15 May White washed veganism: A call out
You can trace veganism’s roots back to the Indus valley civilisation in 3300-1300 BCE in Ancient India, it only took the Jared Leto’s of the world in the 2000’s to make it a “white thing”.
The contradiction that is advocating to stop the exploitation and injustice of animals whilst ignoring the injustices faced by minorities can only be explained by the mainstream vegan movement. Doused in whiteness, intersectionality is ignored and the struggles faced by marginalised communities are often used as tools to promote veganism.
We can’t ignore that the treatment of animals within the meat and dairy industry is abhorrent. Female cows are bred to then be routinely impregnated by force, to only have the calves snatched away from them as newborns, whilst males are immediately killed. The poultry industry is no better, reports show images of emaciated birds trapped in battery cages, overfeeding them till their limbs are broken and living conditions being absolutely disgusting.
However, veganism has this stigma of being elitist and an exclusionary movement. Whilst white vegans may not see the complexities behind this, they must understand that the criticism is not on the practice, but rather the attitudes of those who practise. For this genuinely positive lifestyle to pop off in a sustainable non-trend way, white vegans need to pattern up, they need to be understanding and they need to be inclusive.
I went down to Boxparks CookDaily to ask some fellow vegans of colour their thoughts and experiences on the vegan movement.
“Being a vegan for ethical or moral reasons isn’t’ always a priority for people of colour because we have other crosses to bear. (Have) you see the material used by vegan organisations on social media? A lot of which compare black civil rights to animal rights? Unsurprisingly these are the only times they mention injustices against black people … they highlight our struggles not to help us, but to help their agenda…” – Ines Carvalho, vegan of 2 years
“Black lives matter… more than Chickens or Cows lives… apparently.”
— Vegan Revolution (@VeganRevoIution) April 28, 2015
Social media campaigns created by white vegans are often made to provoke white audiences, the perceptions of POC audiences are rarely considered. If this was the case, then utilising slavery and the civil rights movements to provoke audiences would not be the go-to. This trend of comparing black slaves to animals has been churned by vegan social media, alienating black audiences not considering their feelings and creating very little room for people of colour. In an article written by gal-dem, Heather Barett talks about an incident in Dalston, where Fed by Water, a vegan establishment had its windows smashed during a peaceful protest for Rasharn Charles. In the article, it can be seen that the restaurant shared a post where protestors (who were a majority of black people) were referred to as “animals” in a derogatory way.
“Coming from a culture that celebrates food in a big way, it’s almost like you’re having to compromise your culture for your dietary passions. A lot of the times, people of colour haven’t jumped on the vegan wagon because sorry about it, the food is dead, and that is a reflection on the lack of diversity in mainstream veganism, we want to see options for us too.” – Madhav Kakar, vegan of 5 months
In an article, Gloria Oladip explains that the best way to tackly inclusivity is to “de-colonise” veganism by passing the mic and centring vegans of colour. As well as that, it’s vital to consider when “veganising” cultural cuisine to confer with those that belong to that culture, taco bell does not a Mexican meal make, it’s common sense people.
This white-washing of veganism only turns the world off. What vegan activists should be doing is making people aware that animal cruelty is an unnecessary, unjust and horrific part of modern life. This can be done with an inclusive and open tone and without pouring salt on the fresh wounds of the black community.
