Meatonomics' David Robinson Simon: 'Everything I envision for meat has happened with tobacco'

Most arguments for shunning animal products focus on health, ethics and the environment, the vegan author says. 'I just wanted to have a fourth perspective, which is economics'

David Robinson Simon's latest colonoscopy was carried out at a major hospital in southern California by the head of its gastroenterology department. "I said something like, 'I hope you don't find any polyps, because I'm a vegan, so I shouldn't be at risk,'" Simon says. "He said, 'Ah, that's a bunch of nonsense.'"

As Simon tells me this anecdote, 27 minutes into our interview, a new twist on the old joke crosses my mind: How do you know if someone is vegan? They'll tell you " as you're about to give them a colonoscopy.

Seventy years ago, if you asked somebody if smoking was bad for them, they'd say heck no

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