Calling out veganism as the oppressor, not being for the oppressed. A look at The Vegan Society’s lack of support for Palestine and their relationship with oppression, settler colonialism and racism.
Walking through:
The Vegan Society’s lack of support for Palestine
The Vegan Society’s support of the use of veganism by Israel
The similarities between The Vegan Society and Israel
Where from an external perspective veganism shouldn’t be compatible with Israel
Closing questions on our attachment to veganism
‘The Vegan Society… One world. Many lives. Our choice’ is stereotypically written in beans and lentils welcoming you as you enter through the door of The Vegan Society office in Birmingham, England. This same slogan is what you will find across many areas the charity takes up space in and this slogan no longer feels like a welcome to me. The Vegan Society has repeatedly shown us what kind of world they want to live in, whose lives they value most and stand firm in their choice to continue the promotion of speciesism, settler colonialism, racism, white supremacy and other oppressions and yet they remain largely unchallenged in this. I am writing as a whistleblower and as a person with direct lived experience and understanding of The Vegan Society – as the ex-vice chair of The Vegan Society council and a trustee of 2 years, who was forced to leave the role in July 2021.
Black activists have been the leading voices calling out the white supremacist leanings of veganism, myself included. In 2021 for Vegan Melanated I wrote, ‘When a white man coined the term veganism, are we included?’ An article that The Vegan Society demanded that Vegan Melanated censor due to me mentioning their racist hiring practices (as one of two – mixed-race – Black people across the entirety of their staff and council at the time). Activists and writers such as Evie Muir, Dr A Breeze Harper, Afro Vegan Society and others have also long been explaining the importance of looking at veganism from an intersectional approach as the very least vegans can do if they are going to remain within the politics of ‘veganism’.
This isn’t an essay on racism and oppression within veganism and The Vegan Society as a whole, however I will be adding a few examples so that readers can properly understand that these are the settings in which Islamophobia and Zionism can thrive. And how difficult it can be to make veganism inclusive within its historical and current state, and that when we say veganism it is by default, by design, white veganism. There is an intense dedication to the preservation of veganism, white veganism, and this was shown by not only The Vegan Society’s treatment of myself on council, but the way the vegan public also came together to throw myself under the bus. We see it in the erasure of pre-vegan cultures of living and eating without the exploitation of animals, we see it in the cultural appropriation that forms the basis of modern veganism and we see it in the burning hatred, policing and rejection of indigenous, Black and Brown vegans within the ‘movement’.
In my time on The Vegan Society council I was often reprimanded for questioning the decision making and rule of a long standing cronyism club masquerading as a council. The Vegan Society council’s interpretations of things such as the Trustee Code of Conduct and Charity Best Practices was not done out of ignorance, instead intentional omissions, twisting of understandings and use of loopholes. The text below comes from the Trustee Code of Conduct.
“I will respect Society, Council and individual confidentiality, while never using confidentiality as an excuse not to disclose matters that should be transparent and open.”
“I will seek to be accountable for my actions as a trustee of The Vegan Society, and will submit myself to whatever scrutiny is appropriate.”
People are bold when they know that things can be hidden behind layers of confidentiality. With the confidential minutes of meetings being very different to the minutes that The Vegan Society membership and the general public receive. Emails and internal discussions supposedly never needing to be shown to the membership. And disciplinary measures for those of us, myself especially, who they felt were going against their fascistic confidentiality measures or speaking out of turn. Within this essay I will be publishing some of the pertinent and important information that has been hidden behind confidentiality by The Vegan Society, as my interpretation of the Trustee Code of Conduct that I signed allows me the right to do so and I will exercise this right. The members of The Vegan Society council during my time on there were, the so-called ‘intersectional gang’, myself, Robb Masters, Ali Ryland, Joel Bravette, Sally Anderson and Michele Fox and the well then let’s call them the ‘traditionalist gang’ were Stephen Walsh, Jenifer Vinell, David Gore, Salim Akbar, Menna Jones, Melissa Morgan and an honorary mention to Senior Management Louise Davies. Some of whom are still on council, and regardless of if they are on or not, will still have a sway within the close knit traditionalist membership gang.
The Vegan Society has shown us that it has an aversion to telling the truth and being transparent. We saw this when they refused to publish the result of the tens of thousands of pounds Queens Counsel investigation that they subjected me to, as it to their surprise proved the sustained targeted campaign of bullying, harassment and defamation towards myself and then Chair Robb Masters. And we have also seen in their consistent lack of willingness to engage with their membership about inclusivity, diversity and more.
Quickly on this same subject, one of the main perpetrators in this targeted campaign alongside members of The Vegan Society council and staff and their close friends and family was Tim Barford of VegFest UK and Yaoh and ex- The Vegan Society trustee. Tim’s dedication to his hatred of myself, and his deep anti-Blackness and anti-intersectional veganism (when he can’t make money off of it) lead him to participate in the shutting down of my Palestine motions (shown below). Tim shares pro-Palestine stuff on his personal page, but he has shown that it is conditional. A trait that many vegans who are dedicated to the preservation of white veganism share, that all activism, all politics, all solidarity is conditional and never consistent or humble.
This is my email and motions that I put forward to The Vegan Society in 2021 to be presented at the 2021 AGM.
‘Hi all, I’d like to put forward that The Vegan Society takes a stance on supporting Palestine and joins the global Boycotts Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign. I’d like these to go to the next council meeting for discussion. This would mean we would remove any Israeli or Israel made, supporting or location businesses from our trademark and pledge to not support or use them in the future. We can check our trademark businesses against the extensive BDS lists that are easily accessible publicly online. BDS is a campaign that has been going on for a long time (since 2005 I believe) and with support from charities, organisations and political groups worldwide. There’s also Vegans For BDS which was set up in 2018 and my business Yemoja Foods was the first vegan business to sign up. They are not very active as an online campaign group currently due to admins being busy but have support from Palestinian Animal League (PAL) and it could be something we could put some time into helping become a more active campaign. We would put out a statement explaining our support for BDS and Palestine and link to more information like here: https://bdsmovement.net/what-is-bds
https://bdsmovement.net/get-involved/join-a-bds-campaign?country=United+Kingdom
http://bdsguide.com/bds-list/
https://vegans4bds.com/
https://pal.ps/en/2018/11/28/vegans-for-bds-campaign/#:~:text=Vegans%20for%20BDS%20is%20a,the%20global%20animal%20rights%20community.
As the Palestinian struggle continues to worsen, making a firm stance against genocide is important. We can also talk about our support for Palestinian Animal League and the non-human animals that are also suffering through this violent occupation. We should also give a donation directly to Palestinian Animal League as well. I hope that we will consider this as a progressive and positive move towards fighting against injustice worldwide. What is BDS? BOYCOTTS involve withdrawing support from Israel’s apartheid regime, complicit Israeli sporting, cultural and academic institutions, and from all Israeli and international companies engaged in violations of Palestinian human rights. DIVESTMENT campaigns urge banks, local councils, churches, pension funds and universities to withdraw investments from the State of Israel and all Israeli and international companies that sustain Israeli apartheid. SANCTIONS campaigns pressure governments to fulfil their legal obligations to end Israeli apartheid, and not aid or assist its maintenance, by banning business with illegal Israeli settlements, ending military trade and free-trade agreements, as well as suspending Israel’s membership in international forums such as UN bodies and FIFA.
Motion one:
Proposer: EKZ (Eshe Kiama Zuri) Seconder: JB (Joel Bravette)
To join the global Boycotts Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Boycott products/services of, and/or mobilize institutional pressure to divest from, Israeli and international companies and banks that are complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and genocide of the Palestinian people.
This would include removing from our trademark any current businesses, such as Burger King, who support and participate in the above.
This would include not holding or joining events or promoting The Vegan Society in Israel or in spaces that support or are supported/sponsored by Israel (or its lobby groups and complicit institutions and businesses).
This would include making a public statement of our decision to join the BDS campaign.
Motion two:
Proposer: EKZ (Eshe Kiama Zuri) Seconder: AR (Ali Ryland)
To donate £5000 to Palestinian Animal League (PAL)
Motion three:
Proposer: EKZ (Eshe Kiama Zuri) Seconder: RM (Robb Masters)
To allow Palestinian led animal rights groups, Palestinian Animal League or others, the opportunity to put out their resources through The Vegan Society social media if they choose to. To support them in creating this content if necessary, but to allow them their autonomy and to not speak over or for them.
Motion four:
Proposer: EKZ (Eshe Kiama Zuri) Seconder: MF (Michele Fox)
To make a public statement on our website and social media of the society’s support for a free Palestine and condemning Zionism and Israel.
Including information about The Vegan Society joining the BDS campaign, if approved.’
Response from The Vegan Society Senior Management Team.
‘Motion one:
SMT Response: There will be a financial and strategic impact for the Trademark if this motion is passed.
With regards to the Trademark, the following financial impact has been estimated:
We can see that the BDS NEWS section was last updated in 2017, presuming the LIST section could and would be updated with further companies the assessment above could change, having a further impact on income.
As detailed on the BDS website, the list is constantly growing. This would not only impact current and future clients but there would have to be constant monitoring, and potential de-listing of Trademark holders. This would make longer term financial forecasting more difficult. The layout of the website (being non searchable) makes it hard to monitor new companies being placed on the BDS list; time would need to be spent searching new additions to the BDS list.
Question: if the motion is passed and new companies are added, would these also be excluded without any further assessment?
In relation to our Strategic Objectives for the Trademark:
OUTCOME 4, Strong global organisation that is competent and pro-active in addressing vegan issues in an efficient and appropriate manner.
4.4 The Vegan Society Trademark recognised as the premier global vegan mark.
The 5-year growth strategy will have to be reviewed and potentially reduced to accommodate trading limitations and will effect the impact and progress we can make towards 4.4.
It is a risk to leave other organisations with different standards and levels of support to pick up registrations we can’t. The Business Lines that would be most affected as per the BDS LISTS (as they stand at the moment) are Food Services and Textiles. In Food Services this motion would change the current plans as current TM Holders and applicants are looking for a complete Trademarked menu including the drink choices. This motion would not allow that and would reduce our service offering and subsequently our appeal. In textiles, this motion would very much limit our US expansion plans as the BDS textile list is extensive.
Typically, international standards and trademarks are based on open access, giving all companies the chance to be registered against the standard of their choice. As per current project plans, if the Trademark was to become an ISO 17025 UKAS accredited Certification Body (CB), one of core elements is that we would adhere to the cornerstone of creating a level playing field for all applicants and clients and treating them all equally.
If this motion is passed, it is predicted that the Vegan Trademark would be overtaken with regards to number of products registered within 3 -5 years by the competition. Losing one of our key Unique Selling Points (USPs).
The technology section would also have major operational consequences to the organisation, Dell being our main IT hardware provider.
Motion two:
SMT Response: There are no current budget lines that could accommodate a spend this size, if passed, please give an indication as to where the funds should come from.
Charity Commission guidance “Your charity can fund another charity as a way of meeting its charitable purposes. You must be sure that this is in your charity’s best interests. This includes checking that any money you give is used as you expected it to be.” Our charitable purposes are not to “improve the lives of animals and people in Palestine” (PAL website). Can we do this?
Motion three:
SMT response: The Vegan Society has brand guidelines on tone of voice and specific requirements about imagery and use of language. We insist on these in all the material that we post and share. They are not onerous, but the society needs to ensure that they are met for both consistency and in the interests of our supporters.
Motion four:
To make a public statement on our website and social media of the society’s support for a free Palestine and condemning Zionism and Israel.
This would include information about The Vegan Society joining the BDS campaign, if approved.
SMT Response: N/A’
And the response from The Vegan Society council, minus the members who had proposed and seconded motions (and Sally Anderson) was that this was not going to be taken to the AGM was shown to be deeply unwelcome. These motions on Palestine unfortunately never got put towards the wider membership and were not approved.
This is the response from David Gore, then Treasurer and current Assistant Treasurer.
‘18.1 Motion on BDS
As noted by SMT, this motion would have the initial financial impact of £22k. In addition, SMT highlight a further £136,000 loss from the full BDS list totalling an initial £158k.
Looking to the future, an Israeli company is developing a vegan cryptocurrency called Vegan Coin (VCN). They’re currently valued at $10m but that will rise. Other innovators include the fake meat companies such as ChickP, Rilbite, Redefine Meat and SavorEat. vegan baby formula company Else Nutrition; all between $1m and $14m.
Through boycotting animal saving, vegan items to protest one County’s human rights record we not only harm the chances of the very beings we exist to protect we also risk alienating 300,000 Jewish people in the UK, 6,000,000 in Israel and 7,600,000 in the USA.
As Treasurer I recommend Trustees vote against this motion.
18.2 Donate £5000 to Palestinian Animal League (PAL)
This is not possible in our AoA. Perhaps they could apply for a grant instead. Then they could show what they will do with it.
18.3 Allow Palestinian animal rights groups to use TVS social media
No Treasurer comment beyond the potential damage to the TVS brand if anti-Semitic material is spread via out channels.
18.4 Proposal: To condemn Israel/Zionism and call for a Free Palestine
This motion is clearly anti-Semitic (IHRA points 7 & 8) and as such, it is massively damaging to TVS brand. For many reasons we should vote against this but from a Treasurer’s point of view this is a mistake financially and falls outside the scope of TVS remit as a charity that focuses on the education around veganism and the relief of elderly vegans.’
Just to show the attitude that commonly came up within The Vegan Society council, especially from David Gore, Jenifer Vinell and Stephen Walsh. David Gore said within emails.
‘I would like to raise the issues of anti-white, misandrist, CIS-phobic prejudice exhibited by some members of the board.’
A reply from Michele Fox.
‘Less attention to perceived incidences of alleged ‘misandry; CIS (sic) phobia; anti-white prejudice’ simply does not reflect my experience to date on Council. For the record, I’m cis-gender and white. Just thought I should get that in here so as to balance a seemingly egocentric and oft-repeated personal take. We’re supposed to be attempting to act in the best interests of the Charity. I’m so tired of this bad faith behaviour.’
The Vegan Society confidential meeting minutes from one meeting where we speak about Palestine (and the Modern Slavery Agreement) show an extended interaction between the two halves of the council, one half pro-change and one half-trying to keep it to the good old days of 1944, as I was actually told by members of council. Or in Stephen Walsh’s words in an email: ‘The four endorsers still on Council (Eshe, Joel, Michele and Robb) could also be characterised as the proposers/seconders of the Palestine motions. It doesn’t matter which of many possible identifying tags is used, the division is real and relevant.’ Trying to use us putting forward ethical motions as a way to ‘other’ us from them. From reading through a selection of emails and meeting minutes I am realising that there is a mammoth task ahead of me that will be sorting out these emails and posting them alongside background information in the future. I am trying hard to not derail the focus on Palestine in this particular essay, but the background of anti-Blackness, abuse and white supremacy from The Vegan Society is relevant, yet unfortunately far too much to share further here.
The Vegan Society hasn’t posted on their socials or their website about Palestine since 2017, a post which was only a mere share of a vegan cafe that The Vegan Society helped fund – not an uncommon thing for them to do and definitely not influenced by any support for Palestine or promoting Palestinian non-animal eating traditions. In contrast, The Vegan Society have promoted Israel, not just through funding but numerous links to, mentions of and co-signing of the settler colonial state and through normalising it as one of their ‘ethnicity’ options when signing up as a member. This shows a clear difference in the morality of The Vegan Society and which side they truly choose to stand on before we even get down to personal and internal politics.
During my time on The Vegan Society council, I was made aware of many beliefs, practices and experiences that are the opposite of what many would think of as coming from the founders of veganism – what many would consider an anti-oppressive and radical movement. From the poor wages of the staff (who I got a pay rise for whilst I was on council), to The Vegan Society being a landlord (and wanting to evict tenants in the pandemic), to their views on intersectionality and non-white politics and the sheer overwhelming lack of diversity across all areas. Yet if you look on their social media pages, you would be fooled into thinking there are Black and Brown people happily involved due to the heavy use of diverse stock images that are nowhere to be seen when they post photos of their own staff and events. This attempt to present an image of racial inclusion smells of the same type of shit as the pinkwashing, purplewashing and greenwashing coming out of Israel.
Introducing Venocide
Language is a powerful tool therefore we must be intentional and direct with the words we use and why and when we use them. So throughout the remaining sections of the essay I will be speaking of the settler colonial state of ‘Israel’ as occupied Palestine, Isntreal or the settler colonial state of Israel interchangeably. I’ll be using the terms IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and IOF (Israel Occupation Forces) depending on whether its me speaking (IOF) or a quote (IDF). When I’m mentioning place names where possible I will use their Palestinian names and then share the colonised names – as this may be necessary for you to understand the geography and also be able to identify and correct these colonised names to the original in future. Although I am using English to write this, I hope that my writing does not erase or misunderstand any Arabic, or other language, theory, feelings, experiences or understandings of any Palestinian people. I will use The Vegan Society and TVS.
We are living in a world where new words are having to be created to encapsulate the harrowing experience of genocide within Palestine (and worldwide), to have to create and use new terminology such as WCNSF (wounded child, no surviving family) should bring people to tears, not embolden their promotion of or ‘neutrality’ towards active genocide. An oft shared quote by Desmond Tutu is as such, “if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
We can see that veganism is not just choosing to side with the oppressor, but is in fact the oppressor itself. And until we are able to accept this, we cannot make the changes necessary to tear down this veganism and replace it with a truly liberatory movement.
To quote myself, ‘we aren’t over veganism, veganism was always over us’. When we can see that veganism will always side with or be the oppressor, towards human and non-human animals alike, where does that leave us as ‘vegans’, followers of this ‘movement’?
It would not be remiss to call what is happening right now in Gaza, the West Bank and across Palestine a vegan genocide. Certainly this is within the remit of the IOF who call themselves a ‘vegan army’ (warning this hyperlinks to an IDF Youtube account) and ‘the most moral army in the world’ and the settler colonial state of Israel itself that calls itself ‘vegan paradise’. And it doesn’t qualify as ‘not vegan’ as The Vegan Society doesn’t stand against it, if anything they stand in support of it.
The use of terms such as ‘vegetarian and vegan ideology’ comes up a lot within searches about veganism and Isntreal, about how Isntreal promotes and upholds vegan ideology, promoting The Vegan Society’s definition of veganism and seeing it as something that fits for them, settler colonialists committing genocide. In 1958 in Shefa Bet, occupied as ‘Amirim’, in northern occupied Palestine, Jewish colonisers exterminated the traditional Palestinian area and built a moshav, a type of cooperative agricultural occupation, that was based on a vegetarian, vegan, and organic lifestyle and ideology. These colonisers were considered some of the pioneers of vegetarianism and veganism within Isntreal.
To put this into a timeline perspective, The Vegan Society was founded in 1944, although we know that there were many indigenous forms of eating and living without the exploitation of animals worldwide long before a white man named it veganism. Reports about the settler colonial state of Israel outline that between 1948 and 1982 there were about 150 known CO cases, between 1987 and 1993 there were 300 known cases of partial objectors who refused to serve in the Occupied Territories and now there is considered to be as many as a third of Isntrael colonisers not being eligible for mandatory military service within more recent years, this lowering of military numbers has heavily been criticised by Isntreal and their media outlets. Refusal is most commonly done under the guise of mental health and reasons other than as a conscientious objector, which would come with ‘extra baggage’… ‘giving up a cushy life’.
Few Israelis have renounced citizenship, but an estimated one million— 10 percent of the population or so—have chosen to live abroad. Between 2003 and 2015, there were 8,308 people who renounced their Israeli citizenship. This data does not show the difference between Isntreal colonisers who may have given up their citizenship as a form of protest against the Zionist settler colonial state. And is rather that Isntrealis merely wanted to settle and gain citizenship in another country – which all the sources I have seen in researching this have suggested. Regardless, 8,308 people out of a population of rising up to 9.3 million is minor, barely a scratch in the surface, not enough. Not enough. There are no innocent Isntrealis, there are only colonisers.
In the same way that as vegans we would refuse to understand how someone could be a vegan activist and still eat animals, or be a vegan and run a farm, how can we understand Isntrealis who are supposedly anti-IOF, yet still active members of the settler colonial state of Israel? In a similar vein, we can look at how many vegans still buy readily from the brands that participate in animal abuse in other areas of their businesses, like the many brands that The Vegan Society endorses.
‘The white Vegan Society… One council. Lots of racism. Their choice.’ a fun parody of The Vegan Society logo that my friend Brandon Gates made back when I was being abused on council.
What can we call The Vegan Society’s impact on the world? Could we label it a venocide? To create a term that shows the use of veganism as a means to excuse, promote or participate in the genocides and oppression of human and non-human animals alike. A Vegan Trademark and The Vegan Society approved genocide.
The Vegan Trademark and vegan capitalism
The Vegan Trademark, ‘the business arm of The Vegan Society’, gives its approval to many brands which have direct links to Isntreal. Just some of the current Vegan Trademark holders are:
Who relabelled their Israeli settler products to try and avoid boycott – how would vegans feel relabelled vegan products forcing them to consume products that contain non-human animal suffering.
The owner of Alpro, Danone, invests millions into the Isntreali food start up scene
Osem is a food manufacturer which operates in Occupied Palestine. Nestle owns a controlling stake in Osem.
The owner of Cadbury, Mondelez, invests in Israeli start ups in Occupied Palestine.
Burger King Isntreal supports the IDF by providing free food and drinks to Isntreali militants.
Mars supports the zionist state by investing heavily in the foodtech startup scene through venture capital partner JVC.
In a similar way to the way that some on the left of having the incredible illusion that what was operating [as kibbutzism and Isntreali society] was some kind of unique “Israeli socialism” only to show its true intentions of capitalism, The Vegan Society has also given an illusion of leftism to a now openly capitalist venture. Capitalism, settler colonialism and oppression are hand in hand. And from my time on council I can tell you with certainty that The Vegan Society values its business Vegan Trademark, its business relationships with brands and countries, its possible expansion to America and its income over all else, including its advocacy work and ethics. Should we be surprised that a project that refused to acknowledge human animal rights and diversity from the very beginning has become exactly what every other white supremacist (in politics and also in majority white leadership and staff) saviourist charity is like? Be sure to check out uncharitable, a project working on exposing and challenging the charity sector, for the low down on charities and saviourism. In the words of Aiyana Goodfellow in their book Radical Companionship, ‘Oppressors are taught to uphold the social power they are given at any cost.’ A truly radical and intersectional interaction with veganism has the possibility of ‘othering’ white and otherly privileged people, still only a little – not to the extent that Black and Brown and multiply marginalised people are daily – so these white vegans will try to keep veganism as included within their privilege as possible and avoid being othered or losing any privilege at all.
The Vegan Society chooses to approve and financially benefit from many brands and items that go against veganism from a holistic sense if you are looking at a wider view than non-human animals alone or even to the non-human animal cruelty of the parent brands. The definition of veganism is “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.”
Should we be surprised that The Vegan Society doesn’t care if the businesses that it approves for the Vegan Trademark are participating in the genocide and continued occupation of Palestine? They didn’t care when it was raised with them that these same brands are also actively promoting and participating in non-human animal cruelty, selling meat products and factory farming. They definitely didn’t care when Black people and Indigenous people worldwide raised concerns about modern slavery, the razing of Indigenous land, stealing water, selling toxic products, selling powdered milk and creating a miseducation campaign that is still in place today to convince people that their breast milk is not as good as expensive powdered milk and so much more (there are too many examples of all of these from Nestle alone to hyperlink, Google it and then also Google the human and animal rights abuses performed by the other companies that TVS supports). This also shows another example of how little The Vegan Society values the feedback, inclusion of and lives of Black people and our tireless work, education and requests for empathy and allyship.
By The Vegan Society’s own definition vegans need to be acting – as far as is possible and practicable – not doing the absolute least that you can do. Going as far as is possible and practicable is not staying within your comfort zone. But yet The Vegan Society is promoting the opposite, showing mainstream veganism as an easy space to be secure, unchallenged and comfortable with taking part in human and non-human animal oppression alike.
Many vegans will be familiar with not having vegan food options in many places, so having to go without food for a relatively short amount of time and accepting that small sacrifice. Yet this same approach doesn’t extend to making the ethical choice beyond the bare minimum of not eating animal flesh and byproducts. You are not starving if you do not buy Burger King or a chocolate from Cadburys, Mars or Nestle whilst out of the house, you will not be left with no other options if you don’t shop at Aldi and you most certainly can find other non-dairy options from Alpro readily available on shop shelves. You. Are. Not. Starving. If. You. Do. Not. Eat. These. Brands. Challenging our own privilege and working in ways to stand against oppression requires sacrifice. It is not meant to be easy, it is not meant to be without struggle, it is meant to be a commitment to sacrifice. We all need to remember that, what our personal responsibility is even when it may seem like a sacrifice of our relative privilege.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said 570,000 Gazans are classified as having food insecurity equivalent to famine levels of starvation, as defined by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). This is indiscriminate starvation used as a tool of genocide. “The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the occupied Gaza Strip, which is a war crime,” Human Rights Watch warned in a report published in mid-December. “Israeli forces are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, while willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to their survival.” Yet there have been no calls from The Vegan Society or most other vegan leading voices to demand that the people of Palestine have access to essential food and water.
If Isntreal is not as ‘vegan’ as it claims then why doesn’t The Vegan Society condemn them? – Speciesism, climate change and adoption
Isntreal’s use of the term human animals to describe Palestinians is not uncommon amongst the histories of dehumanising language used towards marginalised people and alongside speciesism as a way to mandate violence.
When I spoke previously about starvation being indiscriminate, I was describing the way in which Isntreal is starving vegans and non-vegans alike, but we also know this also applies to human animals and non-human animals alike. With Sulala Animal Rescue reporting that animal feed had not been allowed through the borders for animals since October 7th, with an update 3 days before I posted this (23/01/2024) that they were still waiting. Palestinians are currently being forced to eat what little animal feed there is in certain areas as a means of survival, yet there is footage of them themselves starving and yet still showing compassion to the Palestinian non-human animals they are surviving with. A compassion that is far removed from the behaviours of the supposedly vegan and moral Isntreali genociders. Palestinians are watching their family members be murdered, kept from being buried and eaten by starving animals in the streets, footage that unfortunately is commonly seen every time I log on to Instagram. Animals in zoos and refuges are hit just as hard.
All animals are trying to survive the constant bombing and attacks in occupied Palestine by Isntreal, all animals are buried by rubble, killed, losing families, friends and communities and having their homes and land be destroyed. The razing of Palestinian land and wildlife has always been a key part of Isntreals plan, and currently is being done on a mass scale. This has a devastating effect on the ecosystems, natural habitats, homes and balance of life.
The planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, new research reveals. In 2020 it was shown that Israel contributes 0.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). These GHG come mainly from the power and industry sectors. Israel’s emissions are predominately from gas and coal burning. The long term effects of the existence of Isntreal will impact the survival of human animals and non-human animals worldwide.
A 1947 issue of The Vegan shows that conversations around the quality of the Earth was important to the founders of The Vegan Society, despite the recent form of the charity seeming to focus mostly on people switching to a plant based diet as a way to help limit the impacts of climate change, not challenging the countries and companies that The Vegan Society endorses that are the main contributors. Interestingly as a side note, this issue of The Vegan I read proves my point on lack of inclusion from the beginning of the charity, as it has an article on ‘Slaves’ which does not touch at all on anti-Blackness, colonialism or racism beyond speaking about how the negroes are now free, but instead compares the relationship between human and non-human animals to that of slavery… I digress.
Adoption is a difficult subject within veganism, as some promote the idea of pethood and ownership, whilst others don’t. However one thing that any vegan from pet owner to refuge/rescue friend tends to agree on is that non-human animals should not be placed in the ‘care’ of human animals who will cause them harm. Within Isntreal there is a culture of adoption, of placing babies, children, with Isntreali settlers. This was called out back when it was found that Yemeni babies were being stolen from their families and has been happening consistently with the Isntrealis who are struggling to conceive naturally being given children from Palestinian and racial ‘others’ families without consent. This is placing babies, children, with people who have contributed to the genocide of their people, the harm of their families and with a deep hatred for the babies heritage. Adoption of babies, especially ‘transracial’ adoption, has been heavily researched as harmful and exploitative in general, but the sinister nature of Isntreali adoption needs to be even more critically examined.
With plenty of information being shared about Isntreal having the worlds largest skin bank, as well as harvesting and trafficking the organs of Palestinians and racial ‘others’ for many years, how has this not come up in conversations of vivisection and animal testing? There are reports showing both live and dead organ harvesting practices and the use of these body parts in medical research. Both practices that The Vegan Society supposedly stands against. You can read some more information about the skin bank and organ trafficking in my Doulas Decolonising/ Doulas For Palestine extended statement.
To finish
It’s interesting that The Vegan Society want to see the world still through the eyes of the 1944 society, yet upon my readings of past issues of the magazine, and of my own experiences growing up as an animal rights activist since the age of 12, I know that there are some ways in which past veganism was further ahead than the current iteration of The Vegan Society. I recall when veganism included animal rights automatically and you were forced at the very least to look at your diet even if that is where most vegans left their self-reflection. But it was not just an interchangeable meat for faux-meat supermarket shopping experience in an anti-radical lifestyle as it is within the mainstream now. Yet the trajectory of The Vegan Society to what it is today is a prime example of what happens when activism, grassroots and charity (although I don’t personally consider charities activism), are set up to be exclusive and without a firm understanding or care of intersectional politics from the jump. Then having 80 years of centring whiteness, privilege and oppressive behaviour within a relatively small group that actively punishes those with ‘other opinions’ from joining or speaking out about it, culminating in The Vegan Society and veganism becoming nothing more than yet another capitalistic and ‘anti-woke’ regime.
I will not condemn any Black and Brown people, especially any Palestinians for using the term vegan, or for thinking it is within a type of reform that they have energy for. But I think it’s important that we don’t just use the term without any critique, it cannot just be a normalised term without the understanding of the violence that comes with it. And I know for myself, that even from the very inside of the insidious The Vegan Society it was not changeable, only causing more harm, that I cannot myself personally stand as a vegan anymore, for a few years now I’ve used the term veX but I am still trying to find what fits, what causes the least harm to myself and the world as a whole. And I’m comfortable with the privilege I give up in doing so, the community that I lose and the continuation of being the ‘outcast’ and consistently punished as such. Perhaps though this can be a more open conversation about what the term means to us all, about what the community means to us all, and collectively a challenge to The Vegan Society and their venocide. We shouldn’t be ride or die for terminology, people and charities that commit venocide. They are not our community, all animals and the Earth are. Capitalism is not community, charities are not community. Smiling happy Black and Brown faces used in the same ways that smiling happy cows are used in propaganda are not our community.
You have to be the ones to change the meaning of veganism going forward if this is the term we are going to continue with. Once something becomes mainstream it becomes an institution and therefore beyond being reformed. It needs decolonisation through abolition. By not challenging or continuing to promote and support The Vegan Society whether for a bag or for misguided intentions, you are saying you support their harm of Palestinians, of myself, of other Black and Brown activists including people doing tireless work such as Life After Hummus and others who have been consistently snubbed, harassed and mistreated. We became attached to veganism as a label, this ‘community’. A label and community that includes Isntreal, anti-Blackness, venocide and so much harm. Is that our community? Do we need this label? Or would we have more space to move if we are people who try to live lives and be activists who are consistently liberatory and exist intentionally in ways that minimise as much harm to all animals as possible, without this vegan label?
Whilst speaking of abolition, we can’t allow Isntreal to become the same as other settler colonial states such as the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and so many more that have become so empowered that they are the ‘norm’ and we forget that they too are white supremacist settler colonial ‘countries’ who have genocided and continue to genocide the Indigenous populations. With this new push of ‘decolonising’ set to become the newest buzzword, we have to ensure that within these other settler colonialist states and of course the very active past and present active violence to keep these states as such that Scotland, Cymru, Eire, England and other areas occupied as the ‘UK’ (SCEE+OUK) has enacted, that we all are speaking about true liberation and decolonisation, not just making whack ‘land acknowledgements’ and reinforcing colonialism.
I don’t expect much though in all honesty, besides a shed load more abuse aimed at myself for being everything you all want to ignore. We couldn’t come together as a ‘community’ to boycott a damn campout or not go to or be hired by a shit vegfest, despite the overwhelming evidence and victims of harm begging for years. So why would we expect that we can change anything deeper than that.
And a message to The Vegan Society, no matter how many threats or the return of the harassment campaign by your trustees, staff and friends and family. I will not be censored, this is my own platform and I am fulfilling my previous obligation to the Trustee Code of Conduct and my duty to community and liberation. The genocide and occupation of Palestine has been considered a right, and given legal protection. The law is used by those who are privileged as a way to ensure that the oppressed masses are unable to speak, act or rebel. I refuse to be silenced from speaking facts, knowing that otherwise this may all be lost to history and the closed mouths of just a few people on a charity board.
Further reading
Palestine
- https://veganinpalestine.com/
- https://www.vegansforbds.com/
- https://pal.ps/
- https://www.instagram.com/sulalaanimalrescue/
- https://www.3cr.org.au/freedomofspecies/episode/animal-rights-palestine-dilan-fernando-and-harley-mcdonald-eckersall
- https://www.instagram.com/vegansforpalestine/
The Vegan Society
- https://vegan4themany.com/
- https://tvsreportleak.wordpress.com/
- https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/five-trustees-resign-toxic-board-vegan-society/governance/article/1722564
- https://robbmasters.com/ (see blog posts on The Vegan Society)
- www.instagram.com/eshekiamazuri (see story highlights on The Vegan Society)
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