VEGANS are pissed at Daiya

in #food7 years ago

Dairy-free cheese juggernaut Daiya has been sold to a large pharmaceutical company called Otsuka, who apparently tests on animals and therefore isn't a vegan company.

And there's something of an outburst in the vegan community, questioning their morals and calling for a boycott.


source

[Daiya itself will not begin to test on animals when they make their products. So the issue isn't that Daiya has stopped being vegan, but rather that they're owned by a company who isn't.]

My first thought was, where are these all-vegan supermarkets where people were buying Daiya products in the first place?

So the standard of not adding profit to non-vegan companies goes pretty deep, if anyone actually believed in it. And I'm not sure it accomplishes what they think it would accomplish anyways.

Yes you're supporting a non-vegan company, but you're supporting them because they're being more vegan.

The world today, imperfect as it is, generally favors large companies over smaller ones. So that being the case, the best way to distribute delicious vegan products in a cost-effective way will sometimes be that they're owned by large non-vegan companies.

If it weren't possible for a vegan company to "sell out" to a large company who probably won't be vegan, then there's less incentive for people to grow vegan companies. (The gold at the end of the rainbow is part of the reason people do it.)

So if you actually want the world to be more accessible to people who don't want to eat meat and dairy, or who want to eat less meat and dairy, you should be happy to let this happen.

The non-vegan companies are helping to distribute veganism.

I'd suggest that the people who complain about this don't actually care about the animals and the planet as much as they care about their own feelings of righteousness. (Ironically, to the point of no longer helping the cause they're righteous about.)

Here's a gem I happened to see on Facebook:

So.. lol.. while we're eating vegan food at a non-vegan restaurant, it's a concern of hers to support a vegan product owned by a non-vegan company.

Asdfwnejsnticgwkfgh.


Typically when people criticize vegans, they're just projecting their own issues.

The "pushy vegan" stereotype is actually way more true of meat eaters in my experience. I've never really known a vegan who goes out of their way to criticize someone's choice, but it's so common for meat eaters to be like "TOFU!?? lol" or to be like "psshh that's dumb" or start lecturing you about why it's fine to eat meat or about how you're not gonna get enough protein or something.

But in this case, all criticism is warranted IMO lol.


I feel like there's a broader lesson here too, that people aren't defined by one thing that they do.

You can support someone in their capacity of helping an old lady cross the street or being a good parent or whatever without endorsing absolutely everything about that person.

And supporting their behavior that's good is really the best way to tackle their flaws too. Because now they have more motivation to do those things and less hours in the day for the rest.

So I'd even suggest that supporting non-vegan companies when they behave vegan is the very best use of your vegan dollars.

And that calling for a boycott of Daiya is causing things to be worse for the animals. (At least, if anyone listens to you.)

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as much as they care about their own feelings of righteousness. (Ironically, to the point of no longer helping the cause they're righteous about.)

Lol, so true! 😄

Also, the pot of gold at the end of rainbow is a good analogy. There has to be a balance of making a profit all the while you are making a difference. If one or the other is broken or unbalanced, the lucky charm will roll away. 🍀

Hehe yup!!

It would probably be nice to live in a self-sustainable community where people just know each other and you make things because you want to share them. But in the world as it is now, there needs to be profit or there isn't going to be any cheese lol

Lol, profit for cheese. That's actually a catchy slogan. 😏

No company can be 100% vegan. It's impossible. To me, it's about your degree of transparency and doing your best to limit suffering. I mean, I still buy products that say "may contain traces of milk." I mean, I hardly do, but that doesn't really stop me. The equipment they use to make something "vegan" might've at one point had dairy ingredients touching it.

Very nice take on it, glad you're not a "vegan nazi" lol.

Ya, I'll always buy "may contain traces" ... It's basically like a liability thing for strict allergens as far as I understand it. But like, cruelty free even tho cruelty was done on the same equipment imo lol

It is simple economics.

How do you turn a non vegan company into a vegan one?

Make it more profitable to be vegan.

Pretty basic stuff :)

Indeed sir!!

Daiya is great for people transitioning to a cruelty free diet. Luckily I never got into the whole alternate meat/cheese products as I wanted to stray free from our unnatural diet completely. Not surprised that big pharma took the reins of yet another market...more reasons to grow your own food!

Ya for sure! I used to be way more whole foodsy .. damn marijuana makes me crave the junk food lol

Growing your own food is definitely the way!!

Haha I feel you man. I feed my endocannabinoid system daily, i've definitely fell for the junk food trap before. The good news is when you detox and feed your body only the best food (fruit and leafy greens) it tends to stop cravings for junk.

Dangggg! Thank you for discussing this! #truth

A lot of people criticize vegans... A lot of people who have problems, criticize everything to feel less problematic, I guess ?
I have nothing against vegans and I never talk bad about them even though I'm not a vegan (planning to be in the future).
But hey, here's a meme :D

Lolll .. if you want to be a vegan I suggest looking for durianrider on YouTube. He gets a lot of hate and tbh is kind of a troll and weird sometimes .. but he has a lot of great info about how to make a vegan lifestyle work

(his older videos are probably better than his new ones)

Thanks for the suggestion, I will make sure to take a look :)

I was never a fan of their products, but its a shame to hear that this company sold itself to the "dark side".

eh, why is it really the dark side? Daiya is still vegan. If the dark side is better at distributing their products in a cost-effective way, it could help more people to go and stay vegan.

Personally I don't really mind when a non-vegan company owns a vegan brand or product.. I still want to support whatever is vegan

I agree tho that it's not my favorite non-dairy cheez at all .. and kind of annoying when it's the only one that a supermarket carries lol. I end up buying it a lot lately for that reason ha

I have a friend who is vegan and he tells me its for his health, but on the other hand he smoke alot haha, the irony

Haha, possibly he really does it for the animals but feels too vulnerable to admit it? xP

It's the fashion. Now encouraged by fitness

Hear, hear!

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