Part 3 in a series
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Marian Frances White laughs when she remembers an incident when her daughter was in Grade 2.
“One day when I picked her up, she was in tears and I said, ‘Uh oh, what happened at school today?’ and she said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me that a hotdog is long and a hamburger is round?’”
White is vegan and raised her daughter on the total plant-based diet as well.
“There were no veggie dogs or anything 35 years ago,” she said in a recent interview. “It was something that I never thought about until the kids made fun of her because she didn’t know one from the other.”
White, an author and documentary maker in St. John’s, was a vegan before it was cool. Last year, she released a cookbook called “Island Vegan,” which garnered the 2020 Gourmand World Cookbook Award in the local Canadian category.
Today, you can find entire sections of packaged vegan food in grocery stores. There are vegan restaurants, like Green Kitchen in St. John’s, and most others will offer a token dish.
“You can go almost anywhere to eat now and there’s a vegan option,” said White.
But not all vegan options are what they seem.
A year ago, the Vegan Society of Canada posted discussion points about certification on its website, pointing to the lack of clarity by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on what constitutes vegan food.
“The information given on the site for the word ‘vegan’ is instead the definition of foods that are ‘strict vegetarian.’ We informed CFIA of the mistake and will follow up with some update as we have more information.”
The society does offer its own certification, but with no international co-operation, it rests with businesses to label products responsibly. There are no laws that oversee it.
“It is important to investigate further the organization we trust to make sure they align with our ethical values. For example, many organizations do not include packaging in their standards,” it said. “An exaggeration to make this point would be a banana sold in a leather pouch with mink fur trim and a crocodile embossed vegan logo would be vegan certifiable under their standards. “
A less comical example can be found with breweries, many of which started labelling beers vegan friendly until it was realized some use substances called finings to clarify the beer.
Finings, also used in wine, are animal products. A common one, isinglass, comes from fish bladders.
Familiar terms
Despite the minefield of avoiding anything meat-based, most vegans embrace the mock meat products that have filled the market in recent years. For recent converts, it gives them something they’re familiar with.
“I like hot dogs, burgers and chicken strips just like anyone else. I just want a version that doesn’t hurt animals,” Alexandria Sullivan replied to a question posted on the NL Vegans Facebook page. ”I eat all the vegan ‘meats.’ Being vegan doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t like certain foods. We just want a version without meat.”
“Aside from the familiarity I think it’s a decent way to communicate how the item is meant to be eaten, or describes in some useful way how the item is prepared,” adds Lydia Haley. ”I mean, you could say a ‘BBQ portobello cap,’ but saying ‘BBQ portobello burger’ is more informative."
Despite the convenience, some say they’re still uncomfortable with the terminology.
“To be honest, I feel awkward using the ‘meat’ phrases because it disgusts me to think of it that way,” Debbie Wiseman replied. “To call them meatballs or wings is icky.”
But White, well-steeped in the world of plant-based foods, supports the idea.
“One thing that all that food does, it kind of normalizes the extreme culinary work of being vegan,” she said. “If you can get a few things that you can put a sprinkle of ‘cheese’ over the lasagna you’re making … it doesn’t look as different as other people’s.”
Sometimes the labelling isn’t the problem. It’s the location.
Amanda Fitzgerald seemed pretty shocked when she saw Maple Leaf’s 50/50 Pork and Plant Based Sausage sitting next to Beyond Meat burgers
“Someone explain this to me? It’s new the 50/50 … it’s in with the meatless (section) but it says pork is in it?”
She quickly got about 50 replies, most of them mocking the product, but many saying it’s at least a step in the right direction.
“Now with only 50 per cent dead animal!” quipped one. “Eww.”
Thursday: Plant-eaters in earlier days
Peter Jackson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering health for The Telegram.
