Vegans in the media--Watch out!

By former Los Angeles Times cartoonist Tony Peyser:

As I was watching Friday Night Lights this week, I was outraged (yes, OUTRAGED) at the way that they portrayed a young, adolescent vegan. She was visiting her dad; she currently lives with mom because dad cheated on mom, spurring a divorce. She was angry and she showed it. The family, minus mom, went camping. While making dinner, dad starts to make steak and the girl says that she is now vegan and that her new step-dad says that meat is murder. Dad gets really mad and tells her she WILL eat the steak. Next, the girl gets really angry (who wouldn’t when forced to eat something that you ALREADY stated that you don’t eat). They get into a fight and dad throws the steaks into the woods. Fast-forward a few days. Nobody has made up yet. They go to a football game and start to feel like a family again. Love is in the air. Everyone has a good time and they make up. Next, and this is truly disturbing, the girl asks if they can go get milkshakes. MILKSHAKES! They were in Texas, and nothing against Texas, but I am going to assume that she wasn’t going to order her shake with rice milk. Dad says he thought she didn’t drink milk and she laughs. So being vegan equals anger and drinking milk equals happiness and love. Was this episode sponsored by the dairy industry?

Veganism can be defined as “a diet and lifestyle that excludes the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose” (www.wikipedia.com) Vegans have been portrayed as angry, militant, hippies, alternative, and strange in the media. Vegetarians are portrayed similarly, but to a lesser extent. One family drew attention to veganism in 2007 when their 6-week-old baby died because they didn’t feed him enough. The parents were vegan and blamed the death on the strict eating habits of their chosen lifestyle. This story sparked controversy, and drew attention to veganism. Reading the comments from the news article builds understanding of how deeply negative some feel about vegans. Do these people know many vegans? Since less than 1% of the population is thought to be vegan, probably not. However, through the media they have “learned” what it “means” to be vegan. One reader wrote, “And to you Vegan militants--get a life, your diet is a mental illness.” Another reader who shares a similar view wrote, “I can't believe how out of control veganism has gotten lately. Sure, us people who eat meat end up making our children sick with our food, but at least were trying to provide health.” (I just wanted to point out that that last statement makes no sense) She continued, “This idea was completely stupid. Those parents don't deserve to go to prison because they killed their child, but because they're also vegans.” (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1768368.ece)
 So, send all vegans to prison???

In one study, Fox &Ward (2003) studied the connection between diet and identity. They found that vegetarians and vegans thought of their lifestyles as healthier than that of a meat-eater. They also reported that this thought is carried over to their identity as a vegetarian or vegan. In the study, one participant remarked, “I feel better, cleaner. I also quit smoking and went back to biking, walking and trying not to travel by automobile”. (Should this person be sent to prison?) They conclude that vegetarianism is both a practice and an identity for its proponents. Also, Povey, Wellens & Conner (2001) looked at four different diets and found that vegans found their own diet to be humane, healthy, and environmentally friendly (p.20). Since Fox & Ward found that there is a connection between diet and identity, it can be inferred that vegans also would use those words to identify themselves.

I think that the media messages are very different than the ideas that vegans hold about themselves. While of course some vegans will be hippies, alternative, or militant, it does not mean that the majority are. These are messages conveyed by the media that seep into the brains of millions, hanging out until they hear about the above mentioned news story. They are then written on blogs, commented on online news sites, and spread through media. Ahhhh!

Works Cited:

Fox, J. & Ward, K. You are what you eat? Vegetarianism, health and identity. Journal of the American Dietetic Association (2003), 103(6), 748-76.

Povey, Wellens, & Conner. Attitudes towards following meat, vegetarian, and vegan diets: an examination of the role of ambivalence. Appetite (2001), 37, 15-26.