It is the free market - not angry 'vegangelisers' - which will alleviate animal suffering

It is a debate that divides the country in two, punctuating the national media with clockwork consistency. Its proponents – typically drawn from liberal metropolitan life – exchange passionate arguments with its detractors – often hailing from an altogether more conservative tradition. The positions put forward by both sides are seemingly intractable, and the notion of compromise cuts a forlorn figure. No, I am not talking about Britain’s leaving of the European Union, but veganism.

Without wanting to commit the policy wonk’s cardinal sin of conjecture and anecdote, it seems pretty clear to me that interest in veganism has skyrocketed of late. Yet – as I mentioned – this development has not come without opposition.

Evidence of this opposition could be seen all too vividly in the various tweets of the de facto commander in chief of the vegan resistance movement, Piers Morgan, when earlier in the year the national bakery chain Gregg’s had the temerity to add a plant-based version of its iconic sausage roll to its repertoire. But examples of anti-vegan backlash do not stop there – indeed, a recent article on this very website on the alleged misuse of statistics by vegans was the latest in a long line of attempts to besmirch and undermine those opting to choose a life less meaty.

Frankly, this is something I find rather puzzling. I struggle to understand why such indignation seems reserved for veganism, which, if anything, is the belief in leading a life as benevolent as possible (interestingly, before vegan was settled on as the label of choice in the mid-1940s, ‘benevore’ was advanced as a potential alternative). When there are so many things in the world which should rightly invoke the anger of all, it strikes me as strange to go after that vanishingly thin slither of society which simply prefer that their milk comes from almonds rather than the breasts of a random mammal.

That is not to say that I am blind to the reasons why this is happening.

As somebody with a generally laissez faire attitude to life, I am acutely aware of the fear that veganism stems from an authoritarian belief in controlling individuals’ diet choices. And sadly, I am sure there are probably a fair few vegans who would indeed like to control the diets of others. Yet, as with so much in life, these two variables – veganism and top-down control – should not be seen as mutually inclusive. In fact, there are a growing number of individuals who enjoy free-markets and ‘free-from’ meals in equal proportion.

From another angle, it is natural that those challenged about their diets will sometimes get fed up. Hearing that what you have been doing for all of your life is immoral will put even the most open-minded person on the defensive. Indeed, I think accusing others of immorality is something which some vegans are certainly guilty of, to their detriment. If vegans are going to successfully persuade more people to forgo animal produce, they must accept that targeting language and constant guilt-tripping might just strengthen the resolve of omnivores. Virtually all of those who have turned vegan in the last few years will have spent their childhood and adolescent years happily devouring the foods and drinks they now condemn – thus in relative terms, they’re not much further ‘ahead’ of those on the receiving end of their ‘vegangelising’.

In the vegan-omnivore culture war, it is difficult to know who is winning. Though different estimates abound, the percentage of people shunning meat, dairy and eggs in the United Kingdom is certainly still in the mid- to low-single digits – and while their numbers are swelling, it is hard to tell how much further they will rise.

A more likely hypothesis, in my mind, is that rather than countless individuals flocking to strict veganism, many more are simply moderating their meat intake. They are doing so not because they have had a Road to Damascus style appraisal of their eating habits, but because, actually, there is a lot of vegan food now out there which is very appetising. Indeed, perhaps is it interventions such as this – presenting the positives of veganism, rather than the supposed negatives of the alternative – which will prove most successful in reducing animal suffering around the world.