As Veganuary comes to an end, we don’t know how many “new vegans” have been created this year, but we do know it has been a total success. More people than ever are doing Veganuary this year and there have been so many newspaper articles on the event, I have lost count. Papers such as the Guardian even published supplements of vegan recipes. But, predictably, there has been a little bit of a backlash.
But, take heart, there always is when something is successful. People in the UK seem scared of success, so the backlash against Veganuary is just a testament to its rise. Of the three anti-vegan article links I can remember, two are discussed below. The third was about the problems of soya and is probably an old link.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-5239137/The-hidden-downsides-trendy-dairy-free-coffees.html
The article does admit “Veganism is officially no longer a fringe lifestyle, with more people opting to cut out animal products from their diet altogether.”
But apparently Oat milk is the most “calorific” and a skimmed milk latte is the least fattening – all of which misses the point by a million miles.
- Many vegans aren’t vegan for health reasons.
- Other health benefits of going dairy-free are ignored by the article
- Detrimental health effects of dairy are ignored by the article.
Early in January, the Mail also published this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5227331/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-says-Veganuary-gimmick.html
Richard Littlejohn writes: “Meanwhile, the rest of us will shrug our shoulders and take no notice whatsoever,” and then goes and writes a whole smug, predictable article about it – oh the irony Richard!
Right-wing commentators are more obsessed with veganism than vegans are. The backlash just proves how popular veganism is becoming.
Then there’s this from the Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5405801/veganuary-ditching-dairy-iodine-deficiency-drop-13-iq-points/ which claims you lack calcium and iodine by going vegan – kale, broccoli and fortified plant milk are all calcium sources – the article claims (wrongly) that non-dairy milk isn’t fortified.
Iodine is something you need very little of and can get through seaweed – but natural iodine is hard to come by – some fruits and veg have a bit, depending on how iodine-rich the soil they are grown in is, so a supplement can be a good bet. Iodized salt is also a source – it is important during pregnancy. The article states that dairy is the best source – that’s only because it’s added to animal feed – it isn’t a natural source.
And as Veganuary careers towards a successful conclusion, we have news of #Februdairy – an attempt to silence the dairy industry’s critics – they say impersonation is the sincerest form of flattery. Here’s what a farming paper says about it: https://www.fginsight.com/news/news/support-your-dairy-farmers-februdairy-launches-to-silence-industry-critics-50675
But it does show veganism’s rise is now a financial threat to the dairy industry – they are desperate to prove they’re not cruel – we, however, know different.
Of course, Veganuary has grown beyond vegans’ wildest dreams over the last four years (the charity was formed in November 2013 – ready for January 2014), so, the biggest surprise is that it’s taken the dairy industry four years to respond. The fact it has responded is a testament to the growing power of veganism! You, of course, can still visit the Veganuary website: https://veganuary.com/ to see what the fuss is all about.
