Bear Grylls says he’s embarrassed that he ever promoted veganism

World renowned survivalist Bear Grylls has lashed out at veganism.

Grylls spoke about his old vegan diet and subsequent abandonment of the ethical eating practice in an interview with PA.

He revealed that he thought he was doing right by the environment by avoiding animal products, but it turns out he could not have been more wrong.

"I was vegan quite a few years ago – in fact I wrote a vegan cookbook, and I feel a bit embarrassed because I really promoted that,' Grylls told PA, as per the Daily Mail.

Paul Grover / Alamy

"I thought that was good for the environment and I thought it was good for my health."

He added: "And through time and experience and knowledge and study, I realized I was wrong on both counts."

Grylls said he could not believe the impact that living a plant-based diet can have our rainforests.

The father-of-three reckons veganism is 'one of the worst things for the environment' due to the use of palm oil and soy oil.

"It's terrible for the environment, strips rainforests, and kills a ton of animals in the process," he said.

In spite of Grylls' opinion, studies have proven how risky a meat-heavy diet can be for the environment.

The meat industry accounts for nearly 60 per cent of all greenhouse gasses from global food production, as per research published in Nature Food.

The University of Michigan found in 2020 if Americans replaced half of all animal-based foods they consume - so, red meat, poultry, fish/seafood, eggs, dairy and animal-based fats - and switched to a plant-based alternative, US diet-related emissions would drop by 35 per cent.

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As per US Census Bureau population projections, that would equate to savings of 224 million metric tons of carbon emissions per annum by the year 2030.

And that's just America. Imagine if we all did it.

Additionally, he was less than impressed with how processed vegetarian and vegan food can be.

"I used to think they were brilliant," he told PA.

"And then I started looking at the ingredients and just thought, hold on, this is horrific."

He added: "This is so processed, and it's full of seed oils."

So Grylls nixed his vegan diet, and, for the last two years, he's been chowing down on 'natural food just like our millennia of ancestors would have eaten for hundreds of thousands of years'.

Peter Williams / Alamy

So steel yourselves, because it looks he's trying to make the paleo diet cool again.

The British adventurer claims he felt stronger than ever after ditching veggies in favor of good old fashion blood and bone marrow.

He added that his skin and gut have 'never been better' and he no longer craves sweets.

"I was having salads every day, I would really crave junk food and once or twice a week have cheat meals – a real blow-out of whatever you want, burgers, pizzas, etc," he said.

"You're basically starving for 80 per cent of the time and then you're binging for the rest. That's not good for the body."

Grylls added: "I find now I'm always full when I'm eating so much meat and eggs and butter and fruit and honey – I'm never hungry."

Well, this writer has been a vegetarian for nearly two decades and hasn't starved yet.

It just sounds like he wasn't very good at going plant-based, to be frank.

So take it all with a grain of salt. Or, head to Salt Bae's meat to the max restaurant Nusr-Et and have your grain of salt on a steak.