The Power of PR
I had a good friend for lunch yesterday, a Vegan lunch, at The India Club on The Strand in London. If you have never been, do go, it's a hidden part of India in the city, trapped in the 1960's and all the better for it. A few of my mates try to go every Thursday lunch, it's become a little social work ritual, rejuvenation through spices and cold Cobra! My Vegan rule is eat Vegan with a Vegan, you get to taste off your usual menu choices, and always get new ideas for recipes and ingredients. So, what's the story here?
The reality is that only 1% of the UK population follow a Vegan diet. Of course we all eat Vegan meals all the time, Sunday lunch is Vegan if you remove the chicken and butter, Walkers crisps and KP nuts are Vegan, we are actually much more Vegan than we think.
But why are we in the midst of a Vegan Media Tsunami, and if you fancy a real giggle listen to my friend Chef Richard Corrigan on The Late Late Show, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI-oF7o5J1k. I believe it's the power of a good story, a hot potato, a hungry press that needs drama and feeding. Greggs for example have rejuvenated their business based on the Vegan Sausage Roll, in fairness there is little to say about the 'real' Greggs Sausage Roll apart from the fact that they taste great, and my son Chris loves em! So our perception of Greggs has changed from a high street low rent pastry palace, to an Innovative and Listening Woke brand. What a slight of hand. However the truth is that Greggs is still Greggs, and a Vegan Wash will not actually effect real change.
For instance the WWF have published their Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard, Greggs score only 9.5 out of 22. As you probably know palm oil production is responsible for the vast forest destruction and the loss of the habitat of wildlife. It's estimated that over 100,000 Bornean orangutans were lost between 1999 and 2015. The main threat is the loss or fragmentation of their forest habitat, caused by logging for timber materials, forest fires and making way for oil palm plantations.
How many pigs saved for how many Orang-utans lost?
Senior Creative Artworker at ianjohnsoncreativeartworker.com
5 年The vegan industry is burgeoning, even though it caters for 1% of the population. It's main PR relies on the guilt factor, which implies the only way to save the planet is to be vegan. Reducing meat intake does make sense, however, from a health POV. It is an expensive pursuit to be a true vegan. It requires a lot of thought, effort and primarily cash ￡￡￡ – to afford out of season fresh fruit and veg flown from around the globe to your doorstep all year round. The carbon footprint must be huge – it's the elephant in the room.
GLOBAL EXPERT IN LUXURY TOURISM | RESORTS | LIFESTYLE | WELLNESS | COMMUNITY | NFP | DISABILITY | AGED CARE
5 年I ask myself this question everyday.
Experienced Architectural and Construction Specialist at GE Consulting
5 年That does make a thought provoking read - is the air we breathe suitable ?
Expert Advisor & Coach to Founders, Leaders, & Individuals | 25+ Years | International Design Industry Expert Since 2001 | International Hi-Tech & Start-Up Expert since 1999 | I help people & businesses thrive | NED
5 年Becoming vegan is like stepping into a moral minefield which I didn’t appreciate at 1st when 2 close friends inspired me to try it 3 yrs ago. If you’re prompted to do it based on personal ethics then you have to be prepared to make difficult ethical trade offs. For example the massive trend in people rejecting dairy milk to be kinder to cows has been a catalyst to a huge growth in almond milk. But if you are buying non organic almond milk then chances are the almond crop has been grown with a huge reliance on pesticides which are now thought to be one of the biggest killers of bees as articles like this one recently in the Guardian highlights https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe If you want to do veganism properly then you must be prepared to do your research & to having old paradigms blown up in your face. And it doesn’t just stop at food. It means you have to think what you wear, what products you use on yourself & in your house. And how you interact with your environment as a whole. I no longer call myself a vegan as I think it’s impossible to eat /consume products that have 0 effect on living creatures. All you can do is make more ethical choices day by day. #veganuary
Event Development & Sports Tourism Specialist, Educator and Optimist.
5 年Excellent read on a Friday Ron, plus there is much in what you say!!!