Plant-based or meat-centered? How doctors, a rancher and celebrities split
October 21, 2026 · 22 min read
Travis Barker describes his plant-based eating and Woody Harrelson his raw vegan living, while Mark Hyman lays out his pegan approach and discusses meat, soil and regenerative agriculture, Gabrielle Lyon discusses red meat, the environment and animal versus plant protein quality, Layne Norton compares plant and animal protein, Marie-Pierre St-Onge describes plant-forward eating and rancher Taylor Sheridan challenges the myth of harmless eating. Seeing health, protein quality, ethics and the environment argued side by side shows which parts of the debate are about nutrition and which are about values.
The rules, numbers and steps worth keeping in front of you.
- Junk food is the problem on both sides: vegan pizza and keto cookies fail for the same reason.
- Mark Hyman: eat real food, and judge meat by how it was raised, feedlot versus wild or regenerative.
- Gabrielle Lyon: muscle needs about 2.5 grams of leucine per meal, roughly 30 grams or more of quality protein.
- Lyon: 15 grams of protein at each of three meals won't stimulate muscle.
- Lyon: plant eaters need closer to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram.
- Lyon: six cups of quinoa match the amino acid profile of one small chicken breast.
- Lyon: plant eaters should watch B12, zinc and iron, especially as they age.
- Layne Norton: soy, potato protein isolate, corn-soy or pea blends, or a one-gram leucine capsule help plant eaters.
- Norton: protein benefits largely plateau around 1.6 grams per kilogram.
- Norton: each 10-gram increase in fiber was linked to about 10 percent lower mortality risk.
- Norton: limit saturated fat to about 7 to 10 percent of calories.
- Marie-Pierre St-Onge: more fiber meant more deep sleep; more saturated fat meant less.
- Taylor Sheridan: a year of wild meat costs around $600 with a used rifle, bullets and a license.
- See a doctor or registered dietitian before a strict vegan, raw or very high-protein diet.
This is the short form. The full insight has every expert's reasoning, their own words and the sources.