Dr Seyma Esin Erban, discusses how the hashtag #GoVegan (in Turkish, #veganol) has lessons for ethical veganism and consumerism
Ethical veganism is a call for social change that focuses on non-human animal rights. It is an inclusive social movement that challenges the ideology of speciesism. However, today, we can see evidence on social media that for some, veganism is rapidly moving away from the emphasis on animal liberation and towards consumerism.
The commodification of veganism begins when interest in the rapidly growing vegan market gradually overtakes the primary motivation behind veganism: animal ethics. A market full of alternatives offers significant opportunities to promote animal-free consumption without fundamentally challenging speciesism and altering existing socio-cultural habits. Conversely, the wealth of options also allows veganism to reach a wider audience.
The issue arises when the vegans become purely consumers and are overly focused on the market dynamics, as animal rights become merely a background ethical principle. As the #GoVegan call is squeezed into food labels, campaign announcements and discount coupons, the clear message becomes muted, leaving only the market itself to be discussed.
In our study, where we examined 273 posts in Turkish on Instagram with the hashtag #GoVegan (in Turkish, #veganol), we found that a significant portion of the content made in the name of ethical veganism directly or indirectly points to consumption behaviour. Instead of animal rights, there are gluten-free recipes; instead of anti-exploitation demands, brand labels are at the forefront.
This transformation is no coincidence. When my colleague Dr. İlker İnmez and I examined the subject comprehensively, we revealed that the capitalist system is quite stubborn in neutralising social change demands. In social media posts with the #GoVegan hashtag, animal rights and ethical content lag behind advertising and promotional content, and the hashtag is used intensively by commercial companies. Individual users contribute to the commercialisation of ethical veganism by frequently tagging brands and promoting products in their content. Therefore, the hashtag turns into a popular lifestyle suggestion rather than a rights-based call.
The study is limited to Instagram and a single hashtag. Constraints such as platform limitation, data collected within a one-year timeframe, and the lack of participant perspectives open up new avenues for new in-depth research: How does the commodification of veganism affect the ethical vegan movement? Or is corporate veganism – that is, large companies offering plant-based products to gain market share without adopting ethical vegan principles – a phenomenon that vegans are aware of?
Moreover, further research could focus on offline observations and interviews with stakeholders from the sector and vegan activists. Areas such as grocery stores, cafés, restaurants, cosmetic products and the textile industry are all open to further research.
Ethical veganism is not merely an individual choice, but a collective desire for change. If the rise of plant-based products doesn't end animal exploitation, we must rethink what these consumption choices actually accomplish. However, while we must be cautious of the commodification of veganism and corporate attempts to obscure its political content, it's also important to consider that the increasing variety of vegan products offers significant benefits in providing accessibility, encouraging more people to embrace veganism, and overcoming some cultural barriers. Therefore, it's essential to critically evaluate the opportunities presented by the market while preserving the political essence of ethical veganism.
Written by Dr Seyma Esin Erban
The views expressed by our Research News contributors are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
References
Original study: Erben, Ş. E., & İnmez, I. (2024). SOCIAL MEDIA ADVOCACY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE AND CAPITALIST INTERVENTION: ANALYZING THE# VEGANOL HASHTAG. Akademik Hassasiyetler, 11(26), 690-711. Available here.
