Is it really vegan to eat vegan meal at KFC or McDonalds etc…? I’m torn because, while I want to support vegan options, I can’t ignore that my money likely goes towards killing animals with the non-vegan population and their food demands growing.
It feels like this is just a marketing tactic to silence our protests or make them look less bad. And also why are these vegan meals often more expensive? Shouldn’t plant-based food be cheaper?
Sure, buying vegan shows them there’s demand, but I’m still funding a non-vegan company. Instead shouldn’t we support real vegan places and help them not die?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Am I missing something?
It’s tough, but in my opinion, supporting a vegan choice at a restaurant that serves mostly non-vegan food sends a stronger statement to the business than outright boycotting it. Boycotting them is only a ghost vegan that they were unaware of, but purchasing their vegan choice demonstrates your existence and the need for vegan substitutes. I hope what I’m saying makes sense.
To take this question a step further, one may argue that grocery shopping isn’t strictly vegan.
Perfection should not be the adversary of goodness. These companies speak just one language—that of money—and don’t give a damn about morality. Inform them that there is a market for cruelty-free goods.
In order to demonstrate the need for plant-based food, we wish to purchase plant-based goods from any restaurant and obtain their financial reports. Other than us, who else is going to purchase plant-based chicken from a restaurant like KFC? It increases the availability of plant-based meals in well-known restaurants if there is a demand for them.
People are more inclined to choose plant-based solutions if they taste good and are convenient to obtain. When possible, patronize your neighborhood vegan restaurant, but if you buy a plant-based food item from a restaurant that offers animal selections, it’s still acceptable.
Though ethically, it’s a really difficult decision, I personally go toward the “show these enormously powerful companies that veganism is a thing” camp.
I completely understand those who would prefer to offer these companies no support at all. Sadly, there is no simple solution; it all boils down to how capitalism chases the money. Either we try to convert them gradually by making vegan options more and more popular, or we boycott all firms that behave in this way, which is, in my opinion, plain impossible to achieve change. The latter is operating, albeit more slowly than any of us would prefer.
Regretfully, you could make a comparable case for any place that isn’t strictly vegan. The greatest thing you can do is keep demanding vegan products, but it would be much better if you didn’t support the firms in the first place. Knowing those kinds of businesses, they will eventually run out of business and their greenwashing campaign will essentially be a publicity stunt.
What philosophical purpose does it serve to inquire about something’s vegan status? Is there a council of vegans that makes decisions about what constitutes a vegan diet?
Why not act in accordance with your own moral position on the matter?