Katie Edwards: It is meat eaters – not vegans – who are the preachy ones
The stigma around those who refuse to consume animal products says more about the rest of us than it does about them. They’re willing to live life according to their principles while so many more of us are cowed by social mores.
KATIE EDWARDS: Like so many others, I dipped my toe in veganism in January – or “Veganuary”… I’ve been vegetarian since I was 14… but I still can’t seem to make the leap to veganism. Like many people, I consider myself an animal lover. I understand that loving animals shouldn’t extend only to standard domestic pets. I’ve always followed the approach that if I can fall in love with something then it can’t be part of my diet…
Still, I found my flirtation with veganism very socially awkward. Despite the plethora of plant-based meat alternatives on offer in supermarkets these days, I found the daily reality of going animal produce-free a bit too much to handle. The eye-rolls, the snipes about being “holier than thou”, the embarrassment of refusing cups of tea made with cow’s milk. It turns out that I’m easily mortified by minor incidents of social anxiety.
And vegans don’t half get some stick. We’ve all heard jokes/complaints about the gross piety of vegans. Last year, The Vegan Society released the report of its research collaboration with The Ecologist magazine and Kingston University. The report found that “social barriers such as stereotypes and abuse directed towards vegans” were some of the main issues preventing people from becoming vegan. Who wants a lecture on the unnatural nature of a plant-based diet when you’re just trying to get a pumpkin katsu curry?…
Over lunch one day (mine was an entirely inedible watermelon-based fake tuna dish… I know, the clues were there that this wouldn’t be a successful foray into restaurant vegan cuisine), a friend accused me of going “peak left”, which I found bizarre. For a start, I think I reached peak left some time in 2018 but that aside, do we think that only lefties are interested in animal welfare? I’m pretty sure that’s not the case. Maybe it’s just lefties who’re willing to put up with crap restaurant food as a sacrifice for their convictions.
A recent YouGov survey seems to back up my suspicions that veganism crosses the political spectrum. YouGov reported that four in 10 Britons say animal lives are worth the same as human lives. Thanks to a rise in concern about the environment and responsive consumer initiatives like Veganuary, an entirely plant-based diet is becoming more popular. Yet, veganism hasn’t yet reached the levels the YouGov survey suggests it should…
If a whopping 40 per cent of Britons claim that they believe animal life is equal to human life then how come such a high proportion of them must be consuming animal produce? And the dairy industry comparable to the mass torture of humans?
Either the YouGov figures are off or there are loads of us whose theory doesn’t match our practice. Is our sentimentality towards animals only skin-deep? Our well-evidenced attachment to our pets suggest not. Perhaps our sense of moral propriety doesn’t extend to life adjustments that compromise our freedom to consume as we choose?
When I retreated sheepishly from veganism, I realised that perhaps the stigma around those who refuse to consume animal products says more about the rest of us than it does about them. They’re willing to live life according to their principles while so many more of us are cowed by social mores. SOURCE…
[Katie Edwards is a British academic, author, cultural commentator, and broadcaster.]
RELATED VIDEOS: