I think we have discussed quite a lot of what “vegan” means in many of my previous posts and if you’ve followed me for a bit you’ll probably guess what I am going to say next.

Just No. There isn’t much to discuss here, for 4 simple reasons.

1. KFC ain’t vegan;
2. Their “vegan fried chicken” ain’t vegan;
3. Vegans that are supporting this are probably confused by the word “vegan” in the “vegan KFC menu”: it ain’t vegan;
4. This is greenwashing.

KFC is not vegan

It stands right there, in the name: Kentucky Fried CHICKEN. Its main business is fried chicken. It was born with the intention of selling chicken. Chicken it’s the main ingredient. This means that they have massive, huge, humongous chicken farms where chickens are being grown for then being slaughtered, cut off in pieces and then cooked. This intrinsically involves the whole process of macerating/gassing male chickens and having female chickens laying eggs until they can’t do that anymore and at that time will be slaughtered. Hence, this company is not vegan and even the plant-based products are vegan.

This is just another one of these problematic diatribes where big NON-VEGAN (not even looking them from a far galaxy in a parallel universe of another realm of existence would make them look like vegan) are trying to get back that slice of the economic pie that is being munched back by people going plant-based/vegan/more local etc. meaning that they are not supporting their massive businesses. And how are they doing that? Going in partnership with brands that are famously PLANT-BASED (still ain’t vegan) to provide food for that slice of the economic pie that is moving away from them (i.e. KFC using Beyond Burger for their plant-based menu items). This is basically trying to lure back people with the promise of getting closer to the vegan ideology by offering plant-based food and making people think that they actually care.

Greenwashing

In actuality, what they are doing is greenwashing. What does this mean? It means that companies advertise themselves or their products as being environmentally friendly while their policies and other products are most definitely not. This is a practice that you can see more and more of lately for example with petrol companies and the clothing industry (i.e. Primark and H&M). This obviously goes back to the fact that these companies are losing big chunks of the economy with people turning away from them by switching to more sustainable brands and practices. So, here you go: how can KFC (and for that instance, McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway etc.) get the nostalgic vegans, the people that are starting on their vegan journey and those approaching a more plant-based diet? Offer plant-based options. Something that you would never have expected by those companies who have made killing animals their main source of business.

And around the Internet obviously, there is this diatribe between the vegans that are convinced that anyone offering plant-based options should be praised and those who don’t think that (me).

Just as an example from the first category, the vegan rapper and animal rights activist Gaia’s Eye – Gaia Is I, is explaining in this video why he supports KFC: his opinions are well articulated and thought, but I still think it’s naive. Going to KFC, giving money to this big corporation, is just making sure that KFC (&Co.) will still be around with its murdering business.

The philosophy behind veganism advocates for animal liberation: to keep feeding these companies, it means slowing down such process.

What can we do?

I am painfully aware that sometimes, especially when you are travelling to more rural places or internationally, it might be difficult to find vegan-friendly food. But it is possible, even without going to KFC or McDonald’s and the likes.

I went to some remote regions of Iceland as well as in Montenegro and it wasn’t always easy to find food. However, I went to local shops and mini-markets to get bread, vegetables and fruits, and sometimes I could find a health store with vegan-friendly foods.

In less remote regions of the world, if you really are nostalgic about foods, there are many independent places that can offer fast food up to the standards of the major fast-food companies.

If you want animal liberation, you can always find a solution.

Love,

TVCL xx