In influencer circles advocating for a vegan lifestyle, some have suggested the group is not representative of the larger world. And beyond that may even be racist. Is this the case? Or is vegan advocacy a safe space for all?
White supremacy is embedded in mainstream veganism
Influencers with the largest reach tend to be white
Vegans have no issue tokenising BLM or the Holocaust when it suits them, whilst claiming "the intersectional approach is apologist" when asked to confront their own views and bias
Mainstream veganism is eurocentric and perpetuates fatphobia by centering health and weightloss as opposed to work that is sensitive about body shaming
White vegans act as saviours, as opposed to allies
Saviourism de-centers non-human animals and centers the voices of humans. Their focus on certian animals erases the struggles of others and means that humans are choosing who's struggle (voice) should count. This in itself can be rooted in speciesist, ableist and patriarchal thinking and practice.
Including debates about human rights in vegan spaces is speciesist
Advocating for animals is different to many other forms of activism because they don't have a voice, unlike human beings. Intersectional approaches to animal activism distract from the primary concern for vegans which is the lives and suffering of non human animals