See, on one hand, you have the same people talking about diversity and multiculturalism. That we’re all humans, that we should be color blind. On the other hand, how dare vegans eat something not of their own race! So, we get #CancelCulture infighting
Dear White Vegans, Stop Appropriating Food
When Afia Amoako became a vegan five years ago, she said she didn’t see herself reflected in the community, which was dominated by wealthy white women.
They often touted recipes—â€African peanut stew†or “Asian stir fryâ€â€”that rely on racial stereotypes, said Amoako.
“One, they don’t look like you, and, two, they are appropriating your food. Those are ways to turn racialized people away.â€
Amoako, 23, is a vegan Instagrammer and blogger based in Toronto (@thecanadianafrican). She said the weeks and months following the killing of George Floyd have been marked with an onslaught of support for Black creators, particularly from white-run accounts. It’s a stark departure from the white norm.
“These white women, they are the gatekeepers of the vegan movement,†Amoako said. “We Black creators have been here this whole time.â€
White women are starting to acknowledge Black and racialized vegans now, following a string of racial reckonings happening in several sectors and communities, Amoako said, but “I’m not gonna lie to you, some of us are still skeptical.â€
“Racialized vegans.”
Amoako isn’t the only racialized vegan who felt sidelined by the community. Black vegan influencer Tabitha Brown previously told VICE that before she cut out meat and dairy she thought vegans were “white ladies who do yoga.†White people and their blogs dominate the results when key terms like “vegans,†“vegetarians,†or “vegan recipes†are plugged into Google. Nital Jethalal, a board member for Toronto Vegetarians Association, told VICE News he has been putting together a conference for vegans and it has been a lot easier to find prominent panellists online who are white. “The problem is few people think to go to the second page of Google results,†Jethalal said.
And this is how Progressivism (nice Fascism) works: instead of building yourself up, you have to tear other people down.
In this post-Floyd world of racial reckonings, many vegans are starting to look inwards at their own privilege. White vegan influencers are urging people to follow BIPOC accounts as part of the #AmplifyMelanatedVoices campaign, while racialized vegans who have amassed large followings continue to post about Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Stories are surfacing in the vegan corners of the internet, highlighting vegan Black Instagram accounts and vegan Black-owned businesses.
