dent on the lead.

Sophia still sits
in third place.

[tense techno music]

[birds chirping]

So, I'm about to go
for my leg with Mike.

And in all honesty, I'm
absolutely knackered.

I've not done any running,
but I've just not slept.

I've not slept at all.

I can only imagine
how he's feeling.

Mike's coming up
to halfway through.

Yeah, he's about 100K in.

From the last checkpoint, he
was now ahead of schedule.

But honestly, he's
so happy, so upbeat.

He's genuinely quite inspiring

every time he comes
back to the van.

I'm gonna go with him, try
to keep his morale high.

Try not to ruin his pacing
and ruin the entire challenge,

'cause, at the moment,
he's smashing it.

I was having a great time.

And Mike was still
in good spirits.

Although I can
tell he was tiring,

which is to be expected
given how far he was running.

He was still around one
hour ahead of the record,

but the buffer he'd built up

was definitely
starting to reduce.

That's stunning.

[camera rattling]
[foliage rustling]

Nearly fell off the cliff!

Enjoy. See ya.

Then once again, he's off with
around 100 kilometers to go.

So, no big deal then.

Back in the far
south of England,

where people can't really
understand my accent,

Paul and I were
powering on in the 50K.

[upbeat rock music]

As if doing a 50K
ultra isn't enough,

Paul insisted on doing 25
press-ups at each aid station.

Just hit the five-hour mark.

Nearly 40 miles in, and
Paul's absolutely smashing it.

[upbeat rock music continues]

Halfway through, Paul?

- Halfway, mate, eh?

We made the halfway mark.

- [Tom] [chuckles] Feeling good?

- I'm feeling great, mate.

Yeah.

We made it to halfway.

- [Tom] Before I knew it, we
were into the second half.

Over five hours in,

we were back climbing
up a bloody big hill.

[wind whistling]
[birds chirping]

[upbeat heavy rock music]

[cell phone buzzing]

[light thoughtful music]

Bacon, for over 3 1/2 centuries,
people have been eating it.

In Canada, 43% of people would
rather eat it than have sex.

Which begs the question:

how are those 43% of
people doing sex in Canada?

I need to go back to the start.

I need to see how
this becomes this.

[pan sizzling]

I need to see a typical

Red Tractor-assured
pig farm in the UK,

not one, that might
show up on the BBC

or Guardian for malpractice

and then discarded as a
bad apple of the industry.

I know a Red Tractor represents

a world-leading food
chain assurance scheme

that underpins the high standard
of British food and drink,

and it's a place
where animal welfare

is the number one priority
for all livestock farmers.

Because I also wanted
to get to the bottom

of another argument:

"We give the animals
a good life."

I mean, the UK has the best

animal welfare
standards in the world,

significantly better than
the US, Canada, France,

Germany, and Australia.

The National Farmers Union
are quite proud of this fact,

so if animals are gonna get a
good life anywhere, it's here.

[bird squawks]

So I went undercover
to a pig farm,

and one thing I
quickly discovered

is there's three stages
to the life of a pig.

[pigs snorting]

Stage one, farrowing crates.

[tense uneasy music]

[pigs snorting]

Stage two, weaner pigs.

[pigs squealing]

Stage three, fattening pens.

One of the rebuttals
against veganism I hear

is that, as an individual, you
won't make any impact alone.

If everyone else
continues eating animals,

then what's the point?

Staring into the eyes
of this individual,

I'd never felt more strongly
against that sentiment.

In fact, switching
to a plant-based diet

saves at least 100
animals a year,

meaning thousands of animals
over the course of a lifetime.

Is that really not
making a difference?

That night I couldn't sleep.

I couldn't shake the
last pig from my mind.

The way they looked at me,

they were the saddest
eyes I've ever seen.

I had so many other
questions as well.

What happened to the mum?

Where was the enrichment
I'd heard so much about?

And why was I reading about
cases of tail docking,

teeth clipping, castration,
and thumping in the country

with the highest welfare
standards in the world?

What even is thumping?

I decided to call it a night,

reminding myself that
these are indoor pigs.

I know there's such a
thing as outdoor-bred pigs

with better welfare standards,

and that's what people
frequently tell me they buy

to avoid supporting
factory farms.

But the more I read,
the more shocked I was.

98.3% of pigs in the
US are factory-farmed.

In the EU, over 75% are in
large commercial holdings.

What confused me even more

was the definition
of "outdoor bred."

It simply means the
pigs are born outdoors

and can then be brought
indoors after four weeks.

It also doesn't necessarily mean

they have access to
grass to graze on,

as apparently, a concrete
yard would suffice.

Do people know this?

If so, why even bother
buying outdoor-bred animals?

But when a journalist asked
the then CEO of Red Tractor,

he answered the question with,

"The advantages are some people

are prepared to pay more for it

because they think
it's better welfare."

Are you seriously telling me

this is the best quality of
animal welfare in the world?

I'm not sure I'm convinced.

[pigs squealing]

The next morning, my alarm
clock woke me to take Chan out.

Only in my day's slumber,
it sounded different.

It sounded like
pigs screaming out,

the same pigs I'd
seen the night before,

and they didn't sound happy.

And that stuck with me.

The thing is, I know
when Chan sounds happy

and when he doesn't.

I'm sure most people
with companion animals

wish they could talk
to them at some point

just for confirmation.

As it happens, I stumbled
across an article

talking about how
researchers in Copenhagen

were doing exactly this,

and it was fascinating.

So what sort of situations
deliver these positive

and negative responses?

- So, the situations
we used in our study

that were positive:

So we had enrichment,
for example.

So pigs together in a family
arena, where they had toys,

and food, and water,
and could just explore.

So, the negative emotions we had

were, for example, obvious
ones in the life of a pig,

so castration,

eventually at the end of
the life, slaughterhouse.

In piglets, we had when piglets

are being crushed
by their mother,

when they miss nursing,
when they fight.

- [Tom] I'll be honest,

I wasn't overly
surprised by any of this.

So what did the negative
emotional responses sound like?

- Then we have examples
of more negative sounds,

like piglet castration.

[piglet screeching]

That's very high
pitch and very long.

- [Tom] Versus a positive
emotional response.

- And then we have
reunion with littermates,

so piglets being reunited.

[piglet grunts]

So, that's very short; that's
just a simple short grunt.

- [Tom] There really is a clear
difference in their sounds.

But what about how they behave?

I had to see pigs in a
different environment

to see how they compared to
what I'd seen undercover,

so I reached out to
an animal sanctuary.

[light thoughtful music]

These pigs clearly
look different;

they smell different,
they act different,

they sound different to
the ones at the farm.

In fact, they sound much closer

to the short grunts
shown to me by Elodie

when pigs were demonstrating
positive emotions.

And while I was
at the sanctuary,

I got to see various
other animals

living out their best lives.

And Katherine, who
runs the sanctuary,

also showed me some
chickens they'd rescued

from a nearby battery farm.

At least, I thought they
were from battery farms.

I know chickens have it rough.

They are the most
abused land animal

with 180 million
dying every day.

I'd done my research
on chickens long ago.

I knew that 95% of
broiler chickens

were factory-farmed in the UK

and a staggering
99.9% were in the US.

I knew that caged hens only
had the space equivalent

to the size of an iPad.

But because I knew that,
I never bought caged eggs.

I bought free-range.

Caged equals bad, free-range
equals good, right?

They don't suffer; they're free.

- All of these chickens,

whether they're coming
from a caged farm,

which we have rescued from,

whether they're
coming from a barn,

where they just don't go outside
but they're kept in a barn,

or whether they're coming
from free-range farms

and sometimes organic
free-range farms,

that people think is the
highest welfare imaginable,

they all come with a
lot of medical issues.

A lot of them featherless,
being pecked on by each other,

redraw.

They will have a lot of issues

with their reproductive systems.

They will have a lot
that are egg-bound,

which means the eggs get stuck.

They will have egg peritonitis,
have a lot of prolapses.

We have a lot of leg problems.

So a lot of them
will come in limping,

a lot of broken legs, a
lot of pulled muscles.

Of course, I don't know
if people know this,

but the way that is accepted
that you pick chickens up

is by the legs.

So when you are collecting
hens, they will bring out,

like, four or five hens,
sometimes, in one hand,

held by their legs.

And the Defra standard

is that you're supposed
to hold both legs.

- [Tom] Free-range
birds bread for meat

are kept alive for a meager

two to three weeks longer in
the UK than caged chickens.

They only have to be kept
outdoors for half their life

but when they're indoors,

they're allowed to house
13 birds per square meter.

That's only four less than the
17 limit for a caged chicken.

Real kicker for
the animal-loving
vegetarian I grew up as

was that free-range eggs

meant that the hence
could still be crammed

with up to nine chickens
per square meter

when indoors on a night.

And that most egg-laying
hens that don't die on farms

are killed for meat at 72 weeks

when they're not
fit to lay anymore.

It would seem to me
that the egg industry

is the meat industry.

- No.

I mean, we didn't know.

People think that free-range
equals high welfare.

It depends what your
definition of high welfare is.

- [Tom] Pondering
over what I'd learned

and witnessed myself
at the factory farm,

I met up with Dr. Alice
Brough, a former pig vet,

to discuss the
footage I'd captured.

- It's what you'd describe
as a typical farrowing house.

What we see here is
the length of the sow

is obviously, like, as long,

if not slightly too
large for the crate.

There are stereotypical
signs of stress behaviors,

and that's because the only
thing she has to do is eat.

It's really sad.

I mean, farrowing houses
are probably the saddest

places on farm, in my opinion.

She's obviously got, like, a
little bit of sawdust there,

which the law specifies
that you have to provide

some sort of nesting substrate,

which can literally
be a handful of paper,

and that will sort of-

- That will tick the box.
- Yes, so exactly.

That's what it is.

But I mean, that's better

than a lot of places I've seen,
to be honest, in providing

some substrate for them.
- Oh, really?

- [Alice] Yeah.

[somber thoughtful music]

- We also visited Pear
Tree Farm Animal Sanctuary.

- [Alice] So, immediately, we
see them rooting in the ground

with their snouts, which is
such a strongly motivated,

like, natural behavior for pigs.

That's their thing.

Long tails, lovely to see.

- [Tom] This pig is having
the time of its life.

- [Alice] Having a great time.

- [Tom] Getting a bit of a
belly rub, and bloody loves it.

- Yeah.
[Tom laughs]

Oh, they're so like
dogs, aren't they?

Like, they do love a belly rub.

They have so many vocalizations.

If you spend time, particularly
with pigs on sanctuaries,

they do almost, like,
converse with you.

- So, this is a second phase,
as it was described to me,

'cause there's three phases.

So, do you wanna tell us
what's happening here then?

- [Alice] This is like a typical

sort of weaner
accommodation unit.

That thing there is
meant to be a toy.

The flies are
absolutely typical.

That's such a
standard thing to see.

Feces all over the walls,
all over the floor.

Again, this looks
like relatively decent

compared to, like, quite a
lot of units that I've seen.

Most of these pigs have sort
of wounds on their flanks,

which is from fighting.

You're cramming them into
these tiny little barren cells.

And generally, this
looks like a typical,

sort of Red Tractor
finishing unit.

No wonder they're fighting.

They've got nowhere to go.

- That ball there-
- Yeah.

- [Tom] Is part of their
enrichment then, I guess?

- [Alice] Yeah.

So, we can see,
on this one shot,

we've got a really filthy ball

and a completely filthy
plastic tube hanging up.

Their tails are docked,

so that's a mutilation
done without anesthetic.

- [Tom] And how do
the piglets react?

- [Alice] Oh, they scream.

- [Tom] I've seen the term
"thumping" thrown about

as something done to
pigs, but what is it?

- [Alice] Picking the
piglet up by the back legs,

swinging them over
your shoulder,

and sort of just cracking
their skull on the-

- Oh, my.
- Concrete wall,

or on the side of something.

- [Tom] And that's legal then?

- That's legal.

That's something I've
done myself a lot.

[tense uneasy music]
[pigs snorting]

- [Tom] I think this is
like maybe the sick bay,

the sick pen.
- Yeah, like a hospital pen,

if you can say that
with a straight face.

There's no evidence that
these pigs are being treated.

I'll talk about this
little fella now,

with the huge mass
under the throat there.

That's not something
that's gonna get better

before slaughter.

So, what they're doing here
is just leaving him to linger.

Like, there have been times
where I've gone onto farms

and had to go around and
shoot, like, 20 pigs in a row,

just because they've had
these joint swellings

and been left on the slats

and obviously not been
checked properly or treated.

- [Tom] What I don't understand

is that the Animal
Protection Index

rank us top for animal welfare.

The National Farmers Union
boast about it on their website.

- The NFU have put this up
as sort of a proud moment

of doing well with
farm animal welfare.

But what they haven't
done is separate out

our ranking for
actual farm animals.

So, what we got for
farm animals was a D,

which ranks us in
line with South Korea,

Mexico, Brazil, Italy,

various other countries

which are not known for
their high welfare standards.

So, you know, the fact that
they're putting this out

as something, which is great,

and we celebrate our
world-leading welfare,

but actually, the animals
that they're in charge of,

the farm animals, are
scoring incredibly poorly.

- What the hell?

Surely, that can't be right?

But it is.

While the Animal
Protection Index

scored the UK overall with a B

for our animal
welfare standards,

largely because of our laws on
protecting companion animals

and those in captivity,

for animals used in
farming, we did score a D.

The lowest grade
of any area scored.

Although globally, I was
having a hard time finding

a country that did score higher
than a D for farmed animals.

The US and Australia
scored an E.

What are they doing to
their farmed animals there?

I've read and heard a lot about
antibiotic use in farming,

but in the UK, it's
dropping, right?

- The NFU puts
out this big boast

that we've reduced
our usage by 53%

over, you know, 2014 to 2018.

And it kind of went
down really quickly

when we started monitoring
what we were doing,

and then it plateaued
because we've reached a point

where we couldn't physically
use fewer antibiotics

without all the
animals just dying.

They did a huge analysis
on 139 different studies,

and 72% of them said there
was a confirmed clear link

between use in livestock
and resistance in humans.

- When we go to hospital,

we want the antibiotics
that we're given to work.

We want our loved ones
to survive a sepsis.

But as things are going,

that's becoming
increasingly unlikely,

because not only of the overuse
of antibiotics in general

but specifically
the overuse of them

when we give them to
animals for us to eat.

- There was a
previous figure quoted

in the last of round
of studies into this

that it would be
10 million deaths,

a predicted 10
million deaths a year,

from antibiotic-resistant
infection by 2050.

And the fact that we've
intensified our agriculture

and we're pumping over 70%
of the world's antibiotics

into livestock in very
inappropriate ways

just means that
it's skyrocketing

much quicker than we were
sort of planning for.

- [Tom] Now, that
really pissed me off.

There's someone very close to me

that requires antibiotics
on a daily basis to survive.

20 of the 27 antibiotics
prescribed to animals

are vital for humans
to be treated with.

But I couldn't stop.

There was so much more to learn.

Next stop, the slaughterhouse.

I've never been to
a slaughterhouse.

I couldn't tell you where
the nearest one is to me,

despite the fact that there
are over 150 in the UK

and 2,700 in the US.

- [Investigator] Slaughterhouses
are so hidden from society.

Many have got 24-hour security
high perimeter fences.

You could be mistaken;
they were prisons.

- [Tom] So what's
it like inside?

- The sounds and smells, I
still get, they stick with you.

- The number of animals that
need to be killed for a start

just negates any, like, kindness
and, like, gentle handling.

- [Tom] But how are they killed?

What are the common practices?

[fence rattles]

[cow thudding]

[gate clanking]

What makes it humane?

[fence rattles]

Cows are stunned using a
captive bolt or electricity.

[gentle somber music]

Poultry are hung upside down

and dipped into an electrified
water bath to stun them

before their throats are slit.

Sheep are stunned and
killed with electricity,

but just like this one here,

it's not always a quick process.

Fish are exposed
to carbon dioxide,

bled out without
stunning, gutted alive,

or suffocated out of water.

And what about pigs?

How do we get bacon?

It's either the CO2 gas chamber

[pigs snarling]

[gentle somber music continues]

or electrical stunning,
followed by sanguination,

then transported
to a scalding tank.

- [Alice] Yeah, I mean,

I've seen pigs swimming
around in that,

like, bleeding to death.

[gentle somber music continues]

- I often ask myself,
"Would this be okay

if I was doing this to a human?"

- [Tom] I've asked
everyone I've spoken to

whether they think humane
slaughter is possible

in today's global
farming system.

I've asked activists, the RSPCA,

vegans, vegetarians,
and omnivores.

I could go through
every answer one by one,

but I think you already know it.

And what of the human toll,

working in these surroundings
with these animals?

What are the physical and
psychological effects?

- Colleagues there who'd get
frustrated with the animals

and take it out on them,
take it out on each other.

- Going home,
absolutely traumatized,

like calling my mum,
sobbing on the phone,

saying, "I've had to
shoot another 20 pigs

because of these
welfare issues."

- I'd go out,

it got to a stage where
if someone looked at me,

I'd probably go over
and headbutt them.

- [Tom] As the UK
and other nations

struggle to fill this sector,

it's perhaps unsurprising
that the meat industry

is heavily reliant
on migrant workers

willing to work
for far more money

than they could ever earn
in their country of birth,

creating two-tier
working conditions

with migrants being paid less
and expected to work more

to ensure that the meat
could be kept cheap

and to supply the demand.

- I think I've found peace
with myself over the years

through how I've changed
and what I've done,

but I still have two,
three nights a week

where I can't sleep at all,

and I still get those
nightmares, and I
still get moments

where you just think,
"What's the point?"

Or "You're worthless."

Or, you know, "Whatever I do,

can it ever make up
for what I've done?"

- [Tom] After the
animals have been killed,

what's the meat line like?

- For starters, there's
a lot of diseases

that we can pick up from pigs
and other animals anyway.

Like, you can't see pathogens.

- [Tom] 48 million people
get sick in the US each year

with foodborne illnesses.

Nearly 3/4 of all chicken
sold in UK supermarkets

have previously been
found to be contaminated

with campylobacter.

And in the US, 60%
of pork, 70% of beef,

and 80% of chicken is
contaminated with E. coli.

It's not just pathogens either.

When the UN published its
list of the seven causes

driving the risk of
zoonotic diseases,

six of them were linked
to animal agriculture.

[pigs snorting]

After the cows, and
sheep, and pigs,

and all the other farmed
animals are slaughtered,

we have our beef,
our lamb, our bacon,

but is it actually
any good for us?

If we were to take alcohol,
something which most people

wouldn't constitute
to be healthy,

but manage to add the likes

of some branched-chain
amino acids and iron to it,

would that suddenly
make it healthy?

So why does a food that the
World Health Organization

categorizes as a carcinogen,
or probable carcinogen,

suddenly become healthy

because it contains the
likes of protein and iron

when these are readily available

from non-carcinogenic foods?

- Again, it comes back to
thinking about the healthy food

rather than the
individual nutrients.

- [Tom] I'm a bit nervous,
I'm not gonna lie.

Susanna's combined lifts
put her on 313 kilograms,

while Sophia's combined lifts
total just 288 kilograms.

[tense suspenseful music]

That means Sophia needs to lift

25 kilograms more
on the deadlift

just to draw even with Susanna.

Her deadlift's impressive,
really impressive;

she's not the British
record holder for nothing,

but she needs to
hit that weight here

and hope that Susanna
doesn't lift a PB;

otherwise, she's in trouble.

And so we're on to round three.

Over the three attempts,

Susanna lifts a very
impressive 197.5 kilograms.

Sophia has got her
work cut out for her.

Back in Barcelona,
and we've lost Mike.

Or at least, we'd not had
contact for a few hours

and were starting to fear

something terrible
might have happened.

But then, finally, after
almost seven hours,

Mike showed up at
the checkpoint.

Although it was clear

he'd had an extremely
challenging night
on the mountains.

- I was tripping my
face off all night.

- Oh, dear.
- Oh, imagine.

- It was mental.

I was pretty hungry, actually.

At some points, I just didn't
know what was going on.

Like, full-on, like, forgot
what I was doing there.

I was sort of
thinking at the time,

"This may be a bit
irresponsible."

[group laughing]

- [Tom] Mike sets off
for the final 43K.

- [Mike] Beats working.

- [Tom] It's clear how
unbelievably exhausted he is.

And I can't help but wonder

if he's actually gonna
make it to the finish,

let alone break the record.

But back in Taunton, Paul's
still in high spirits.

[footsteps crunching]

So Paul, what would you say
is the key to a happy life?

- Well, I would say giving.

Giving of yourself,
giving of your time,

giving of your energy,
whatever you're good at.

Helping people, helping
other fellow creatures.

Yeah, giving.

- [Tom] But there was no denying

it was starting to feel tough,
and the ridiculous hills

and baking heat certainly
weren't helping.

It's a big hill.

- [Paul] Yeah.

- [Tom] And we are on

21.65 miles.

But at the final checkpoint,

Paul still insisted on
doing his press-ups.

- 37K.

- [Tom] Before we knew it,

we were into the final leg
with eight miles to go.

- Feeling good.

- Feeling good?
- Yeah, feeling great.

[bell dings]

- [Tom] I've made a terrible
omission from this process.

We're gonna have to
go back to the start.

Earth, a mesh of verdant
greens and cerulean waters.

A magnificent sight.

A planet full of wonder.

But almost everything we
do on this wondrous planet

has an effect.

From brushing our teeth
and flushing the toilet

to the way we travel
and the food we eat.

The industries and
sectors around the world

have an even bigger impact.

Some more than others.

And right now, billionaires,

who may or may not
be living in lairs,

the type seen housing
villains in Bond movies,

are concocting ways
to get to Mars.

It's unclear if we're invited.

But compared to Earth, let's
be honest, Mars looks shit.

Earth should be priority.

And for a few, it is, and
it has been for some time.

Ever since the
Industrial Revolution,

people have discussed
the effects humans
have on the planet.

In 1970, we had the
first Earth Day.

By 1979, the World Climate
Research Programme was launched.

And by 1990, the IPCC warned
that the world had been warming

and future warming is likely.

Subsequent IPCC reports
were worded firmer,

causing global leaders in 2015

to sign the Paris
Climate Agreement

with a plan to
prevent global heating

of 1.5 degrees above
industrial levels

while saying things like:

- [Tom] In 2018, the IPCC told
them to stand as one faster.

And by 2023, the
world was getting hot.

Really hot.

And as people from
the UK can attest,

that's not all we're known for.

In fact, around the globe,

all sorts of disastrous
weather-related events

were occurring.

- I don't think many people
grasp just how serious this is.

This is the greatest catastrophe
humanity has ever faced.

The collapse of our
life support systems.

We're just sort of staggering
towards the precipice.

Almost as if we're
saying to ourselves,

"If it were really so bad,
someone would stop us,

wouldn't they?"

- [Tom] So why don't they?

Why aren't governments
doing more?

- It's the issue
above all others

that they don't
wanna talk about.

Because even when, for instance,
Joe Biden said something

very tentative about meat,

suddenly there was
this massive pile on:

"They wanna steal our burgers!

They're trying to destroy
the American dream!"

The lobbyists are
unbelievably powerful,

partly because it's
extremely concentrated.

There are just a
handful of firms

who control almost all the beef,

and another handful controlling
almost all the pork,

almost all the poultry.

So, those companies
become extremely powerful,

more powerful than
many governments.

Nothing is as visceral,
literally and metaphorically,

as what we eat.

- [Tom] You might be wondering
what all of this has to do

with the climate crisis.

So, in 2018, a team
of researchers from
Oxford University

carried out the
largest-ever study

on the effects of our
global food system.

They assessed nearly 40,000
farms across the globe

and 40 different
agricultural products,

focusing on the use of land,
greenhouse gas emissions,

water usage, acidification,
and eutrophication.

[tense thoughtful music]

They concluded that the
single biggest thing

we as individuals can do to
lower our environmental impact

is to reduce or eliminate
animal products from our diets.

And then in 2023,

another ground-breaking
study from Oxford University

assessed the dietary
patterns of 55,000 people,

highlighting further just
how much more destructive

high and low-meat diets
are for the planet's health

compared to a vegan diet.

Yet despite this, I'm forever
hearing people tell me

they only buy local,
grass-fed beef.

And on the surface, that
statement sounds logical.

I mean, transporting goods
has an environmental impact,

but as it turns out, probably
not as much as you'd think.

I was shocked to learn
that transportation of beef

only accounts for 0.5%
of its total emissions.

We shouldn't disregard
the impact of travel,

but to imply switching to
local beef as the solution

to a climate emergency rather
than to plant-based protein

would only really make sense
if the plant-based protein

and the beef had the
same environmental impact

before that transportation
was taken into account.

And it's not even close in
any of the areas measured.

I was also having a hard time
with the term "grass-fed."

Grass-fed simply means
animals only have to spend

part of their life
out grazing in fields.

Grass-finished beef,

whereby the animals eat
nothing but grass or forage,

is far less common.

In the US, less than 1% of
beef is farmed this way.

Despite that figure
being so low,

if everyone globally ate the
average US citizen's diet,

we'd need to use the entire
planet's habitable land

for agriculture, and
we'd still be 38% short.

The country with the largest
dietary land requirement

is New Zealand.

That's a country
where grass-fed beef

and lamb contributes
enormously to people's diets.

If every one of us

suddenly started eating
like a New Zealander,

we'd need another planet
almost the size of Earth

just to sustain us all.

In a world where we're
trying to figure out

how to feed in excess
of eight billion people,

it's not really the
definition of sustainable

if only a handful
can eat this way.

- We're constantly being told

the problem is
intensive farming.

And so people then say,

"Well, the answer is
extensive farming.

Let's have free-range grazing

and the animals
outdoors and stuff."

But that has massive
problems of its own.

I really try to hammer this home

because people don't get it.

But the more land that humans
take for their activities,

the less land there
is for nature,

the less land there is for
fully functioning ecosystems.

Grazing is a fantastically
inefficient way

of producing food.

- [Tom] So, what about this idea

that we'd need even more land

to grow plants for people to
eat if the world went vegan?

- But, actually, the
figures show very clearly

that not only do you retire

all that land used
for livestock grazing

and allow the
trees to come back,

allow the wild
ecosystems to come back,

you also would retire 19%
of all the arable land.

We'd be using less arable
land than we are today.

- [Tom] The stats around
the sheer amount of land

required for animal
agriculture were mind-blowing.

Over 1/3 of the entire world's
landmass is used for farming.

Over 40% of the US, and
almost 70% of land in England,

and a massive 83% of the land
used globally for farming

is for animal agriculture.

Yet, it provides
only 18% of calories.

Now, that really is
fantastically inefficient.

Almost 1/2 of all the
world's habitable land

is used for farming.

Just to pull that
into perspective,

only 1% is defined
as urban sprawl.

The land used for farming dwarfs

that used for towns and cities.

Amazingly, if the world
was somehow to move

to a plant-based diet, we'd
require 76% less farmland.

But let's be real, that
can't include soya.

Because if there's one plant
that I keep hearing about

over and over, how it's
destroying the planet,

unbalancing women's hormones,

and giving men massive
breasts, it's soya.

- I think people, again,

are not so used to eating
minimally processed soya foods

like tofu, and tempeh,
and miso, and soya milks,

but they're so healthy.

They've been associated with
so many good health properties,

such as lowering
your cholesterol,

reducing your chance of breast
cancer and prostate cancer,

reducing your risk
of heart disease.

And they probably can't
think of another food

that's been so well established
in the medical literature

at being good for us as humans.

- [Tom] Okay, so it's healthy,
but what about the land?

Are vegans part of the
problem by eating soya?

- So, people say,
"Oh, you tofu eaters,

you know, you're the ones who
are causing the deforestation

of the Amazon because
of all the soya

being grown to feed you."

No, almost all that soya is
being used to feed farm animals.

There's more soya in a
piece of chicken breast

than there is in the
same weight of tofu.

- [Tom] Well, bugger me.

If only 7% of soya grown
is eaten by humans,

and 73% of it goes
to feed animals,

why the hell do
people say it's vegans

causing deforestation?

It turns out humans don't
just say silly things;

we do silly things, too.

Humans make up a mere
0.01% of all biomass,

yet somehow we've
collectively wiped out

83% of all wild mammals.

But where you could
forgive our ancestors

for their blissful ignorance

in the effect they had during
their hunter-gatherer days,

the move to farming,

and in particular, what
occurred before our very eyes

during the great acceleration
of the 20th century,

is becoming harder to forgive.

Between 1900 and the year 2000,

humans farmed as
much land as we had

over the previous 10,000 years,

causing further species
extinction around the globe.

This century, it's
accelerated further still,

as 10,000 acres of
rainforest fall every day.

And in 2019, the
Bramble Cay melomys

became the first
documented extinction

attributed to human-induced
climate change.

They certainly
won't be the last.

We're facing the sixth
great mass extinction;

only this time we
have the indignity

of having to accept that
this one is caused by us.

But it's worth pointing
out that, as a species,

we're also capable
of great things.

Certain humans are
doing their best to try

and fix this crisis.

Rather than take land, they're
giving it back to nature.

And I was curious to
see just how quickly

we can start to see a difference
in the land's biodiversity

if we rewild it.

- In the first year,

I started seeing massive
amounts of insects.

Those insects brought
back rarer birds.

Your stonechats, your warblers.

Then came the buzzards,
then the red kites,

then the peregrine
falcon appeared.

Then we had the woodpeckers.

That's in two years of
rewilding, my style.

Who knows what we
could do in 20 years?

- [Tom] It was incredible
to see firsthand,

and I found countless other
examples around the globe

where rewilding projects were
yielding similar results.

It gave me some hope.

But unfortunately, it
wasn't just the land usage

causing problems in our
global farming system,

it was also water usage.

Even almond milk,
which undoubtedly

has a higher environmental
impact than oat or soya milk,

still uses far less
water than dairy.

It's the same with
eutrophication,

which occurs when
the environment

becomes enriched with
nutrients such as nitrate

and phosphorus, increasing
the amount of algae growth,

something I hear very little
about in mainstream media.

- For years, I've been
visiting the River Wye.

It's meant to be
protected by law.

And over the past 10
years, I've seen it go

from being a thriving
ecosystem to an open sewer.

What the hell has
happened to this river?

What's gone on?

It's the chicken farms
in the catchment,

some of which have got
many tens of thousands

of chickens in, being bred
for either meat or for eggs.

And it's a huge
amount of excrement,

which those chickens
are producing,

which is being
spread on the fields,

which then washes
straight into the river

because the fields
can't absorb it.

But of course, it
doesn't stop there,

because the rivers go
somewhere; they go into the sea.

And what we're seeing
around the world

is the growth of what
biologists call "dead zones."

And they're called "dead
zones" for a reason

because, at certain
depths in the sea,

there's just nothing
living there anymore.

And so even hundreds
of miles downstream

from where the animal
agriculture is happening,

you'll see these devastating

ecological effects taking place.

- There is basically
hardly any functioning life

in that water because the water
has become either so toxic

or has become devoid of any
oxygen that no life can exist.

The term "dead zone" is
a very appropriate term.

- [Tom] The numbers
are staggering.

Right now, in this
catchment alone,

there are 16 million chickens

on a never-ending conveyor belt.

I quickly learned this
was a global issue, too.

Rivers the world
over, full of shit.

If you live in a
developed nation,

chances are your waterways
are heavily polluted

because of animal agriculture.

What about this idea that
vegans kill way more insects

because of eating plants?

Is there any truth to that?

Arable farming does
have some issues.

It can be destructive

if farmers rely too heavily
on the likes of pesticides

and fertilizers, but it
doesn't need to be that way.

[birds chirping]

- [Iain] Here on the farm,

we grow around 100 different
types of vegetables.

A lot of our soil has
been badly damaged,

but soils can be recovered.

What we grow on the
farm is biodiversity.

So, the biodiversity comes
first, vegetables come second.

[deep thoughtful music]

- [Tom] Iain was defying
everything I'd heard

about traditional
organic farming methods.

He didn't use manure; he
didn't use pesticides;

the land was considered
unsuitable for arable farming,

and yet somehow, it was working.

Iain Tolhurst is proof
there is another way.

But my main issue with this
argument against the vegan diet

is that the majority of plants
grown are feeding animals.

I'd already learned
that if we shifted

towards a plant-based diet,

that we'd actually free
up 19% of arable land.

Therefore, less land would
be used to grow crops,

and less insects would die.

And what about
greenhouse gas emissions?

First sector I think of

with regards to
greenhouse gas emissions

is the fossil fuel industry.

So, I was surprised to learn

that even if we eliminate
fossil fuels completely,

the emissions from
animal agriculture alone

make it impossible to
prevent the planet warming

to 1.5 degrees above
pre-industrial levels.

And that's because the
agricultural industry

emits more greenhouse
gas emissions

than the entire
transport sector.

Yet despite this,

I keep finding claims
that animal agriculture,

and more specifically
regenerative grazing,

is one of, if not the solution.

- So now we talk about
regenerative grazing,

formerly known as grazing,
and it tries to spin

what they're doing as
something completely different.

"Oh, we're restoring
the ecosystem.

We're restoring soil carbon
by grazing the land."

No, you're not.

In fact, there is a study;

it was a meta-analysis of 300
studies from around the world

which looked into this question

and found there wasn't
a single instance

of grazing storing more carbon

than the greenhouse gases which
the animals were producing.

It's what's called the
"carbon opportunity cost"

and the "ecological
opportunity cost."

Because it's not just
that livestock farming

is a massive contributor to
greenhouse gas emissions,

it's also the biggest cause
of ecological destruction.

- [Tom] I thought the
main benefit of rewilding

was the increased biodiversity.

And while it's undoubtedly
incredible to see

the thriving ecosystems
at Dunsany Castle,

it seems the greatest gain
in rewilding of forests

and wetlands across our
continent and beyond

is the opportunity it provides

in drawing carbon from our
atmosphere and sequestering it.

It was starting to become
clear why the science says

that plant-based diets can
reduce emissions by up to 73%.

Today's global farming model

is a Neolithic production system

that simply wasn't
designed to feed

in excess of eight
billion people.

It just isn't sustainable.

There was so much to digest.

I felt like I hadn't
scratched the surface.

One thing really bugging me

was the level of emissions
created from farmed fishing.

[tense thoughtful music]

For years, oily fish has been
regarded as a health food,

in part because it contains

the long-chain omega-3
fatty acids EPA and DHA.

But is it possible to
get omega-3 fatty acids

from plant foods?

- I recommend that it's
wise for plant-based eaters

to have a couple of servings
of omega-3-rich plant foods

such as walnuts or a couple
of tablespoons of ground flax

or chia seeds.

- [Tom] It turns out that a
number of plant-based foods

contain a short-chain omega-3
fatty acid called ALA,

which the body then
converts into EPA

and DHA when readily available.

But what about people
who worry about the price

of ALA-rich foods or that
perhaps they couldn't eat enough

to meet the conversion rate?

Are there EPA and DHA
sources for vegans?

- A lot of people don't realize

that actually omega-3
is made by algae,

and it comes from the
algae, not from the fish.

So you could actually
cut out the middleman

and go straight to the algae.

Just take a good-quality DHA

and EPA supplement
if you're concerned.

- [Tom] With the
pescatarian diet

being the most expensive
dietary pattern,

this is an instance
where supplementing

or using the ALA sources
would actually be cheaper.

- I would say that
fish isn't necessarily

the health food
that it used to be

because we are
polluting the oceans

with environmental plastics
and heavy metals, dioxins,

and PCBs, which then
bioaccumulate in the fish.

And of course, when we eat them,
we are also bioaccumulating

those toxins within
our own bodies.

- Pregnant people are
required not to have more

than two servings
of oily fish a week

because of the levels of mercury

and other heavy metals present.

So, with a food that comes
with a health warning,

why take the risk?

- [Tom] I was curious about the
current state of our oceans.

How were the fish levels?

After all, it absorbs around
30% of all global emissions.

The number of fish
killed each year

dwarfs that of land animals.

Anywhere from 0.8

to 2.3 trillion wild fish
are killed each year.

So why are fish offered
such little protection

under law compared
to land animals?

Especially when we know
fish are sentient beings,

they feel pain.

- With fishes, I feel
like, and aquatic animals,

you know, that they seem
so unfamiliar to us.

And so, I think that
perhaps it's harder

to bridge that disconnection

than it might be, for, you know,

the connection between
humans and dogs and cats.

- [Tom] One method used
in the fishing industry,

to me, at least, seems
particularly reckless.

Bottom trawling involves
dragging huge nets

along the ocean floor and
damaging it in the process,

and it scoops up
anything in its path.

Every year, 300,000 dolphins

and whales are
killed as bycatch,

wiping out species with huge
carbon capture potential.

And it's not just what
we're taking from oceans,

but what we're adding.

- Fish stocks have depleted 90%.

And the biggest source
of ocean plastic

is fishing nets that
have been discarded.

- Global wild marine catch
for fish peaked 20 years ago.

Since it's been declined.

But meanwhile, we
have invented a thing

called aquaculture.

That's why there is fish
still in the supermarkets.

- [Tom] The overfishing and
destruction of our oceans

has forced us into creating
a farmed fishing system.

And just like pasture-fed beef,

farmed fish is also incredibly
environmentally destructive.

For every 10 calories
farmed fish provide,

they're given 100
calories themselves.

And what about the
environmental impacts of cheese?

Cheese is the single
biggest reason I ever hear

as to why vegetarians
could never go vegan.

And I get it.

I mean, I've tried
some vegan cheese

that tasted like it was
created by the devil

in the deepest,
darkest pits of hell.

But I've also eaten absolutely
amazing vegan cheese.

And environmentally, vegan
cheese has a significantly lower

climate impact to
that of dairy cheese.

But aside from the
environmental impacts,

I know very little about the
cheese and dairy industry,

despite eating copious
amounts of it as a youngster.

The only thing I do know
is that cows would explode

if we didn't milk them,

because nine people have
actually said this to me

during my journey.

Turns out those nine
people were misinformed.

Much like humans,
cats, and dogs,

cows also produce milk
after giving birth.

So, what else does the
dairy industry not tell us?

[cow mooing]
[gentle somber music]

[cow mooing continues]

[cow mooing]

- [Tom] I was shocked to
learn that 1/2 of all beef

comes from the dairy industry.

[cow mooing]

But if the mothers need to
give birth to produce cow milk,

what happens to their babies?

- [Tom] Hypothetically,
let's pretend we stop this.

That cheese isn't
a thing anymore.

Neither are slaughter dealers,

rounding up baby
calves for a few quid.

And that the
majority of land used

for cheese production
is rewilded.

What would happen
to the farmers?

I think there's a misconception
that vegans hate farmers.

From my experience,
that couldn't be
further from the truth.

My uncle was a farmer,
and I liked him a lot.

He was incredibly hard-working,

and frankly, he had very
little to show for the long

and enduring work he undertook,

like most farmers
I've spoken to.

So, what could a shift
to a plant-based diet

and the mass rewilding of land
mean for farmers right now?

- I see opportunities here
to bring people into farming,

not drive them out.

We don't wanna see livestock
farmers driven out of farming.

We wanna see them
thrive and develop.

And change their
systems to suit,

they're gonna needs,
help, and support.

There's potentially a
whole lot of new jobs

waiting to be had here
as the economy changes.

Livestock doesn't
produce any jobs,

hardly at all, certainly
not on the farm.

- [Tom] Of course, we
wouldn't need all the land

freed up from animal
agriculture for arable farming,

so if it isn't suitable,

this is where the work of
people like Randal comes in.

We pay trillions a year
in taxpayers' money

to prop up a broken
food and farming system

when that money
could instead be used

to work with the local
farmers, communities,

and Indigenous people to
work together with their land

to help fight the climate
emergency on the ground.

If more of us move
towards a plant-based diet

and the land no longer
needed for farming

is returned back to nature,
we'll be able to remove billions

of metric tons of carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere.

And from an employment
perspective,

one study found that
rewilding projects

have resulted in a 54% increase

in full-time equivalent jobs.

Simply put, removing farmland
and giving it back to nature

doesn't lose jobs;
it creates them.

Then there's completely
new sectors opening up.

Innovations that are creating
more jobs, more opportunities,

like cultivated meats
or fermented proteins.

Solar Foods in Finland is
creating what they call solein,

a protein out of thin air.

It's not from a
plant or an animal;

it originates from a
single-cell organism

that's put through a
fermentation process.

- What we're trying to
achieve as a company

is to disconnect food
production from agriculture

and go really to the
root cause of problems

in what comes to food
production on this planet.

The environmental impact
of solein compared to meat

is about 1% and about 1/10
compared to that of plants.

- [Tom] I do wonder
how people will react

to this sort of innovation.

- Ultimately, it's the taste
and texture, convenience,

experience that is
a decisive factor.

- I'm not gonna lie, that's
exactly what I wanted to know.

Mm!

That's good.

I felt like I was in a
science-fiction movie.

Mm, that's really good.

But there was no denying it
looked and tasted amazing.

The climate benefits
are undeniable,

and along with the transition
for livestock farmers

to a more environmentally
friendly form of arable farming

or to land managers
paid to rewild,

this alternative fat
and protein sector

could create an endless
possibility of foods and jobs.

Climate change, the
environmental crisis,

the sixth mass extinction,

the collapse of our planet's
life support systems,

however, you wanna phrase it,

it's a complex issue
that cannot be fixed

by dealing with
industries in isolation.

If a middle-aged man
has a heart attack

and he smokes, drinks
excessively, is stressed,

doesn't exercise, and eats
poorly, then what caused it?

We should think of
the chronic disease

our planet has right
now in the same way.

But where we have little
say in how we currently heat

or power our homes,

we do have much more control
over the foods we eat

and the environmental
impact that comes with it.

Which is why the single
biggest thing we can do

to reduce our
environmental impact

is to reduce or
remove animal-based
products from our diet.

So, let me get this straight:
we forcibly impregnate a sow.

When she gives birth, we
barely allow her to move,

whilst we fan her piglets
up for a few weeks

until they're taken away and
the process for her repeats.

Once removed,

we spend a few more weeks
fattening the piglets up.

And it's a similar process
for other farm animals,

one which requires huge
amounts of water and feed,

which a large chunk is
grown in parts of the world

using deforested land,

thus increasing our risk
of zoonotic diseases

and releasing carbon
into the atmosphere.

All around the world,

these animals are
pumped with antibiotics,

a large chunk of which are
vital for human health,

creating a greater risk of death
from antibiotic resistance,

which is already killing
millions of people.

The manure from the
animals damages the soil,

runs off into the rivers,
polluting our water,

and affects human health.

When it makes it into the
sea, it forms dead zones,

killing further
planet aquatic life.

Parts of the ocean not affected
are frequently overfished,

resulting in millions of
additional sea life killed

accidentally as bycatch

while simultaneously
damaging the ocean floor

and releasing even more
greenhouse gas emissions.

While all that's going on,

billions of land
animals around the world

are sent to slaughter,

in units hidden away
from the public's view,

in countries where
not a single one

has been awarded an A rating
for its farming practices.

These animals are killed in ways

that are deemed
humane by governments.

The meat is then
sold to the public,

of which a huge percentage

has been proven to be infected
with different bacteria,

increasing the risk
of foodborne illness.

When it finally
reaches our plate,

and in a world where
one in four people

now die from a poor diet, we
get to eat a number of foods

that are classified as type
one or two carcinogens.

And even the foods that aren't

are proven to have a far
higher environmental impact

than their plant-based
alternatives,

thus contributing enormously

to the destruction
of a planet we,

and our loved ones,

call home.

[deep contemplative music]

What the actual fuck?

[footsteps tapping]

[door clunking]

[door slams]
[intense dramatic music]

Sophia's turn to deadlift.

On her third attempt,
she's going for a lift

that will not only give her
the title if she gets it,

but she'll also smash

her own British deadlift
record in the process,

with an enormous lift
of 237.5 kilograms.

- [Announcer] If she gets this,

this will be the
biggest deadlift

in British powerlifting
history for a woman, okay?

So, no big thing, no big stakes,

but this is where it goes down.

237.5 kilos

on the bar for Sophia Ellis!

[rousing orchestral music]

[rousing orchestral
music continues]

[rousing orchestral
music continues]

[audience yelling]

[audience cheering]

[announcer drowned
out by audience
applauding and cheering]

[Sophia screams]
[audience cheering]

You have just won this in three!

[rousing orchestral
music continues]

[rousing orchestral
music continues]

[crowd cheering]
[crowd applauding]

- [Bystander] Whoo-hoo!

Whoo!

[group cheering]

- [Tom] Thank you.

- It was her who signed him up.

- 84 years old, he's
done this race today.

[crowd cheering]

Doing press-ups
at the age of 84.

- [Announcer] Sophia Ellis!

[audience cheering]
[audience applauding]

[group laughing]

- Hey!
- Yeah, mate.

- Cheers.

- Well done, mate.
- Thanks, man.

- It was a pleasure doing
that with you. [laughs]

- Yeah.

Oh, oh!

Yeah, Chan. Hello!

[phone line ringing]

[light uplifting music]

- [Tom's Mum] Hello?

- Hey, Mum. It's Tom again.

Really, I just wanted to
call and say thank you.

Thank you for everything.

[light uplifting
music continues]

[light uplifting
music continues]

- Well, this is up to us.

Whether we turn it around
or not is up to us.

It's up to our commitment;

it's up to the numbers
we can mobilize.

It's up to whether we can make
sure our voices become louder

than the lobbyists for
the old legacy industries.

And whether we can promote

and press for the new
industries and new change

and new ways of producing food,

which are essential to
protecting the living world.

- [Tom] So, can we
turn this around?

- [George] We can
turn this around.