Why Legumes Should Lead the Protein Conversation

In the US, the worship of meat remains so deeply ingrained that it almost feels heretical to question it. Yet a growing chorus of medical professionals, researchers, and even economists are calling for exactly that — a radical shift toward legumes and other plant proteins.

134 physicians from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine recently urged the US government to move beans, peas, and lentils front and centre in its Dietary Guidelines. The evidence is overwhelming: these humble foods can help prevent heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers — the very chronic conditions that dominate American health statistics. Meanwhile, red and processed meats do the opposite, clogging arteries and fuelling a healthcare crisis.

The doctors' letter backs a proposed reclassification: moving legumes from the vegetable group to the protein group, ranked above seafood and leaving meat dead last. If you think that sounds extreme, consider this: most Americans are fibre deficient, and legumes are fibre powerhouses. They’re also affordable, versatile, and — despite endless marketing campaigns suggesting otherwise — a complete source of protein.

But the resistance to change is fierce. Americans aren’t just ignoring the warnings; they’re doubling down on meat consumption. Factory farms churn out cheap flesh regardless of the environmental carnage or the moral cost. Even as people claim to “cut back,” meat intake climbs. Why? Because our culture feeds us the story that eating meat is normal, necessary, and natural — the holy trinity of excuses.

In a new University of Toronto study, students were shown footage from Dominion, a documentary exposing the grim reality of pig farming — tail docking, forced gas chamber deaths, and concrete-floor lives devoid of daylight or dignity. After watching, meat selections dropped by over 12%. Bacon, predictably, took the hardest hit. Interestingly, the documentary didn’t even tell people to stop eating meat. It simply showed the reality, leaving viewers to connect the dots. The result? Some decided they couldn’t justify adding a slab of slaughter to their plate — at least for a week.

Meanwhile, one persistent myth continues to prop up meat: cost. Over 60% of Americans believe plant-based eating is more expensive. Baby boomers are the most convinced, yet ironically, most people also admit meat is their single biggest grocery expense. Studies keep blowing this excuse out of the water. A JAMA Network Open study found that switching to a low-fat plantbased diet slashed food costs by nearly 20% — about $1.80 per day. Savings came from ditching meat, dairy, and added fats, easily offsetting any increase in veggie spending. Oxford University research even suggested a plantbased diet could cut food costs by a third when considering healthcare and environmental impacts.

Cheap, healthy, ethical, and able to reduce climate collapse — yet somehow still seen as radical. Why? Because we are taught to worship bacon before beans, steak before lentils.

It’s time to see legumes not as a sad substitute but as a foundation for a just food system. Changing menus isn’t just about diet — it’s about dismantling a culture built on domination and disposability.