SUPPORT ✌🏼 I’ve decided to start a series where we can all openly discuss important topics 💬
TODAY’S TOPIC: Supporting non-vegan restaurants ♥️
I dedicate a lot of time & energy, both on my page and in my personal life, to supporting vegan businesses 🌱 We‘re lucky to have so many incredible vegan vendors these days and its an absolute no-brainer to show them love by buying their products & spreading the word 💬
However, I believe that it’s not only important, but crucial that we support non-vegan businesses which provide vegan options. I absolutely understand why some people have issues with supporting businesses which serve meat / dairy etc. but big scale change can only happen when we demand a shift in behaviour from huge corporations with large amounts of money & substantial influence 💰
If a non-vegan company introduces a vegan option, this means that they’re making an effort to cater to us. Yes, this will often be motivated by money but that’s how business works – they respond to demand. If we keep demanding vegan options, the more likely it is that restaurants will provide more of them and this can only be a good thing!
Other points to consider are that a vegan option at a non-vegan restaurant might be all that people have access to sometimes and also that not everyone has vegan friends – this might make their socialising and/or transition to veganism easier. Plus, it gets vegan food in front of people who might never otherwise have tried it.
The vegan option might not always be the most delicious or well thought out but PLEASE be supportive. If we cut companies down and criticise in an angry way, this suggests that we aren’t grateful that the restaurant has tried and that we would rather they didn’t bother, which means that they might return to serving meat only options.
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If we think something can be improved, let’s help in a constructive way. Send them a message explaining what you thought and offering advice, but let’s not put people off of even attempting to cater to us.
Search YouTube for a talk from @weareveganuary founder Matthew Glover on why McDonald’s isn’t the enemy. A fantastic watch!