when I was vegetarian for example, I was majorly concerned over the healthfulness of a fully plant-based diet; after stumbling down a rabbit hole and looking through meta-analysis after systematic review, however, I began seeing veganism not only as just “not unhealthy” but as actively healthier than what I was eating.

If this is a factual claim that veganism is, all else being equal, healthier than vegetarianism, then it is unsubstantiated. Sorry, but we must stick to the evidence. If you are only saying that it was healthier than your vegetarian diet, then sure. Most vegans are doubtless healthier than most omnivores, but that’s mainly a function of the awfulness of the junky Western diet.

I’m sure there are unicorns out there for whom this article could actually be the final straw, but I at least agree those people are somewhat rare (albeit a vegan community is likely to have a higher concentration of omnivores thinking of pulling the trigger than the general population)

Conversely, there are those like myself (mostly vegan but I’m not absolutist and will eat meat if there’s nothing else on offer) for whom it won’t make any difference. Because they know the facts already.

one major point that I think your comment is overlooking is that more vegans being educated is unto itself a good thing for the quality of activism. When vegans have actual, credible information ready to go when someone makes an anti-vegan talking point

Absolutely true and I overlooked it. Ultimately that was surely the purpose of the article.