In other news I saw an advertisement for Richmond vegan bacon on TV this morning. Shows how mainstream these sorts of things are becoming. No pigs gassed for it either.
(I can’t emphasise the size of that eye roll enough!)
I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with Huel and the benefits it has for you that you don’t really mind what they think. You’re just ahead of the curve, they’ll come round! I love your superpower analogy.
That’s great, I wonder if it’s good. We’ve talked before about how ‘gluten-free’ stuff has only become mainstream because of people omitting gluten for erroneously thinking it is aids with dieting/weight-loss, which lead to these products becoming more popular (yay for coeliacs).
To what extent do you guys think vegan products becoming more mainstream is to do with it being a diet trend? As opposed to people actively choosing it for animal welfare and/or environmental reasons.
I guess it doesn’t really matter, there are huge health benefits to going vegan and if they help animals and the planet along the way then all the better. But I do wonder what you guys think pushed veganism into the mainstream?
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Probably not just one thing but a mix - celebrity influencers, social conscience, food and environemntal security, dietary and health awareness (especially during the extended lockdown and lack of exercise availability), rising meat and dairy prices, improvements in the quality of meat and dairy analogues etc etc.
personally I think that it being to more commonly referred to in marketing, branding and the press as a plant based diet has also helped - it sorts of sheds more historical perceptions of vegans being a little on the militant side 
I definitely agree with this. I appreciate that ‘plant-based’ means technically a slightly different thing to being vegan, but I agree with the stereotype of ‘preachy vegans’ (although if you find our Facebook ads you’ll see the self-identified ‘meat eaters’ are often the preachy ones).
yep - I think it gives people an in road to a healthier diet without them feeling confined into what they have previously perceived as a very rigid and inflexible way of life that they are not prepared to commit to. I’ve noticed this especially in the F&B industry where alternate plant based menu’s are far more common they they used to be
This has all too often been the case in my own experience, Tim.
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I think a lot of this comes from when you have something that follows a very restrictive doctrine, it’s very easy to find and poke holes in those beliefs with cries of ‘hypocrisy!’ wringing in your ears. When something is perceived as being indefensible, then the best defence is offence, or so they say. Honestly, I think that’s why the ‘plant based’ rebrand has gotten a much faster and wider foothold in the market than vegan or vegetarian marketed products ever did.
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I think things becoming mainstream is always about health/lifestyle rather than morality. It’s why, for climate change, we need to convince people that it’s super cool to be hyper-efficient minimalistic desert warriors. Bring on the Wheel of Time TV series, let’s get everyone wanting to be Aiel.
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I’m actually proud when I’m at work and I get my Huel out while the others get the usual Greggs or chips. Couldnt give a toss what anyone says.
We also had a working group in the office to discuss how we can individually reduce our carbon footprint. I had one word for them…Huel
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Just cos you want to burn down the abattoirs and smash the butchers shops you get termed militant.
Gassing sentient pigs is pretty hardcore abuse to me.
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You know it! Hopefully you’ve had a read of our Sustainability Report!
Super cool, yes! Perception is so important. But also good for them and their health. I think there can still be some added costs to eating more plant-based - like the amount Beyond Meat/Impossible and similar brands cost compared to their meat counterparts. Once these are omitted I think it becomes a lot about showing people the benefits to them and their health.
You don’t need to eat them though, I think it’s a shame because a lot f these products could be good for helping people transition to more plant-based eating but the price doesn’t help them. There are plenty more cheaper “meat-like” products out there than Beyond tho.
After a while people can learn that it’s much cheaper and easier to prepare meals from scratch using whole foods, pulses etc. Things like pasta and rice are generally reasonably cheap - we don’t have to eat quinoa and sorghum flour and avocados for every meal.
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I started following a vegan diet in the 1980s and in those days practically all food had to be prepared from scratch which was time consuming. There were no fast foods available then. Even the plant milk was rank but over the years choice has become so much better. I had tried a few shakes in the early days, which were made from soya isolate and I hated them all and I doubt if they were complete meals. I was very reluctant to try huel at first and I was so surprised when I tried it and that I actually enjoyed it. I have never preached to anybody and I just ignore all the comments I have received. 
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When I first went vegan I was super militant and preachy because I was in a rush to save the pigs.
I quickly realised people don’t generally like that. Now I just eat my food in peace and politely answer questions when someone asks. I find veganism to be such a logical response to the world that simple explanations are usually enough.
Secretly I plan to adopt all the animals and destroy all factory farms, but I will bide my time and take the more approachable route for now. Once I gain peoples trust I will tape their eyes open and force them to watch earthlings, revealing myself as the militant vegan I am, but until then I’m disguised as plant based.
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This is too accurate. I’ve had so many conversations like this:
Them: What are you eating?
Me: Tofu.
Them: Are you vegan?
Me: Yes.
Them: Actually did you know we need meat to survive? We evolved to eat meat. I tried going vegan once and I almost died. I don’t even eat that much meat anyway, I only eat chicken and fish and sometimes pork. Did you know lions eat meat?
I think people get can get very defensive because they feel like their morals are being attacked. Things are definitely shifting though. The Bacon Bubble is going to burst one day.
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yes exactly this - and is normally the case in human nature - that happens on both sides of the argument. Education and understanding are the key to acceptance. I think the recent reports and recommendations for people to introduce plant based meals to replace SOME of their normal meat meals in order to offset their carbon footprint also helped in this understanding.
Sticking to rational and quantifiable facts is key. Misinformation, sensationalism and the skewing of data are some of the most damaging things to a good cause because as soon as this gets debunked, confidence in the argument weakens to the point of disbelief. Again, this happens on both sides of an argument but is exponentially more damaging to the side trying to buck the status quo.
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True, true, but I think that people are not going to fully embrace more plant-based options until the alternatives are near as dammit to the thing they’re used to eating. I think Beyond and Impossible are pretty good, whereas some others are just ok. But we’ll get there.
haha, lie in wait - smart idea!
Absolutely, and no one likes that right? But in those situations almost anything can feel like an attack on the person’s morals. I am definitely more optimistic for a strategy which gets a bigger group of people to have more plant-based meals a day, rather than a small group of perfect vegans.
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Huel burgers confirmed?
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haha! not quite what I meant! 
although there definitely is a Huel falafel recipe around somewhere!
Once upon a time I was super excited if I went to a restaurant and they had a vegan option. That vegan option was often falafel. Now I go to a restaurant and if the vegan option is just falafel…I am super disappointed.
I make the best falafels around so I’m often disappointed when I try others.
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