Corporate Veganism or plant-based capitalism with high-tech food

This post is intended to shed more light on that not all forms of business models promoting veganism are founded on the original causes that had led this movement to survive the pressures of the mainstream society. Recently, there is a growing number of big corporations that include vegan options into their food offer through direct investment, acquisitions and even corporate rebranding. This refers to commodity plant-based products such as soya, wheat, pea, and biotechnological ingredients that seek to meet the rising demand for high-tech, ultra-processed foods like the "Impossible Burger" and all kinds of plant-based "mylks", drinks, snacks, sausages, and others.

Since first things go first, let’s start with recapitulating about what we already know. Fortunately or not, many of us have had the opportunity to gain some level of understanding of what “Big Pharma” is. Therefore, the closely related concept of Big Food won’t be unfamiliar either. Both, food and pharma, are complementing each other in the negative externalities of unnatural ways of current food production systems. In other words, the food we eat makes us sick.

Let’s continue a bit further. Since the neoliberal business models rely on the constant and never ending growth, it becomes easier to understand the interconnection between production and consumption, especially focusing on the meat-based food cultures. They produce, we buy. But let’s stay with the concept of consumption. We all need to consume either it is food, housing, transport, energy, or clothing so as to survive and lead a comfortable life. We have been educated in this way and it’s normal for us to feel safe when we can consume and fulfil our needs. 

On the other hand, we also know that veganism had been conceived long time ago as an alternative dietary pattern that was accompanied with alternative ways of life and thinking. For example, the term vegetarian or vegan is a modern description for what used to be labeled as Pythagorean. Pythagoras, a man dedicated to the understanding of mathematics and to his students, decided to live far from the urban space and avoided meat pollution because he believed in the transmigration of souls.

We were talking about consumption and how people need to eat in order to survive. We also mentioned something about veganism and how this ancient lifestyle turned into a modern way of life especially popular among the urban dwellers who have individualized needs and desires for status quo. This has built our road rip to the concept of Big Veganism where big companies have discovered an alternative and cost-benefit-attractive niche to introduce new products that exclude meat yet taste likewise. Even though these vegan products might exclude animal protein they do have an extensive level of technology and artificial components. 

And thanks to the great labour of celebrity endorsement and greenwashing marketing strategies, veganism and vegan products have turned into trends during the past couple of years. More precisely, in 2019 people were very curious about the term “vegan” as confirms the AI of Google search. Having explored this brief trajectory, we can appreciate the inherent linkages between Big Pharma, Big Food and Big Veganism, all with strong ties in consumption and consumerism. Another important detail not to forget is that before the current "vegan boom", the phenomenon related to vegetarians and vegans hasn’t been that popular as it is now. Things have changed for them hopefully for the better. Now you can almost openly state who you are in terms of your dietary practice whatever it is that you eat.

Obviously, vegan trend will vehemently improve adoption of this new (food based on technology) dietary lifestyle because of the plentiful shelves of convenience products in the supermarkets (you can check the rise of vegan food tech start-ups in Silicon Valley). It doesn’t mean that before people couldn’t buy pulses, veggies, grains, or fruits but now they can also opt for products with bizarre names that look and taste like meat. Something that apparently seems to be important to carnivores or people who still need to enjoy the taste of animal. Therefore, the question that arises here is: are the vegan products, fruits of Big Veganism, oriented to vegans? Or maybe they just intend to cover the Big slice of the market that belongs to omnivores but employing a distinct label that is greener, healthier, and better for all? Alternative options of lower-tech, minimally-processed, and organically produced from local farmers are noticeably absent from the Big Vegan model. Instead, numerous efforts of Big Veganism are being directed to satisfy  mainstream desires for hedonistic pleasures and tastes similar to conventional animal-based products. 

Or maybe we could ask ourselves if the big food industry is trying to mislead us again with this dietary transition for the benefit of our planet and for our health just because we indirectly avoid meat? Or will this tech innovation eventually increase the price of the “true” food and conduct to higher consumption of Big Pharma? Apart would stay the topic of the privileged and unprivileged classes. 

Here have been exposed certain ideas on food, consumption, production, and Veganism. They all are relevant to preserve the well-being of the society. However, could we be distancing ourselves from the original spirit of veganism and vegetarianism and instead disguising our unwillingness to change by producing and consuming products that pretend to simulate the shift that is needed to be truly undertaken but first from within?

It is important to acknowledge that thanks to the advances in technology we have acquired  higher levels of safety, comfort, and efficiency in many areas. But should plant-based protein that bleeds like meat be the food choice labeled as vegan or "true vegan" or healthy? There are so many great convenience products in the stores, helping to reach higher meatless consistency, many businesses finding new opportunities to create a better world... but better world for whom?

There is a considerable amount of power in a deliberate vegan consumption as a means to express personal ideology, lifestyle, or ethical resilience, yet we should be careful about the process of trending vegan movements driven solely by consumer-based action. 

For further ideas you can visit these sources:

• Sexton, A. E., Garnett, T., & Lorimer, J. (2022). Vegan food geographies and the rise of Big Veganism. Progress in Human Geography, 46(2), 605-628.
• The Rise of Vegan Culture  https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/07/the-rise-of-vegan-culture
• Vegan Startups https://startups.co.uk/business-ideas/plant-based-foods/