I cannot imagine the struggle of 1970s vegans.  While I was not alive, I assume most food was literally veggies and fruits.  Which, looking back was amazing from a health perspective.  But socially?  Probably not so much.  You couldn’t belly up to a fast food restaurant with your friends and order an Impossible Whopper, or Beyond Meatball sub at Subway.

We have collectively, worked so hard to prove the market importance of veganism, that large, multi-national corporations are finally paying attention.

And what is the fundamentalist vegan community saying about vegan options at places like Burger King, KFC, Del Taco, and Carl’s Jr?  Are they recognizing this as a milestone in our societal march to more and more veganism?

Nope.

They are whining. 

And it could disrupt all this progress.

On countless Instagram posts where companies like Beyond Meat are announcing yet another huge entrant into the vegan market, there are countless comments whining about how such a place runs in conflict with their own vegan drum-circle morality.

Just a few gems from some recent posts on IG:

“I am not giving my money to an industry that supports factory farming.”

“…they don’t give s sh*t about the animals, they just want a wider demographic. It’s all greed.”

“I advise the [vegan] community to be wary how we can fathom a murdering corporation will take the steps necessary to ensure a purity on a vegan standard.”

Purity on a vegan standard?  What is this, scientology!?  Are we all aspiring thetans?  Come on PEOPLE!

1. Aren’t we supposed to be focused on the animals?

Let’s be real.  This whole thing – all the sacrifices and ridicule we have made and sustained are not for us.  We are doing this to save animals.  And, if you think for a minute that KFC or Burger King will ever stop selling animal flesh, you are mistaken.  So these companies will always profit off animals.  However, every single Impossible Whopper, or Beyond Chicken bucket sold at KFC will at LEAST save one animal life.  If that consumer likes it, and replaces more meat items with the vegan options, that turns into real change.  And real animals saved.

Furthermore, if vegans shop at these places and prove the market exists and is healthy, they will continue to offer these options.  That is meaningful change, albeit at the hands of an animal-exploiting company.

2. Where do Thetan-vegans draw the moral line with their superiority?

The common theme in these posts is that vegans should not give their money to a company that profits off meat.  Which is, on the surface understandable.  But what about grocery stores?  Even the hipster-loving “cruelty-free meat” purveyor Whole Foods sells seafood, chicken, and meat products.  Trader Joes, a close second cult favorite for vegans, also does.  So does Safeway, Wal-Mart, and others ad nauseum.

Our older vegan stand bys like Taco Bell also do.

So the effort of maintaining what meat-profiting businesses you will and will not support will become pretty complex and time consuming.

At the end of the day, if you are truly in this for the animals, you’ll put down the animal-tested Kombucha, and apply some common sense. This is not about you. This is about animals. And if we wish to continue driving change and seeing the massive wins we have, we need to change our personal definitions of veganism.

After all, the whole world is changing.  Won’t you join us?