Every time I start to think that the exponential increase of vegan products we’ve witnessed hit the market over the past year or two is beginning to plateau, there comes another boom. One of the most recent and memorable instances of this was back in January, when Greggs capitalised on the most popular Veganuary so far by launching their renowned vegan sausage roll. While vegans across the country rejoiced over the Quorn-filled pastry parcel, the popularity of the new product caused Greggs’ sales to top £1 billion. However, despite vegans representing a considerable portion of their increased footfall this year, the sausage roll and a Mexican bean wrap remain their only ‘proper’ vegan offerings for lunch (excluding fruit, a Belgian bun, and a handful of other packaged snacks). With this considered, should we be supporting the rare vegan offerings from a heavily non-vegan company?
When discussing this topic with other vegans, the reaction is pretty much split down the middle. On one hand, there are many of us that aim to shop as ethically as possible, favouring all-vegan restaurants over omni establishments with a handful of vegan options, or choosing beauty products from companies that are strictly against animal testing. For a lot of vegans, stepping into a McDonalds to order a vegan-friendly wrap, whilst being fully aware of the sheer scale of animal cruelty that the company funds, is something that feels contradictory. Whilst making veganism more accessible is something that we all want, the most ethical way to achieve this is to support up-and-coming cruelty-free companies, rather than continuing to line the pockets of huge, non-vegan businesses that benefit from vegan consumers without realigning their ideals to be truly vegan-friendly.