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V40
"It's proven that vegans are more empathetic."
Weak or false science
They make claims about the body or nutrition that the evidence does not support. When they fall, they take the speaker's credibility with them.
Why it is weak
The claim usually relies on a 2010 neuroimaging study of 60 people, which measured brain activation in response to images, not behavior. It is modest evidence, not proof.
It also sounds like moral superiority, which is exactly the stereotype that pushes people away (L1).
How to say it better
Say that caring for animals doesn't reduce care for people: empathy isn't zero-sum, and many animal advocates also work for human causes.