Veganism is a huge trend, Ben and Jerry’s (owned by Unilever) does vegan ice cream, Supermarkets are stocked with vegan alternatives to meat (made by meat and poultry companies) and even McDonald’s has a vegan burger now (manufactured by Nestlé).
While we vegans pat ourselves on our shoulders for our great work, the meat industry is growing world-wide. At the same time small vegan companies are giving up because many supermarkets replace their products with veggie products made by meat companies.
In Germany large meat and poultry companies selling vegetarian and sometimes even vegan products. I’ve often heard that this is a good thing because it shows that vegetarians and vegans have the power to change the market. I have heard people say it means less animal products are sold, it means companies will change. I am not sure if anybody has ever tried to verify these claims. Because we’re lying to ourselves.
Yes, the demand for vegan products is growing. And so is the demand for dairy products. People eat less meat so they eat more dairy. Which I don’t see as an improvement. Also many of the new fake meats are egg based. The egg industry is just as cruel as the meat industry. In Germany every year over 40 million male chickens are killed because they are considered „useless“. And a court ruled that this is in line with German animal rights laws. Because people eat more dairy and egg products meat consumption in Germany is indeed stalling. But is that a success? No, it isn’t.
Because, again, the killing of animals does not stall. It has increased. German meat production (link in German) is growing. German companies have explored new markets in Asia and Africa. And the meat-free products they sell here probably cross-subsidise their meat products and help meat companies grow.
I grew in an area where these companies have their factory farms and their slaughterhouses. Being aware of what they did and how they did it made me go vegetarian at the age of 13. That was over 20 years ago and things have gotten so much worse since then. [Factory Farming: The True Price of a Pork Chop] There is no way I am ever going to support them and buy their products. (Here is a great overview [for the German market and in German] to find out who’s who. And here’s another one that also lists vegan companies at the bottom.) Which is apparently meant to be like that because these products are aimed at flexitarians. We vegans aren’t even their target group.
To me there are better alternatives. Especially since there are tons of companies that I can support instead, small companies dedicated to producing only vegan products. These small companies whose products I have been buying for years now have a hard time (link in German) because they have to compete (again) agains the meat industry, which just has more money and more influence to get their stuff placed on a supermarket shelf. And since there’s only so much space on a shelf, the vegan companies that also produce in a more sustainable way than meat companies, are discontinued (link in German).
An argument I have heard often is that on the one hand, these large meat, poulty, or dairy companies make veganism more accessible.That it is, on the other hand, a huge privilege to have access to health food stores and be able to pick out the best and most sustainable products. To have the time and educate yourself about the things you eat is a privilege, too. That some people only can get one brand of vegan cookies at the supermarket and that the vegan minced meat from the poultry company is the only meat alternative available to them. And that very many people have to time to cook their dinners from scratch and with hand selected produce. And yes, these are all good points. And they’ve made me understand that things are complicated.
In my opinion veganism is not about being convenient. At least not if you think about it as an ethical decision you’ve made. If you want to change things that annoy you, make you angry or disturb you, it is never convenient. It is not supposed to be. We like to say veganism is easy and yes, it has been getting much easier. The catch phrase on every new vegan cookbook is: „You don’t have to sacrifice x!“ But that is not true.You are sacrificing things, things are sometimes being hard, you can not always get what you want, you are making choices and you always have to keep making choices. You have to question the things you do. Only this way you will help changing things or at least make others think about the way they live.
When I went vegan, there was nothing for me to buy at the supermarket. Except for vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and grains, there was not a single vegan product available. I was used to making my own stuff. And of course I often heard the complaint: „I could never go vegan because I can’t cook/I don’t have the time to make my own food.“ These days I am happy to see more products but I find myself get lured into the convenience trap, too. Because of course sometimes all I want is to buy that frozen dinner and put food on the table in ten minutes because there was no time and energy for a home-cooked meal. Sometimes I’m gonna buy those cookies because I don’t want to make my own.
But I don’t think we should make „You can have everything you like just the way you like it“ our main selling point for veganism. Just like those sugar-free, fat-free back bean brownies will never taste like the real thing. And they don’t have to, right? Because the moment we start telling these tales, things will go into the wrong direction. Because veganism is linked to so many other things like sustainability, environment, and ethics. We should talk about these things, too. They don’t really go well with capitalism. They don’t really go well with our upbringing that tells us to „vote with our dollars“. Making people promises about how they don’t have to sacrifice anything won’t make them think about why they are making the choices they are making.
Now that I have said that, I feel that I need to get off my high horse for a moment. Recently I posted a picture of a vegan cream cheese on Instagram. I had bought that cream cheese on a whim in a vegan online store. I hadn’t researched the company. And even if I had, it would not have become instantly obvious to me that the cream cheese (By the brand Simply V) I had bought was not made by a vegan company. On their homepage you won’t find out that they are a brand of Hochland, a large European cheese manufacturer. A quick internet search on the other hand will give you this information. On Instagram I commented that I didn’t want to support this company. I have to admit that I was mostly mad at myself for not getting my butt in front of the computer before I had ordered the cheese. I had my usual arguments at hand: I won’t support a company that is part of the dairy industry.
A couple of minutes later I was standing in front of the fridge, taking out a tub of soy yoghurt. I am used to making my own stuff, but soy yoghurt and soy milk are not one of the things in my fridge that are homemade. I rely on them a lot, I use them in baking and both my daughter and I use these foods as a source of calcium. A while ago I argued that I didn’t get why everybody was so exited about Ben and Jerry’s producing a couple flavours of vegan ice cream. I don’t like it when companies like that are praised for making veganism easier. Because eating fruits, vegetables, and grains has always been easy enough. And now I am standing there with that tub of soy yoghurt in my hand, which is basically made by a dairy company.
In Germany there are only two or three brands of soy yoghurt available. One of them is Alpro/Provamel and the other one is Sojade. While Alpro is available at many supermarkets, Provamel and Sojade are only available at health food stores. Now guess what. Both brands belong to companies who do sell a ton of milk products, too. Alpro/Provamel is owned by Danone (Dannon). Sojade belongs to Triballat Noyal, a French company selling soy products but also goat cheese and other dairy products.
I remember that a couple of years ago when WhiteWave Foods wasn’t an independent company yet and still belonged to Dean Foods, there were huge discussions in the vegan community. Some even said that since Alpro was a part of Dean Foods at that time, their products could not be called vegan. I am not very familiar with them, but the fact that such a large dairy company had bought the Alpro brand made a lot of vegans angry. At that time I just shrugged my shoulders and kept buying their soy yoghurt. I didn’t want to think about giving it up. I thought that would be silly because the company Alpro was selling only vegan products. They were just bought by a company that was not vegan.
Today I see how flawed so many of my arguments are. I an a complete bigot. I don’t live without convenience foods. It’s easy to draw a line and say hey, I don’t consume any animal products. But then things get blurry. There’s not much of a difference between the soy yoghurt I buy and the almond cheese or the Ben and Jerry’s that I don’t buy.
I have always understood that veganism isn’t about purity. It is a complicated subject and I don’t see through everything. But I see that my personal history is repeating itself. I went vegetarian because I didn’t want to feel bad about eating animals anymore. Then I went vegan because I didn’t want to feel bad for supporting the horrible dairy and egg industries any longer. And now what? I still feel bad. And I guess that’s just kind of normal if you try to question some things. But it doesn’t mean that you have to give up and just not change anything at all.
I realise that I don’t get anywhere with my yes-or-no, black-or-white attitude. But I also don’t want to cheer for every vegan product out there just because it’s vegan. I think we still should make choices and, if we are in that position and have those choices, think about where our shiny new vegan products come from. I realise I am very privileged to even be able to think about these issues. I know that many contradictions are going on here. The minute my favourite non-dairy product is at stake, I feel like boycotting companies just because they sell both dairy and non-dairy products might bite me in the butt. I used to say: „Hey, I am out. I don’t consume animal products.“ But really, the line isn’t that clear. On the one hand, I have a responsibility and can do better than just reaching for those Oreos. But on the other hand, it is impossible to do everything right. And I probably need to stop thinking about having to make everything right. Which is not meant as an excuse though. I still think it’s important to make conscious choices it’s just that they aren’t as easy as „I don’t consume animal products“ any longer.
For everybody else I guess you just make the decisions you make and do the best you can. I’ve heard some people say that folks might starts by eating vegan convenience products from the supermarket. The products I have just scolded. And then they start to educate themselves and start buying other products and change their lifestyle some more. Maybe that Oreo Cookie Ice Cream might just have been a start. And they might be right. I remember that I used to get exited about new vegan products, too. For me it’s been a process, too and I know I’ll think about it some more and I might change my opinion again. I just think that even though this is a controversial topic, it is a really important conversation to have.
28 comments
You may wish to read up on the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights. Start with this broad overview http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/about/the-six-principles-of-the-abolitionist-approach-to-animal-rights/#.V1bnrVdQHNk
There are many many powerful essays that are thought provoking and absolutely spot on.
Cheers
I am familiar with that approach, thank you!
Wow, ich bin richtig begeistert von diesem Artikel, denn er spricht mir total aus der Seele.
An den ganzen Fleischalternativen gehe ich meistens mit erhobener Nase vorbei, niemals würde ich auf die Idee kommen, von einem offensichtlichen Fleisch-/Milchproduzenten zu kaufen. Dennoch landet der Alpro Joghurt ab und zu in meinem Einkaufskorb – obwohl ich eigentlich weiß, dass die Firma in Verruf steht. Das finde ich aber tatsächlich okay, weil ich nicht die Zeit finde, meinen Joghurt, den ich sowieso nicht oft esse, selbstzumachen.
Liebe Grüße
Cosima
http://www.ricemilkmaid.de
Thanks for the article! And the beautiful blog of course.
When I first went vegetarian I was eleven and my parents fell back on the easy option of feeding me fake meat (although it wasn’t that widely available at the time). When I chose to go vegan five years ago one of the major factors that helped me make the change was vegusto vegan cheese since I loved cheese so much (and unfortunately it still tempts me sometimes!). So I really think that having a wider range and availability of „fake“ foods is a good thing for people just starting out. Now I hardly ever eat any fake foods.
I agree that the big meat and dairy industries backing this wider availability is an issue. However, if you* want to go that far, then any product bought in a supermarket (or even in a health food shop) is the product of human, animal or ecological exploitation. How far do you want to go? And why focus only on vegan products? The pasta you buy may also be owned by a big multinational and even the supermarket you shop in may test its beauty range on animals and certainly sells meat/dairy. An (expensive!) option is to buy only „ethical products“ in health food shops. However supposedly ethical products are frequently really not so ethical at all. Fair trade, organic or whatever labels are all frequently deeply flawed. Not counting afterwards if the product is local or imported and the ecological impact of its production. So I don’t draw that much of a distinction between big companies selling vegan products, little companies selling vegan products, or just any company selling any product. As long as you buy things, even from „nice“ companies, unfortunately you participate in some form of exploitation because that’s what capitalism is. Personally I get most of my food dumpster diving and I buy whatever extras I need or the occasional vegan treat. This is probably a little bit extreme for most people, but in general I would say that it’s not worth getting too caught up in where your food comes from if you’re buying something in a shop since once you buy something, you’re probably exploiting something anyway. Instead just do the best you can, and veganism is definitely a good start.
*This is a general you, not a specific you. Sorry english is annoying sometimes!
JJ, I think your point is super valid about trying to do one’s best, and how there will always be some level of exploitation and impact.
But I wonder if I could make a little caveat… perhaps the advantage of trying to support „nice“ companies (if there were such a thing), and insisting on functional labels (organic, fairtrade, etc.) would be to show that people are willing to spend time and learn about how the products are sourced, and put their money where their mouth is. The possible benefit of that level of care is that if enough people support it, we hope that the ethical, less negatively impacting product becomes the norm.
Though… this might take a long time for collective consciousness. The example of the LED/incandescent bulbs in the US comes to mind in terms of eradicating the bad option: when there was a suggestion to stop selling incandescent bulbs and only stock low-energy LEDs and people hated the lack of choice and said, „I should be able to buy a polluting bulb if I want to, government get your nose out“ – it was such a shame to read that in a choice between a better product and a not-so-good one, people didn’t automatically choose the environmentally friendly, low-energy option because it hinged on their ability to choose for their own sake. I think we could draw the analogy towards vegan products – as long as the choice is available to make a distinction between environmentally harmful (& cruel) meat vs. relatively better vegan option, people might be willing to occasionally use the latter. The hope is that over time, we can move towards fair-trade, low-impact, cruelty-free products as the day-to-day reality rather than the exception.
But it will rely on the few who can and want to learn about product sourcing and manufacture, not the majority who just want a one-stop place to get their stuff and go about their lives. That’s why MIHL’s post is so interesting, it reminds us that we should think about where things come from and how to push for more sustainability…
I agree with you, though I guess I am less strict than you with not supporting ANY company that is owned by a non-vegan parent company. It can be really hard, especially since the non-vegan parent company is probably reason why you can get that vegan cheese. And it is hard to ignore the concept of selling veganism as „easy“ because
1) it would be if the world wasn’t so non-vegan, at some point everything will be like second nature to just buy soy milk and whatever else you are craving at the local store and have it be vegan.
2) some people understand veganism, but seriously just don’t want to. One of my favorite vloggers, Hank Green from vlogbrothers does a lot of great videos that are largely educational. He does these videos with his brother that are only 4 minutes long once a week about something that is on their mind. And there a few about his struggles with vegetarianism. And released a video saying „I am not vegetarian because I am selfish“ going on about how we all make shortcuts in our own moral compass all the time. Like an example he gave was just buying „things“ in general when that money could be better used for someone in a different country. It is very sad, but let’s face it, he doesn’t have anti-specism ideals. But I am sure we make decisions that if better educated we would change our minds on, but have a hard time sticking to. I try and not buy palm oil, but I know I do from time to time (both intentionally and unintentionally). I know it is bad to buy fast fashion but man it is hard when you see a shirt on sale for $2 at Target.
Clearly I don’t want to make convince the center point of the veganism fight. We just need to take one step at a time to help ourselves make better decisions.
I didn’t say I do not support any company that is owned by a non-vegan parent company because as I said, that is almost not possible.
Yeah, there are also many bloggers and cookbook authors that are super successful wit their vegan recipes and cookbooks. But they aren’t vegan and I don’t get that. At least be honest and post that meat recipe once in a while. But then they wouldn’t be able to make money with it, I guess.
I try not to be too judgy about people who are trying not to eat meat as much. I get it that the numbers are still stacked against the animals, but I know in the USA people ARE eating less meat. And that’s a start. I think what is beneficial is that eating no meat and dairy seems more plausible to younger generations. But I still get frustrated with „vegan chefs“ that aren’t vegan. There is a NYC based chef that ate a meatball during an interview, saying something about „cheating“ once in a while, and it made me so mad.
I don’t know. I’m leaning in the exact opposite direction, where I actually think we’re starting to win if meat and milk companies are finding it financially rewarding to produce animal free products.
I’m not so much vegan for my conscience, though that plays a part. Far more than that I’m vegan because I want to contribute to a change in everybody’s perception of food, and how exploitative life style has to be.
The meat companies selling veggie food are in a dark gray zone, strictly speaking, more black than white if you are looking at your own footprint. But in terms of global conscience, veganism has to be taken out of the hands of the hipsters and hippies (sorry, I am trying to provide a certain perspective here, not be mean), and become mainstream. In that sense, these products are much whiter than what these guys put on everybody’s plates before.
I don’t know if that argument works for you; probably not, because you essentially argued against it in your post. The summary is, I value slow global change over my own veggie footprint.
I don’t think veganism will ever go mainstream and at this point we probably have to thank „hippies and hipsters“ for their contribution. I am pretty sure it’s because of them and their way of making veganism very visible that meat companies sell vegetarian stuff in the first place.
Hi Mihl,
after reading this post, I think you will like the insights and texts (if you haven’t already discovered them yourself) of the Vegan Strategist, an online blog.
Thanks for your wonderful blog and recipes, by the way!
I didn’t know about that site, so thank you!
Das hast du wirklich sehr gut geschrieben, auch oder gerade, weil es oft widersprüchlich ist. Ich denke das geht ganz vielen von uns so. Ich lebe seit drei Jahren vegan. Nach nur drei Monaten als Vegetarierin, wollte ich es dann richtig machen und wurde vegan. Seit dem ist es ein ständiger Prozess. Es findet sich immer noch etwas, was man besser machen kann. Produkte meiden, die nicht so gut sind. Ich versuche außerdem möglichst gesund zu leben und meinen Fußabdruck auf diesem Planeten möglichst klein zu halten. Aber es ist nunmal nicht möglich alles selbst zu machen und nur noch zu Fuß zu gehen. Wichtig ist, dass man über alles nachdenkt und den für sich am besten geeigneten Weg findet. Und manchmal ist das eben ein Kompromiss und nicht das, was einem mit einem 100 % guten Gewissen zurücklässt. Aber mit jedem kleinen Schritt gehen wir in die richtige Richtung und ein Kompromiss hier und da bedeutet ja nicht einen Schritt zurück zu machen. Danke, dass du deine Gedanken mit uns geteilt hast! LG Heike
Thank you so much for this post! I agree with you that it is so important to keep questioning and discussing these issues. I personally don’t really like a lot of processed food products and usually make my own because I prefer the taste and also I think less processed is healthier, however my husband loves all that stuff! So we do buy and eat them, but I never thought much about companies before or who owns them until recently. We found out that the toothpaste we buy which contains no animal products and is not tested on animals is produced by a company that tests on animals for other products. There is another vegan toothpaste we can buy, but the supermarket we can get it from is a major supermarket that of course sells meat, eggs, dairy and all sorts of non-vegan products, so we would still be supporting the supermarket. We could order the toothpaste online, but then we still need to buy most of our fresh food and necessities from non-vegan stores. Even the local organic shops and farmers markets sell animal products. It doesn’t seem to be possible to not support any non-vegan companies. However the conversation is vital so that we can become as aware as we can, to have the knowledge to support as many vegan companies as we can, and continue making changes where possible to cause the least possible harm. Like you it is an ongoing process for us, and we so appreciate thoughtful discussions from people such as yourself. From this we learn and continue to evolve. Thank you.
Hallo, ich weiß genau, was Du meinst. Aber Du gibst ja auch selbst die Antwort. Es ist wichtig, darüber nachzudenken, dann findet man neue Anstöße und Ideen, die nichts mit den Firmen zu tun haben, die sich das vegane Mäntelchen umhängen, um auch das Geld der Veganer und Veganerinnen zu bekommen. Selbst zubereiten ist immer die allerbeste Lösung (und wenn Du mal die Inhaltsstoffe liest, wirst Du auch für Deinen Körper nichts anderes mehr wollen ;-)) Deine Rezepte sind toll, Du brauchst gar keine Ersatzprodukte, die Dir etwas vorgaukeln, was sie niemals halten können. Ich freue mich über Deine Posts und bin dankbar und aufgeschlossen für jede Anregung. Mit Deinem Himbeer-Tiramisù werde ich auf jeden Fall zu meinem Geburtstag punkten, danke für Alles.
Ich esse Ersatzprodukte eigentlich nicht, weil sie mir was „vorgaukeln“, sondern weil sie mir schmecken. Und gerade bei denen aus dem Bioladen sind die Zutaten nicht schlecht, finde ich.
I think the question is also about trade-offs – in a world where we’ll always have an impact and a footprint, as vegans we’re working very hard to hopefully have a positive impact and a lower footprint. Some people are unable to invest the time to think about these questions and appreciate an easy accessibility without looking further in the production chain, while others of us think about these questions and try to address them. Generally, my own argument is the following: I am trying to NOT be a hypocrite about my consumption – so I will try to purchase products that appeal to a higher standard when I can. But I won’t judge others for their vegan choices. There are so many countries in the world where people are genuinely trying to do the right thing and are sometimes limited in their scope because of geographic/social/corporate conditions (I had that problem when I was living in Brazil for a year and a half – not the easiest place to be vegan). These may very well be the people who would choose the better product if they could.
And I think the ideology sometimes comes later – as meat-eaters become more and more exposed to vegan/veggie options, and hopefully try them and enjoy them, they may start to think about their choices and also pay attention to things like fair-trade labels, good working conditions, etc. We can only hope!
But this was a thoughtful post. It’s „less lonely“ to read that other vegans also struggle a bit with these questions…
Thank you! I thought I’d write about these things because I also often feel like there’s not much place fot these things to discuss. So I am very happy about the replies I aam getting here. I am learning so much from your responses!
Respekt davor, wie ausführlich Du damit beschäftigt hast und wie bewusst Du lebst!
Ich komme ursprunglich aus Taiwan, wo Milchprodukte hauptsächlich aus Europa und den USA importiert sind und pflanzliche Produkte wie Tofu und Seitan nicht als Fleischalternative zugeordnet werden. Es gibt eine Menge asiatische vegane Gerichte mit einfacher Zubereitung aus gewöhnlichen Zutaten, wie z.B. unser Eis auf traditioneller Art ist ohne Milch, daher braucht man keine Sojamilch oder -joghurt als Alternative. Allerdings bringt eine Recherche auf Englisch viel mehr als eine auf Deutsch. Wäre eine Idee für Dich :-)
Ohne jegliche Fleisch-, Milch- und Eieralternative die typisch deutsche oder gar europäische Küche herzustellen, fällt mir wirklich schwierig.
Ja, sehr guter Punkt! Danke:)
I live in Tasmania, Australia, and the selection of pre-prepared vegan products is very limited. I have been vegetarian now for 26 years and vegan for 18 of those. When I started out, there was nothing aside from Sanitarium tinned products that tasted like something out of the cat litter tray so I had to learn to cook everything myself. I think you are right about the having to make a choice and that it’s not clean cut but in saying that, we do have a choice every time we pick something up off a supermarket shelf and put it into our shopping carts. If we care about what we eat (for a myriad of reasons), then it’s not enough to put our faith in the „honesty“ of big business to look out for us. Their profit margin and stake-holder profits are tantamount to their business model and no-where does anything but „trending“ mean anything to them and ethics are simply not important enough to consider. If people are wanting to buy vegan products then they are going to find a way to muscle in on that market. We are what we eat and we most probably need to be taking a long hard look at this „convenience“ food. It is a lot easier to grab something from a supermarket shelf because we can. Our parents and grandparents didn’t have this option and managed to do everything (they had less conveniences than we do) as well as cook all of their meals. It takes more effort to think about what you are going to eat in advance but if we are pounding the pavements for exercise, scheduling our lives out the wazoo, surely factoring in food preparation is just a logical inclusion? The only real thing we have as humans is our choices we make at any given time. It’s up to us to educate ourselves and work out how to live our lives as vegans and if that means bypassing supermarket products that are manufactured by meat/dairy companies and having to spend a bit more time learning how to cook and prepare what we eat, then we need to suck it up and just do it. Sometimes things really are black and white. We get to choose because we have that privilege in the first world and opting out because of convenience is just lame.
I love your comment, „We get to choose because we have that privilege in the first world and opting out because of convenience is just lame.“ I may just have to quote it to people by citing it as a comment I read on a vegan blog. I hope you don’t mind. It’s also a good reminder for me in my personal habits!
„The only real thing we have as humans is our choices we make at any given time.“ Exactly, thank you!
I find these same issues with the makeup brands I do and don’t buy.
I only buy vegan makeup from cruelty free brands. But then sometimes those brands decide to sell in a different market. They expand to China where animal testing is required. You then have to decide if you’re ok with using a product that wasn’t tested on animals but from a company that chose to sell in a market knowing the products would be there.
Or the brand itself doesn’t test on animals but are owned by a parent company that does. At what point is your makeup no longer ok. How many steps removed do you need/want to be.
It would be easier if all vegan products were sold by exclusively vegan companies, unfortunately indie brands don’t always have the start up money or technology to innovate new products.
The grey area leads me to always make my own fake meat, only buy certain brands of vegan mayonnaise and milk, etc. But I do succumb to convenience food from time to time and it’s hard to tell a new vegan not to eat that shady frozen burrito for fear of driving them away from the cause altogether.
When I first went vegan there weren’t many brands of fake meat or yogurt or anything else. Maybe my life was less tasty then but it was a lot easier to know you weren’t supporting big meat or dairy companies when there was no mystery behind only the vegetable you were buying.
Thank you for your thoughts. That is a good point about the indie companies. The ones that make food also often have to use shared equipment or they team up with non-vegan companies to get started.
Oooh, so many Feelings! I really like this post because I think it demonstrates the ongoing struggles we all have living in, essentially, a VERY vegan-unfriendly culture. I also remember only having access to Alpro products and the occasional nut loaf/sugar free date cake. I think I also have experienced excitement over new products, and then a comedown when I start to consider who has produced it, and whether they’re ‚cashing in‘ on plant-based-product-popularity, and whether I am still supporting unethical businesses or corporations. I try to consume ethically in all areas of my life. Sometimes, because of money or health issues or just LIFE it has been difficult, but yeh, I still try my best. I’ve avoided the Ben & Jerry’s too, for example, because Unilever are seriously SO horrible….. We’re super lucky to have a couple of shops in my city that can order in bulk from 100% vegan companies and support them directly. I definitely think it’s best to give money to those if we can.
It is tough, though. If veganism is anything, it’s definitely a journey. I think it’s brilliant for veganism to be widespread and normalised but I think a lot of what is happening nowadays, in terms of new products being marketed by non-vegan corporations, is not a sincere attempt to promote veganism. I’m kinda with you on that high horse, but there’s a part of me that would rather folks eat vegan food they bought at a chain supermarket than not at all. I guess it depends where they are on the journey.
Thank you for your comment, Jenny! Yes, I think that is what really irks me. Corporations just trying to cash in. I guess that had to be expected, but still.
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