The Vegetarian Myth

The book resulted in extreme controversy, going as far as Keith being physically assaulted at a book reading.^[6] Aric McBay says that Keith is not being provocative for the sake of it, rather she believes vegetarians have the right impulse but are misinformed about the facts.^[7] Ian Fitzpatrick wrote that the book is at the core about the unsustainable nature of modern agriculture, but is "disguised" as a treatise against vegetarianism.^[8] Susan Schenck said the book was "full of hard core indisputable research". She agrees with the book's discounting of the contested scientific hypothesis on the effects of cholesterol on coronary heart disease. She further agrees with the book's claims linking soy with several ailments.^[9] However, Schenck disagrees that vegetarians are necessarily unhealthy, believing each individual has different abilities to synthesize the needed nutrients from different foods.^[9] Patrick Nicholson writes that the book misinterprets scientific articles, cherry-picks facts, uses strawman arguments, and relies heavily on anecdotes and faulty generalisations.^[5] John Sanbonmatsu interprets Keith's rhetoric as apocalyptic and millenarian. He argues that Keith's nutritional arguments are grounded on anecdotes and lack proper scientific backing.^[4] Also, the book was translated into dozens of languages including Spanish, Italian, and Arabic. Registered Dietician Ginny Messina referred to the book as, "so packed with misinformation and confusion that refuting the claims could be another book itself," further stating that it includes, "page after page of contradictions, fabrications, and misinterpretations."^[10]