This is the (belated) online version of the VS newsletter - w/e 14th April 2024 - You can sign up here.
Hey Fellow Space Traveller,
How are you doing?
We’re a little late sending the newsletter this week … it’s been a demanding 7 days 🙂
This week’s look at the vegan news spotlights the massive San Diego vegan ‘EarthFest’, Aussie vegan Olympian Morgan Mitchell and ‘woke’ vegan scones … huh?
I kid you not!
Sorry for the wait but here’s your slate of vegan news bites this week …
As always, if you can find it in yourself to help us out a bit this week, one of the most effective things you can do is leave us your thoughts below and share this with your friends, vegan and non-vegan alike.
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… and now on with this week’s news roundup.
Thank you for being with us!
– Rohan 🙂
Recommend us to your friends …
This Week’s Top Story
Opinion: Why Are Vegans Often Accused of Perceiving Themselves to be Morally Superior?
If you’ve been vegan for any length of time there’s a strong chance you’ve been told you’re “virtue signalling” or that you “think you’re so morally superior“.
Am I right?
The irony is that veganism is all about NOT being superior one little bit. In fact, quite the opposite!
Vegans consider themselves to be equal in many ways to all the other sentient beings we share this planet with. Yes, we live by this moral code but that has nothing to do with the moral superiority accusations which are levelled at us.
So where does this misguided carnist mindset come from?
Well, it’s quite simple really.
I’m not talking about health vegans or environmental vegans because veganism is all about animal rights, nothing else and once someone understands this, suddenly they cannot avoid questioning their own moral code. Often the conclusions are uncomfortable.
At this point it can go two ways …
- Accept the failings of your own morality
or …
- Head in the sand … “I don’t care .. la la la la la”.
Unfortunately, the majority will go with the second option and find ways to justify their continued demand for animal products, thereby maintaining the status quo which presides over the slaughter of nearly 100 billion terrified sentient beings every year.
One of the vegan activists I follow on Twitter … @Son_of_Space puts it rather well in a recent Tweet …
People don’t really believe that our motivation to be #Vegan & fight for fellow animals is to gain a sense of moral superiority, it’s just that our existence brings their own unethical choices into sharp contrast so they feel a need to use such nonsense to criticise our character
I couldn’t put it better myself.
What do you think? Reply with your comments … we read them all 🙂
Have a great week from all at Vegan Slate … see you next time.
– Rohan McAvee
Quick Links:
- ‘Powerful meat producers’ accused of lobbying FAO to undermine climate change roadmap.
- Reading Vegan Fiesta is here again! 11-4pm Saturday 20th April, Forbury Gardens, RG1 3BB.
- The Vegan Starter Kit – Everything You Need to Know About Plant-Based Eating. Neal Barnard MD.
( paid link ) - Food For Profit – is ‘the European Cowspiracy’ out this year looking at factory farming in the EU.
- French Ban On Meaty Names for plant-based foods may be illegal after all.
- Free Course – Vegan nutrition essentials.
- 10% Off Code for Vedge Nutrition Store-wide (use: VEGANSLATE)
( paid link )
(To help with running costs, Vegan Slate is a member of the Amazon Associates Program and as an Amazon Associate, earns from qualifying purchases.There’s no extra cost to you if you use a paid link and it’s a great way to help us out)
Around The Vegan Web This Week Ending 14th April 24
Aussie Olympian cites vegan diet as the reason for her success …
Australian athletics champion Morgan Mitchell will soon be in Paris for her 3rd Olympic Games and she has credited her career success on her 10 year vegan diet. The F45 ‘Global Athlete for Australia’ said the first few months where she ate only French fries didn’t help! But as soon as she focused on proper nutrition with her sports dietician her health dramatically improved. She used to suffer with regular bouts of tonsillitis but since going vegan she said “I haven’t had tonsillitis since” …
Survey shows teens’ interest in plant-based meat at new low …
Following on from last week’s article here on VS, this week we have further evidence of the demand for plant-based meat slowing down. A new survey commissioned by investment bank Piper Sandler has found only a third of teens surveyed were open to trying plant-based meat. This is down from 42% in the Spring of 2023 and solidifies the trend for this sector. The products are being labelled ultra processed food which is striking a chord with consumers.
‘Woke’ National Trust vegan scones have right-wingers livid …
I didn’t know a cake could be woke but you learn something new every day I guess. In yet another desperate attempt to stir up hatred the Daily Fail has, predictably enough, made a big deal out of a non-story that has a tenuous vegan angle. Even more predictably, GB News (or GBeebies as it is more accurately known) enthusiastically ran with the story, disseminating their particular brand of toxic bile across the media. If this is what the right-wing want to get their knickers in a twist over then I honestly think the human race has little hope of further climbing the evolutionary ladder …
San Diego vegan EarthFest could surpass 10k visitors this year
Marking Earth Day 2024 which happens on April 22nd every year, EarthFest, San Diego’s “premier Earth Day celebration” will be held at Balboa Park on Saturday April 20th from 11am to 5pm. The event will no doubt be even more successful than last year’s with organisers expecting the all vegan festie to attract more than 10,000 visitors. The extended 6 hour event promises to be a ‘feast for the senses’ with over 100 vendors, music, yoga and best of all, free entry so if you’re in the area definitely check this one out!
Germany moves ever more plant-forward with new guidelines …
A diet consisting of at least 75% plant-based foods is what the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) is recommending in their new healthier nutritional guidelines. While meat and dairy still figure, the limits have been reduced further than ever before and meat is now considered ‘optional – and not essential’ as part of a healthy diet. This marks a clear change of tack from recent history where meat had traditionally been considered non-negotiable when planning a balanced diet.
Herbalife wins DSA award for the launch of new vegan product line
Herbalife has been around since 1980 and whatever you think of their business opportunity, it cannot be denied that they have grown into a force to be reckoned with in the nutrition and wellness space. The launch of their new vegan product line, ‘Herbalife V’ is yet more proof of the growing demand for plant-based and vegan options across all sectors. The campaign has been a masterclass in how to promote a new product line with the initial seeds sown over a year ago on social media!
You can help support Vegan Slate by engaging with our content. Please check out the post below and leave us a comment or share on your favourite socials. It will help us more than you think!
Thank you 🙂
Blog Post: Previously on Vegan Slate …
Why Are Vegans So Sanctimonious?
As veganism reaches ever further into the minds of the masses, more and more people are asking questions about our lifestyle. One we hear often is, “why are vegans so sanctimonious?” … Well, in a world where ‘The Donald’ can rise to the highest echelons of power it seems those who shout the loudest tend to be heard … Following on from today’s opinion piece above, in this post we look at why many people incorrectly think most vegans are sanctimonious …
Thanks so much for reading Vegan Slate and have a non-violent day 🙂
– Rohan
Vegan Slate