Is the next frontier working to rectify the injustices of the non-animal food system as well? I grew up in the the corn and soybean fields of the midwest, where farmers have long been dying of cancers caused by the chemicals needed to support industrial monoculture ag? (And don't get me started on the cabon footprint of that kind of farming.) What about the farm workers? I get a tiny bit crazy about the smug "it's plant based" folks when the working conditions in the fruit and vegetable fields are so atrocious. All of which is I guess another way of saying that as usual, I agree with you. "Plant based" is weasely ... and our industrial food systems are unjust and inhumane to both animals and people.
This was an interesting examination of the term. I'd always assumed that "plant-based" when talking about anything other than processed foods meant "plant-forward," as in, plants are the main, but not necessarily only ingredient. I agree that the avoidance of "vegetarian" and "vegan" seem driven by the baggage those terms carry, but you're right that a lack of shared definition leaves it open to exploitation. I will say, it can occasionally clear up a few things. For instance, "plant based butter" vs. margarine. A lot of people don't know the history of margarine (made from beef fat) and that most modern incarnations still contain dairy solids, unlike the "plant-based" kind. But "vegan" butter would be far, far clearer.
Thanks for this! A lot of discussions around terminology get reduced ad absurdum, so I appreciated this step back. Vegans want to claim that "plant-based" by itself (not WFPB) means something very specific, but the problem is that people outside our veg*n subcultures understand it differently. If I asked for a tomato-based soup at a restaurant, I would be disappointed if it literally only had tomatoes. Maybe someone else will coin a clearer term without the baggage of "vegan."
Is the next frontier working to rectify the injustices of the non-animal food system as well? I grew up in the the corn and soybean fields of the midwest, where farmers have long been dying of cancers caused by the chemicals needed to support industrial monoculture ag? (And don't get me started on the cabon footprint of that kind of farming.) What about the farm workers? I get a tiny bit crazy about the smug "it's plant based" folks when the working conditions in the fruit and vegetable fields are so atrocious. All of which is I guess another way of saying that as usual, I agree with you. "Plant based" is weasely ... and our industrial food systems are unjust and inhumane to both animals and people.
This was an interesting examination of the term. I'd always assumed that "plant-based" when talking about anything other than processed foods meant "plant-forward," as in, plants are the main, but not necessarily only ingredient. I agree that the avoidance of "vegetarian" and "vegan" seem driven by the baggage those terms carry, but you're right that a lack of shared definition leaves it open to exploitation. I will say, it can occasionally clear up a few things. For instance, "plant based butter" vs. margarine. A lot of people don't know the history of margarine (made from beef fat) and that most modern incarnations still contain dairy solids, unlike the "plant-based" kind. But "vegan" butter would be far, far clearer.
Thanks for this! A lot of discussions around terminology get reduced ad absurdum, so I appreciated this step back. Vegans want to claim that "plant-based" by itself (not WFPB) means something very specific, but the problem is that people outside our veg*n subcultures understand it differently. If I asked for a tomato-based soup at a restaurant, I would be disappointed if it literally only had tomatoes. Maybe someone else will coin a clearer term without the baggage of "vegan."