I think Bee Wilson would not argue with what you say about needing a specific diet (she is an omnivore herself) but what she does so well is put that into a global context.
She also uses the example you quote of people from the Indian sub continent being more predisposed to T2D because of undernourishment in the womb but highlights the fact that this is lack of food more than type of food consumed. Did you see the report about various poorer African countries having a healthier diet composition than the wealthy West? This analysed the type of foods eaten (usually vegetables) but acknowledged that people could still be undernourished because they didn't have enough to eat.
Plant-based eating would clearly feed more people on a global level but whether that would be a popular move is another matter altogether. I think it's called a 'wicked problem'.
dms1 I believe we need to eat plant foods to maintain and/or improve the diversity of our microbiome, also to bind with toxins being released by the body into the colon for removal from the body. We need them for their fiber, nutrients, and phytochemicals, for their healing properties. I could go on.
I have a few friends who eat a vegan or vegetarian diet. Two are healthy, and two are not. All are intelligent and capable of meeting their dietary needs with the appropriate foods and supplements, yet two of the four are unhealthy and suffering. One of those two have resumed eating some animal foods, though probably not enough, but it's probably helping some.
It's been my personal experience that the vegan and vegetarian diet works for some, and works very well, Brenda Davis is a good example, some members of this forum also serve as examples, but the diet doesn't work for others. The question is how many? I suspect the majority, but I don't know that, and I'm not willing to support this proposed grand experiment to find out.
Additionally, we need the animals to restore the health of our soil, which is where we get our minerals and microbes to be able to survive. I think however, we need to find ways to treat domestic animals more humanely.
Despite living in the center of our city with a population approaching 100,000, we have all kinds of wildlife living on our home's small city lot. Deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, possum, rats and mice, birds, and of course the neighborhood domestic cats who love to sit near, watch, and sometimes play with the deer. A few weeks ago, a cat was following the deer around the yard, and a squirrel that probably has also been hunted by this particular cat, saw what was going, ran down the tree, slapped the squirrel, and ran up the tree. I kid you not. My husband could not believe what he just saw.
When we moved into this neighborhood, that's been here for 100 years, 30+ years ago, there were no deer, raccoons, squirrels, or rabbits in the neighborhood, but as adjacent, nearby land have been developed, the animals have had no choice but to adapt and live among us. It's fascinating. Our city council had to pass a law a few years ago, not sure that's the right word - (ordinance perhaps?) - to stop citizens from interacting with and hand feeding or feeding the wildlife. All that said, I love the animals that share our yard, but can't imagine domesticated cows, pigs, sheep, or goats roaming our yards and streets, though chickens, not roosters, are kind of fun. They truly need to be contained and cared for. Cougars and the smaller wild cats are already becoming a problem in cities, coyotes too. I was just talking with a friend recently and learned that bears are beginning to roam through their 5 acre wooded property. That's very recent, and they've been there for 40+ years.
All I know with certainty is that the WFPB diet will not work for me and the majority of my diabetic friends (and pre-diabetics and diabetics appear to be the majority now in the US). I eat more vegetables and leafy greens than most with every meal, but I can't eat the grains anymore, and can only eat the smallest amounts of legumes and beans. I also have to greatly limit starchy vegetables, fruits, and berries.
I think to find solutions, we need to keep idealism in check, no matter how intelligently or beautifully written.