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What Happened To The Vegan Movement? Rich & Simon Hill On The Rise & Fall Of Plant-Based Eating

By June 29, 2026No Comments
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Episode #997

RICH & SIMON HILL

THE RISE & FALL OF PLANT-BASED EATING

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For a time, veganism wasn’t a niche choice.

It was everywhere. And then, somewhere along the way, the momentum just faded. So what happened?

Today we peer into the rearview and do an honest autopsy on the plant-based movement. Why a way of eating that not long ago felt damn near inevitable lost its grip, and how anyone curious about eating this way can find their way in, without the dogma, the sanctimony, or the confusion.

My guide for this one is nutrition scientist Simon Hill, author of The Proof Is in the Plants and host of The Proof podcast, back to help us navigate these waters (his last visit, ep. 976). Simon has spent years in the trenches with the data, and he brings a scientist’s respect for nuance to a conversation that has been sorely lacking it.

Here’s the thing nobody wants to say out loud: the science never really changed. The culture did. And in that churn, a lot of trust got broken, and a lot of that breakage was self-inflicted.

Consider this less a defense of the movement than a reckoning with it.

I’ve been reductive in how I’ve carried this message. I’ve evangelized from my own experience. I’ve platformed people whose health pitch was really a Trojan horse for an ethical one. I own my part in it.

Here’s some of what we get into:

  • Why Plant-Based Meat Boomed And Then Busted
  • Transition Foods Versus Actual Health Foods
  • Getting Honest About Protein And Supplementation
  • The Three On-Ramps: Ethics, Environment, And Health
  • Why The Most Confident Health Advice Is The Least Trustworthy
  • Attraction Over Promotion As An Advocacy Ethic
  • Meat, Masculinity, And Modern Insecurity
  • A Stoic Approach To Manhood And Diet
  • A Practical, Shame-Free Way To Start Eating More Plants

For those who prefer a visual experience, the conversation is available on YouTube. As always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Break out a pen and paper, because this one is candid, in-depth, and a little uncomfortable.

Peace + Plants,

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Thank The Team: I do not do this alone. Send your love to Tyler Piatt & Dan Dake for producing, audio engineering, & creative direction; associate producer Desmond Loh; Blake Curtis & Morgan Mcrae for video editing, graphics by Bryan Lawrence & Alejandro Ribadeneira; portraits by Dan Drake; copywriting by Ben Pryor; social media management by Shaina Savoy; and theme music by Tyler Piatt, Trapper Piatt & Hari Mathis.

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