Dr. Shawn Baker (a passionate carnivore) retweeted this:
@SBakerMD Vegans and Vegetarians have the highest suicide rates, UN Data and WHO data: India ranks 1 whilst meat eating Pakistan right over the border eats a lot of meat ranks well below, their poverty rates similar: pic.twitter.com/ol4uqLFSMr
— Shaza (@OZmandia) February 3, 2019
But is it really true?
For the record, I admire Dr. Baker and his push to help people eat a nutrient-dense diet via meat eating. But, his tweet is pushing a common myth…
I dug a little bit and found more recent statistics from the United Nations’ and World Health Organization data (2016)… and here are the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates:
Guyana
Lesotho
Russia
Lithuania
Suriname
Ivory
Coast
Kazakhstan
Equatorial
Guinea
Belarus
South Korea
It is true that Pakistan was 169th on the list.
But, India was 49th on the list – not first.
Also, it is interesting to note that India is not a largely vegetarian country. According to this BBC report (if it can be believed), just 1 out of 5 Indians are vegetarians or vegans. The vast majority of India’s population includes meat in their diet.