We sit down with Dr. Tushar Mehta to talk about the global impact of animal agriculture. Dr. Mehta is an ER physician working in Brampton and Georgetown, Ontario, and has practiced family and addictions medicine in the past. Over the years he has worked with Project Canoe - a Toronto-based organization serving youth. He's also conducted medical outreach with village schools in India, and works with health education Project Haiti.

Along with a small team, Dr. Mehta founded Plant Based Data (plantbaseddata.org), an online database which collects and organizes the most important academic and institutional literature regarding the impact plant diet on health, environment and food security, including the role of animal agriculture in creating pandemics.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How our food choices impact our environment, and how our food systems work.
• The amount of resources like land use ad fresh water usage that go into raising animals and growing crops.
• How does animal agriculture stack up to other greenhouse gas emitters and other side-effects like ocean dead zones, water pollution, species extinction, and biodiversity loss.
• Food insecurity, poverty, and environmental racism.
• How our treatment of and relationship to animals can lead to zoonotic disease like COVID-19.
•  What we can learn from past zoonotic diseases like SARs and MERs that can help us better understand COVID-19 and potential future diseases.

Socials:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Plantbaseddata.org

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Dr. Matthew Nagra is a Naturopathic Doctor devoted to bringing the most up-to-date evidence-based nutrition information to his patients at his clinic in Vancouver. In 2018 he graduated from the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine after completing his bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology at the University of Victoria.

He’s certified in plant-based nutrition through Cornell University and has written articles for Dr. T Coln Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies. He also volunteers for nutritionfacts.org – a science-based public service providing free updates in nutrition research through bite-sized videos.

Dr. Nagra is known for his social media platforms, where he often tackles misinformation around diet and nutrition, and deep dives into the latest nutrition studies.


In this episode we discuss:

How he incorporates evidence-based medicine into his practice. 

The biggest advantages to following a plant-based diet.

Myths around the consumption of soy products.

Getting enough vitamin K2 on a plant-based diet.

The debate over whether vegetables oils are healthy.

Recent results from the prospective EPIC-Oxford study suggesting non-meat eaters might be at a higher risk of bone fracture. 
 
The science behind fad diets, like keto, paleo, and carnivore.

The importance of tacking misinformation online, including from plant-based circles. 

Whether a healthy diet can ward off infectious diseases like COVID-19.

Socials:

Dr. Nagra's website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter


This Podcast was hosted and edited by Clinton Stamatovich.

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In this inaugural episode of the Plant-Based Canada podcast,  the co-founders of Plant-Based Canada, Dr. Zahra Kassam and Michelle Fedele RD talk about their personal journeys, why they co-founded Plant-Based Canada, and what they hope to achieve.

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