Whiteness in Veganism
Graphic by Hannah Chung.
Before I begin discussing whiteness in veganism, I want you to completely let go of all of your ideas surrounding healthy lifestyles, and in particular, healthy food for veganism.
Chances are, your preconceived ideas are the byproduct of centuries of white supremacy and Western conceptions of what is accepted as healthy.
I recall beginning my vegan journey in high school after watching “What The Health,” which brought to light the health issues associated with eating animal products. I was especially intrigued with exploring a vegan lifestyle because I have a family history of high blood pressure and cholesterol — and so I figured, why not try it out?
It lasted about a week for me.
That week was filled with constant runs to the grocery store, throwing away the expensive vegan cheese I bought at Trader Joes, and being picked on by my family for not eating all the meals they made.
As someone from a low-income household of 5, veganism took up too much time, money, and energy.
It was then that I realized this was not a sustainable lifestyle for me in that phase of my life.
In fact, the vegan lifestyle is notorious for excluding folks from different socioeconomic classes for a number of reasons. Communities of color living in food deserts tend to have less access to inexpensive quality produce as well as vegan products. Plant-based milk often is double the price of dairy milk and most times contains less quantity. Some families have to make the decision to settle for the option that gives them the most “bang for their buck” in order to stay within their budget, as well as to save time from having to frequently come back to the grocery market to replenish their food supply.
I also think that communities of color have not prioritized a vegan lifestyle because they simply have more pressing things to worry about. The vegan movement tends to exclude conversations about the nuances that come with being a person of color and having to navigate your systemic hurdles, cultural differences, and the exhaustion of surviving in America.
Veganism is not a one-size fits all.
For my personal health journey, I transitioned to a hybrid of vegetarianism and pescetarianism which allowed me to significantly reduce my meat intake and improved my overall gut health (IBS: 0 Kiara: 1). I felt defeated at first, like I failed at being a healthy and ethical person; then I realized it wasn’t me who failed: veganism failed me.
Interestingly enough, my entire YouTube feed was still filled with vegan content, and I noticed a pattern within the content creators and the fans. The majority of them were white people. The majority of the content was food that was not familiar to me, and I did not see people that looked like me or foods that tapped into my Hispanic culture (or any culture for that matter). The ugly truth is that we as a society correlate wealth and whiteness as the face of health.
If it isn’t a kale salad from Erewhon being eaten by a thin white person from LA, then we don't want it!
Veganism became popularized in 1944 by Donald Watson who coined the term and was considered a pioneer for the movement. He seemed to fail to acknowledge that veganism already existed within Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) culture and religions. More specifically, South and East Asia as well as Africa. Before colonization, countries such as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe practiced plant-based diets with limited consumption of animals.
It’s ironic that colonization brought meat-eating habits to some BIPOC cuisine, yet white folks are at the forefront of veganism.
White veganism tends to erase and shame BIPOC cultural spaces, and more importantly, remove BIPOC faces from the face of the movement despite it originating from some of these folks.
Modern day veganism has made some progress towards being more inclusive as social media influencers like Tabitha Brown (@iamtabithabrown), as well as musicians such as Lizzo and Waka Flocka Flame, have taken up space in vegan conversations. Regardless, the vegan movement has a lot of work left to do, and must place an emphasis on intersectional veganism to dismantle the oppressive forces that exist within the lifestyle. Intersectional veganism can be described as:
“Veganism which is aware and attentive to other forms of oppression, such as but not limited to sexism, racism, classism, speciesism, and ableism, and recognizes that these forms of oppression are interconnected and often enforce one another.”
Viewing veganism through an intersectional lens dismantles the whiteness that has consumed veganism.
It urges folks to take necessary action to help communities of color who may not have the luxury of having access to the vegan lifestyle due to the effects of oppression and racism. It allows for BIPOC to reconnect with their cultures through veganism and celebrate their identities rather than erase them. More importantly, it removes the shame placed on communities of color that consume meat because we can come from a place of understanding, compassion, and patience.
Resources for BIPOC exploring veganism:
http://www.blackvegansrock.com/resources
https://folklife.si.edu/talkstory/la-cultura-cura-how-latinos-are-reclaiming-their-ancestral-diets
Graphic by Hannah Chung.