Mic. has a number of great videos.
His stance on and recommendation of B-12 are good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3j80WpjM0M
On plant pain, not bad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRfX4X0V54A He should not have used the word "intelligence" to refer to plants near the end (is baking soda 'intelligent' because it knows how to foam when you pour vinegar on it?), but otherwise pretty good.
He's not a nutty antinatalist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBuZQy69gvI Very practical and reasonable perspective.
His video covering Cowspiracy could have been better done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpmTiHjUEBU In terms of official estimates, it's important to point out possible conflicts of interest, but those have to be demonstrated better, and it doesn't negate the credibility of a study entirely (otherwise those done by vegans wouldn't have credibility either). There are a number of instances of double counting which I think are important to own up to in terms of greenhouse gas emissions if you read the whole report.
I talked about this here: http://philosophicalvegan.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2167&p=22579&hilit=cowspiracy#p22579 and cited a better article on the subject. It's important to engage better with criticism of exaggeration.
This oil video is partially true, but cherrypicked:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbtwwZP4Yfs
"processed foods are processed foods" but not all unhealthy. Processing is not the problem in itself (foods like hummus are processed by blending, for example, so are smoothies, and so is whole wheat bread). The problem is adding empty calories, reducing nutritional content, and adding harmful substances like saturated fats.
The problem with coconut oil is the high level of saturated fat, the same is true for palm oil. Even olive oil is relatively high in saturated fat. Soybean oil is a poor choice for other reasons too: the very high level of Omega 6.
There are specific reasons why certain oils are less ideal, and he painted all of them with the same broad strokes. He didn't deal with any studies on canola oil, for instance.
Yes, nuts and seeds are better, and it's good to recommend them instead, but it makes veganism more difficult for people when you scare people off oil entirely. A limited amount of healthier oils probably isn't going to kill you, and a diet rich in healthy fats may be better than simple carbohydrates (which come with their own risks).
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/04/13/ask-the-expert-concerns-about-canola-oil/
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/low-carbohydrate-diets/Although care must be taken in handling and processing of canola oil and other vegetable oils, canola oil is a safe and healthy form of fat that will reduce blood LDL cholesterol levels and heart disease risk compared to carbohydrates or saturated fats such as found in beef tallow or butter. Indeed, in a randomized trial that showed one of the most striking reductions in risk of heart disease, canola oil was used as the primary form of fat (8). Whether using cold pressed canola oil provides some small additional benefit is not clear.
There is growing evidence that EcoAtkins; a lower carb vegan diet rich in healthier plant sources of fats and low methionine plant proteins may be optimal for heart health and overall health and longevity.The low-carb diet was most beneficial for lowering triglycerides, the main fat-carrying particle in the bloodstream, and also delivered the biggest boost in protective HDL cholesterol.
[...]
Research shows that a moderately low-carbohydrate diet can help the heart, as long as protein and fat selections come from healthy sources.
- A 20-year prospective study of 82,802 women looked at the relationship between lower carbohydrate diets and heart disease; a subsequent study looked at lower carbohydrate diets and risk of diabetes. Women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in vegetable sources of fat or protein had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease (4) and about a 20 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, (34) compared to women who ate high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets. But women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not see any such benefits. (4,34)
[...]- Similarly, the small “EcoAtkins” weight loss trial compared a low-fat, high-carbohydrate vegetarian diet to a low-carbohydrate vegan diet that was high in vegetable protein and fat. While weight loss was similar on the two diets, study subjects who followed the low-carbohydrate “EcoAtkins” diet saw improvements in blood lipids and blood pressure. (36)
Making strong claims against ALL oils is weak sauce when you cherrypick the worst ones to do it.
If you're getting your calories from rice or dates instead of canola oil, you may not be doing your body the favor you think you are.
I want to encourage Mic. to not take such a strong stance against all oil (or high fat macronutrient profiles in general) when the Jury is still very much out on this topic. Show both sides, and let people decide what works for them on the spectrum from Vegan EcoAtkins to HCLF Vegan (with adequate protein, EFAs, and micronutrients: which can be a challenge with high carb), or even down the triangle to junk food vegan if they're putting ethics rather than health as their top priorities.
These videos have more issues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWDznkdUjb0 Veganic is nice, and people should totally have veganic backyard or patio gardens using compost, but profitability is not the most important metric: the food they produce is too expensive becuase it requires too much human input and yields of staple crops without modern farming methods are poor. The affordable alternative to Organic is conventional agriculture, which just uses synthetic fixed nitrogen. We need to get off fossil fuels to produce that synthetic fertilizer: that is a more realistic goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gWCdC7-3AQ This is the worst video I've seen of his. The Anti-GMO position is harmful to veganism.
There are too many issues for me to cover in this post (I'll probably follow up soon). I'll just drop a couple links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH4bi60alZU (mediocre video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpD4PXg_BKg GREAT analysis
Why Vegans must be more positive about GMO:
http://www.vegangmo.com/?page_id=655