Why do people hate vegans?

Why do people hate(hāt) vegans(ˈvejən,ˈvēgən)?

It has left the beige(bāZH)-tinted(tint) margins(ˈmärjən) and become social media’s most glamorous(ˈglamərəs) look. But why does veganism(ˈvēɡənizəm) still provoke(prəˈvōk) so much anger(ˈaNGgər)?

By George(jôrj) Reynolds(ˈrenəldz)

From the hunger(ˈhəNGgər) strike(strīk) to the edible(ˈedəbəl) projectile(-ˌtīl,prəˈjektl), history offers abundant(əˈbəndənt) examples of food being used for political(pəˈlidək(ə)l) ends. Even so, the crowd of vegans who gathered(ˈgaT͟Hər) in central London earlier this year are unlikely to forget the moment when Gatis(gədəs) Lagzdins skinned and ate a raw squirrel(ˈskwər(ə)l).

Along with his co-conspirator(kənˈspirədər) Deonisy(dē’änəzē) Khlebnikov, Lagzdins performed his stunt(stənt) at the weekly Soho Vegan Market on Rupert(ˈro͞opərt) Street. He would subsequently demonstrate at VegFest(vej) in Brighton (although this time his snack(snak) of choice was a raw pig’s head) as part of a self-proclaimed(prō-,prəˈklām) “carnivore(ˈkärnəˌvôr) tour(to͝or)” intended to highlight the evils(ˈēvəl) of a plant(plant)-based diet. At the London event, he wore(wôr) a black vest(vest) emblazoned(emˈblāzn) with the slogan(ˈslōgən): “Veganism = Malnutrition(ˌmalno͞oˈtriSHən).”

The war on vegans started small. There were flashpoints, some outrageous(outˈrājəs) enough to receive(rəˈsēv) press coverage(ˈkəv(ə)rij). There was the episode(ˈepəˌsōd) in which William Sitwell, then editor of Waitrose magazine, resigned after a freelance writer leaked an email exchange in which he joked about “killing vegans one by one”. (Sitwell has since apologised(əˈpäləˌjīz).) There was the PR nightmare faced by Natwest bank when a customer calling to apply for a loan(lōn) was told by an employee that “all vegans should be punched in the face”. When animal rights protesters(prəˈtes-,ˈprōˌtestər) stormed(stôrm) into a Brighton(ˈbrītn) Pizza(ˈpētsə) Express(ikˈspres) in September this year, one diner(ˈdīnər) did exactly that.

A charge commonly laid against vegans is that they relish(ˈreliSH) their status as victims(ˈviktəm), but research suggests they have earned it. In 2015, a study conducted by Cara C MacInnis and Gordon Hodson and published in the journal Group Processes & Intergroup Relations observed that vegetarians(ˌvejəˈterēən) and vegans in western society – and vegans in particular – experience discrimination(disˌkriməˈnāSHən) and bias(ˈbīəs) on a par(par,pär) with other minorities(məˈnôrədē).

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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/25/why-do-people-hate-vegans