#Veganuary or #Februdairy?
- Katharyn Daniels
- Feb 2, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 9, 2019
For some people ‘#Veganuary’ has come to an end. For others ‘#Februdairy’ is just beginning. The first is a movement to encourage people to go vegan during January. The second, a social media trend to promote dairy products and the farming industry throughout February.
These monthly challenges are not the only time we see tension between farmers and vegans. Some examples include attacks between the two groups online and extreme vegan activism disrupting farmers or livestock markets.
However, this doesn’t paint the full picture of veganism in the UK - which we found when we looked back at the roots of this diet. With the rising trend of meat and dairy-free diets and the number of vegans in the UK quadrupling since 2014, Taboo decided to investigate how people on both sides of the vegan debate feel.
2019 burst onto the scene, and what came with it but the first controversy of the year. The Vegan Sausage Roll. Yes, the fast-food pastry shop Greggs has released their long-awaited vegan alternative to one of their most popular products. It was greeted by many praising them for their actions. However, there were an equal number of responses arguing against the alternative. Which does beg the question - why is veganism so hotly debated? Why do some seem to get so offended by a food that no-one is forcing them to eat?
“I think the fact that we [vegans] are becoming relevant and heard is part of why there has been such a backlash against the new vegan options.”
That’s the reasoning Daniel Cowley gives.
Daniel has been a vegan for two years but was vegetarian for eight years before that. He is now treasurer of the Vegetarian and Vegan Society at the University of Lincoln.
Explaining the reasons why he decided to cut out meat and other animal products, he said it was a moment of realisation that “really grossed [him] out” and caused him to stop eating meat. Years later, a vegan friend told him stories about animal abuse in farming which made him decide to not be a part of it anymore.
Albert Church, who feels he cannot give his real name to prevent his family - all of whom are farmers - from receiving backlash, states: “farm animals are legally protected against mistreatment.
“There are many legitimate farming practices that some people may consider cruel, such as taking calves away from dairy cows, however these actions are fundamental to farming.”
He argues that any footage of farmers mistreating animals is monopolised by animal rights activists, and that “these farmers are considered a small minority and are condemned by the majority of the farming community.”
One dairy farmer, Abi Reader, argues: “It is insulting to tell a livestock farmer they don’t care about their animals.” She adds that she gets annoyed at social media attacks from vegans towards farmers. She does say that the attacks are often from both sides though.
“It is insulting to tell a livestock farmer they don’t care about their animals.”
However, it's not just animal rights reasons that Daniel cites for becoming vegan, but environmental issues as well. He claims that emissions that come from animal agriculture are on a similar level to the global transport sector.
“There is also the issue of land use. Feeding animals crops is extremely inefficient compared to growing crops directly. Essentially producing meat is inefficient, uses too much water and land. Also it causes a large amount of CO2 and methane emissions.”
Albert agrees that animal agriculture in its current form is “not sustainable,” however he argues that reform is the answer rather than switching off meat products altogether.
“The UK actually farms animals in a far more sustainable and environmentally friendly way than other countries.
“With regards to land use, animal agriculture is critical to utilising all available land to produce food. Land that animals graze on is unsuitable for crop growth, also many animals do not eat crops specifically grown for them but consume by-products from food processing factories.”
It's obvious after talking to people with different opinions that it's hard to come up with a solution that would suit both parties. When searching for statistics, it is also difficult to find non-biased ones, as they seem to differ depending on the site that hosts them.
"If you can think of a vegan joke I can almost guarantee I’ve heard it five times."
Moral reasoning for being vegan aside, there is another issue at hand. Common jokes on social media centre around vegans. With many a ‘meme’ or punchline at the expense of this growing movement.
Albert runs the Facebook page 'Norfolk Animal Rights Extremism Exposed' and he does share many of these memes. He defends this. “The jokes are popular on the page. Predominately we aim to educate on our page. The jokes get us followers, the more followers the more people we can educate on the benefits of animal agriculture. It is necessary.
“We hope that the jokes are harmless and can be enjoyed from both sides of the debate.”
Daniel says that he has faced backlash himself and been on the receiving end of many jokes. “If you can think of a vegan joke I can almost guarantee I’ve heard it five times.
“I’ve taken my fair share of jokes. I think this is why the idea that we’re sensitive isn’t necessarily true, the vegan you see getting ‘triggered’ in the media may be reacting because he’s heard the same joke at least 10 times that week.”
Ultimately though, while Daniel finds the jokes frustrating for “trivialising real issues such as mass animal slaughter and global warming,” he does feel that they help start a debate instead of the topic being “quietly dismissed.”
From these conversations, it's unclear why vegans are mocked so intensely on social media. What is becoming clearer is valid arguments from both sides, mainly about the sustainability of different types of farming.
Piers Morgan called vegans 'clowns' after Greggs introduced the vegan sausage roll. Can it not be argued that the 'clown' is the one getting offended at an alternative food product that no-one is forcing them to eat?
These alternatives are becoming more popular and proving to vegans like Daniel that his views are “relevant and becoming increasingly common in mainstream society.” Making it easier for others to make the switch as well.
Did Greggs anticipate just how much furore would be caused over their vegan sausage rolls? Some of their tweet replies suggest so. But one thing is obvious. The humble sausage roll has reignited a debate that looks unlikely to end soon.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Get in touch with us on social media or send us an email at contact.us.taboo@gmail.com - we want to use some of your comments in our upcoming podcast.
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