Gene Baur is the author of the new book “Living the Farm Sanctuary Life,” which details both the health and environmental benefits that come from a plant-based diet. He sat down with Jon Stewart on Monday’s episode of The Daily Show to discuss the premise of the book, the mission behind the Farm Sanctuary organization, and the fact that although he believes these practices are important, he doesn’t expect everyone to switch gears suddenly.

As Stewart puts it, “On the one side, this eating mindfully and vegan seems to be the solution to nutrition, to health, to global warming. On the other side… corned beef.”

Stewart’s sentiment is real for us meat eaters. But Baur insists that just making small lifestyle changes will be incredibly effective. It doesn’t need to be an all or nothing mentality.

Trends like meatless Mondays are a good starting point – or Stewart’s suggestion, Tofu Tuesdays. (I’ll skip that one.) Stewart also recommends that companies shy away from using terms like “meatless meat”… because how will that ever be appetizing, even to a vegan?

Baur acknowledges that this issue is complex – it’s in large part about recognizing the moral aspect of how we treat animals, but it’s also very much about our health and the planet. Eliminating meat from our diet can do a lot in respect to how healthy our hearts are and risk of cancer, he points out.

Watch the full segment here.