AFTER decades of celebrating the benefits of fruit and veg, some comers of the foodie media are voicing a radical new claim: fresh produce is not only unnecessary for human health, it is actually quite toxic. With countless devotees, this school of thought argues that most plants have evolved elaborate toxins to defend themselves from predation, which makes animal-based foods the safer and healthier choice. One statistic circulating on social media is that 98.8 per cent of plants are toxic whereas 99.9 percent of animals are edible. As strange as it may seem, this narrative - at least, when it comes to plants - has a bit of truth to it, although that doesn't mean you should stop eating plenty of fruit and vegetables. So let's unpack the botany behind this claim.
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