Vegaphobia

Three French Veggie Pride activists used the term {{Lang|fr|végéphobie}} meaning discrimination against vegetarians, in a 2011 document.{{Cite book |url=http://www.veggiepride.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Vegephobie_FR_lecture.pdf |title=La végéphobie. Rejet du végétarisme pour les animaux & discrimination des personnes végétariennes |publisher=Veggie Pride |year=2013 |language=fr}}

British sociologists Matthew Cole and Karen Morgan used the term vegaphobia and the derived adjective vegaphobic in a 2011 study, meaning prejudice against vegans specifically.{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=George |date=2019-10-25 |title=Why do people hate vegans? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/25/why-do-people-hate-vegans |access-date=2021-05-05 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} Later authors used the term vegaphobia (vegan-) in this sense.

Subsequent studies defined vegaphobia as the dual aversion to vegans and vegetarians together. A 2019 study of vegaphobia in this sense added the term vegaphobe for a person with vegaphobia. Previously, the Swiss-Polish actor and producer Jola Cora had also used the dual aversion concept but called it vegephobia (with an 'e'), in a 2013 conference talk titled "Vegephobia, what is it?"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tucw3cCzjLc|title=Vegephobia, what is it? Jola Cora at IARC 2013 Luxembourg|last=VeganKanal|date=12 September 2013|via=YouTube}}

"In the media, in pop culture and even in progressive, enlightened polite society it is still widely acceptable to make fun of vegans", writes Farhad Manjoo in a 2019 New York Times opinion piece against mocking vegans.{{Cite news|last=Manjoo|first=Farhad|date=2019-08-28|title=Stop Mocking Vegans|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/opinion/vegan-food.html|access-date=2021-05-21|issn=0362-4331}} Manjoo cites findings from a 2015 study by Canadian psychologists, that the general population rates vegans more negatively than atheists and immigrants, and tolerates vegans only slightly better than drug addicts. Vegans get more negative ratings than vegetarians, and vegan men receive more negative ratings than women. Vegans are rated better if they are motivated by health reasons than if their veganism is driven by ethical or animal rights concerns.{{Cite journal|last1=MacInnis|first1=Cara C.|last2=Hodson|first2=Gordon|date=2017-11-01|title=It ain't easy eating greens: Evidence of bias toward vegetarians and vegans from both source and target|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430215618253|journal=Group Processes & Intergroup Relations|language=en|volume=20|issue=6|pages=721–744|doi=10.1177/1368430215618253|s2cid=147065882|issn=1368-4302|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web|title=为何人们讨厌纯素食主义者？|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5410040|access-date=2021-07-15|website=澎湃新闻 (The Paper)}}

Among around a thousand Belgian Flemish meat eaters surveyed in 2016, vegaphobia against vegetarians was more common among men than among women, among older more than younger people, among people with a firmer intention to keep consuming meat, and among less educated people.{{Cite journal|last1=Vandermoere|first1=Frédéric|last2=Geerts|first2=Robbe|last3=De Backer|first3=Charlotte|last4=Erreygers|first4=Sara|last5=Van Doorslaer|first5=Els|date=2019-07-19|title=Meat Consumption and Vegaphobia: An Exploration of the Characteristics of Meat Eaters, Vegaphobes, and Their Social Environment|journal=Sustainability|language=en|volume=11|issue=14|pages=3936|doi=10.3390/su11143936|issn=2071-1050|doi-access=free|hdl=10067/1607180151162165141|hdl-access=free}}

These findings are consistent with vegans who feel discriminated against by people that eat meat.{{cite journal|last1=MacInnis|first1=Cara C.|last2=Hodson|first2=Gordon|date=6 December 2015|title=It ain't easy eating greens: Evidence of bias toward vegetarians and vegans from both source and target|journal=Group Processes & Intergroup Relations|volume=20|issue=6|pages=721–744|doi=10.1177/1368430215618253|s2cid=147065882}} In 2018, a survey of over 1,000 British and American vegans from the weight-loss application Lifesum found 80% of respondents to have experienced some form of anti-vegan prejudice.{{Cite web|title=There's a Term For Hating On Vegans And It's Vegaphobia|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/theres-a-term-for-hating-on-vegans-and-its-vegaphobia/|access-date=2021-05-05|website=Vice|date=21 November 2018 |language=en|quote=a new survey from Lifesum, a weight loss app, of UK and US-based vegans found that eight out of 10 respondents had experienced “vegaphobia” which it defined as a prejudice against vegans.}} The fear of being stigmatized when becoming a vegan also keeps some meat-eaters from transitioning to a vegan diet.{{cite journal |last1=Markowski |first1=Kelly L. |last2=Roxburgh |first2=Susan |title='If I became a vegan, my family and friends would hate me:' Anticipating vegan stigma as a barrier to plant-based diets |journal=Appetite |date=April 2019 |volume=135 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2018.12.040 |pmid=30605705 |s2cid=58643649 }}

Vegan chocolate has been criticised with thousands of "mean tweets", a fact the British chocolate company Cadbury drew attention to in a 2022 campaign.{{Cite web |last=Momodu |first=Derek |date=2022-03-23 |title=World's first 'Mean Tweetshop' opens in London to challenge scepticism towards plant-based chocolate |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/gallery/worlds-first-mean-tweetshop-opens-26541072 |access-date=2022-03-27 |website=Mirror Online |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Mustaqeem |first=Syraat Al |date=2022-03-23 |title=Mean Tweetshop: Cadbury's wraps plant-based chocolate in vegan slurs |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cadbury-s-plantbased-vegan-chocolate-soho-mean-tweetshop-b989822.html |access-date=2022-03-27 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}

Meat eaters rate vegans less negatively when they have been reminded that meat comes from animals, a survey of 300 US residents found. The reminder also increased their discomfort while eating meat.{{cite journal |last1=Earle |first1=Megan |last2=Hodson |first2=Gordon |last3=Dhont |first3=Kristof |last4=MacInnis |first4=Cara |title=Eating with our eyes (closed): Effects of visually associating animals with meat on antivegan/vegetarian attitudes and meat consumption willingness |journal=Group Processes & Intergroup Relations |date=24 June 2019 |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=818–835 |doi=10.1177/1368430219861848 |s2cid=164266896 |url=https://kar.kent.ac.uk/73219/1/meat%20animal%20reminder%20manuscript%20revised%204.pdf }}

A study published in the Sex Roles journal in 2023 found that men on vegan diets are commonly perceived as less masculine, a stereotype shared across genders and surprisingly even among some female vegans. This reflects a deeply ingrained association between meat-eating and masculinity, highlighting widespread and unexpected biases even within the vegan community.{{Cite web |last=Hendy |first=Eloise |date=2024-01-17 |title=We Asked Women If Vegan Men Give Them the Ick |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/do-vegan-men-give-women-the-ick/ |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=Vice |language=en}}

A 2024 column lamented anti-vegan jokes made by progressives and moderates in the Belgian media.{{Cite web |last=Van de Velde |first=Lieve |date=2024-06-05 |title=Uit het hart {{!}} Dat spotten met vegans en vegetariërs, moet dat echt? |url=https://standaard.be/cnt/dmf20231215_94118921 |website=De Standaard}}

Academic Laura Wright stated in 2015 that media organizations and wider discourse routinely mischaracterize vegan diets, highlighting situations where media outlets reported the death of children as being from a "vegan diet" rather than the parental neglect that was the actual cause.{{cite book|author=Laura Wright|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwPaCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|title=The Vegan Studies Project: Food, Animals, and Gender in the Age of Terror|date=1 October 2015|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-4854-4|pages=89–91}}

A 2011 study found that British media discredit vegans through ridicule, and portray veganism as difficult or impossible to maintain. The six most common vegaphobic statements found in these media were, in order of frequency: ridiculing veganism, erroneously equating veganism with asceticism, perpetuating the myth that veganism is difficult or impossible to sustain, describing veganism as a fashion trend, portraying vegans as sentimentalists, and defining vegans as hostile. The study found that of 397 articles, 20% were neutral, approximately 5% were positive and 75% were negative. In 2018, it was revealed that William Sitwell, a British food editor had sent a vegan an email that mentioned "killing vegans one by one".{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Abigail |date=2018-11-02 |title=Why do people hate vegans so much? |url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/11/2/18055532/vegans-vegetarian-research-uk |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=Vox |language=en}} American Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain in his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain stated he despised vegans and quipped that vegetarians and vegans “are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.”{{Cite web |last=Nekritz |first=Matthew |date=2023-10-23 |title=Beyond Bourdain: Disassembling the Meat-Eater's Anti-Vegan Bias |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/column/the-things-we-consume/article/2023/10/11/nekritz-meat-veganism |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=The Harvard Crimson |language=en}}

On social media, some vegans have also been attacked for their choice to have sexual relations only with other vegans.{{cite journal|last1=Potts|first1=Annie|last2=Parry|first2=Jovian|date=15 February 2010|title=Vegan Sexuality: Challenging Heteronormative Masculinity through Meat-free Sex|journal=Feminism & Psychology|volume=20|issue=1|pages=53–72|doi=10.1177/0959353509351181|s2cid=144430044}}

There are many theories to explain negative attitudes towards vegans and vegetarians.

Several studies have found associations of vegaphobia with various demographic and political traits. Vegaphobia is most common among people with conservative or right-wing beliefs, especially the ones associated with Abrahamic religions,{{cite journal |last1=Judge |first1=Madeline |last2=Wilson |first2=Marc S. |title=A dual-process motivational model of attitudes towards vegetarians and vegans |journal=European Journal of Social Psychology |date=February 2019 |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=169–178 |doi=10.1002/ejsp.2386 |doi-access=free |hdl=11343/214063 |hdl-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Vandermoere |first1=Frédéric |last2=Geerts |first2=Robbe |last3=De Backer |first3=Charlotte |last4=Erreygers |first4=Sara |last5=Van Doorslaer |first5=Els |title=Meat Consumption and Vegaphobia: An Exploration of the Characteristics of Meat Eaters, Vegaphobes, and Their Social Environment |journal=Sustainability |date=19 July 2019 |volume=11 |issue=14 |pages=3936 |doi=10.3390/su11143936 |doi-access=free |hdl=10067/1607180151162165141 |hdl-access=free }} being often most pronounced in far-right individuals and groups.{{Cite news|last=Weill|first=Kelly|date=24 August 2018|title=Why Right Wingers Are Going Crazy About Meat|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-right-wingers-are-going-crazy-about-meat|access-date=28 May 2020}} For some right-wing adherents, eating meat is not only a delight, but also a part of their attitudes towards life. Thus, they can perceive those who advocate against meat consumption as a threat to their way of life.{{cite journal |last1=Dhont |first1=Kristof |last2=Hodson |first2=Gordon |title=Why do right-wing adherents engage in more animal exploitation and meat consumption? |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |date=July 2014 |volume=64 |pages=12–17 |doi=10.1016/j.paid.2014.02.002 |url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5030419 |hdl=1854/LU-5030419 |hdl-access=free }} A survey of about 1,000 participants showed that vegans are perceived as a threat mainly by older and less educated people, and by meat eaters who are particularly convinced of their habit. A 2019 study also found a positive correlation between world-views rooted in social dominance of some groups over others (i.e., institutionalised discrimination) and a negative perception of vegans.

One explanation for vegaphobia is founded on the meat paradox: many people who eat meat do not like harming animals. Vegans remind them of this cognitive dissonance, and one way to resolve this inner conflict and reduce dissonance is to maintain prejudice against vegans.{{cite journal|last1=Bastian|first1=Brock|last2=Loughnan|first2=Steve|date=19 May 2016|title=Resolving the Meat-Paradox: A Motivational Account of Morally Troublesome Behavior and Its Maintenance|url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/25381242/Bastian_Loughnan_2016_PSPR_meat_paradox.pdf|journal=Personality and Social Psychology Review|volume=21|issue=3|pages=278–299|doi=10.1177/1088868316647562|pmid=27207840|s2cid=13360236}}{{Cite web|last=Gorvett|first=Zaria|title=The hidden biases that drive anti-vegan hatred|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200203-the-hidden-biases-that-drive-anti-vegan-hatred|access-date=2021-05-21|website=BBC|language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Rothgerber |first1=Hank |title=Efforts to overcome vegetarian-induced dissonance among meat eaters |journal=Appetite |date=August 2014 |volume=79 |pages=32–41 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2014.04.003 |pmid=24727102 |s2cid=12089867 }}

Another proposed reason for vegaphobia is that meat eaters may feel judged by vegans and vegetarians for eating meat. Discrediting ethical vegans as do-gooders is then a way to invalidate the judgement of oneself. These negative attitudes against vegans are stronger when vegans are thought to think of themselves as morally superior.{{cite journal |last1=Minson |first1=Julia A. |last2=Monin |first2=Benoît |title=Do-Gooder Derogation |journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science |date=18 July 2011 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=200–207 |doi=10.1177/1948550611415695 |s2cid=13891898 }}{{Cite web|title='Vegaphobia' Is the Dislike of Vegans|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/these-are-some-of-the-reasons-vegans-have-such-a-bad-reputation/|access-date=2021-05-05|website=Vice|first=Tani|last=Khara|date=2018-11-19|language=en}}

While meat eaters may have an inner conflict about the killing of animals for their food, this explanation of vegaphobia may not hold up to environmental reasons for avoiding meat. Environmentalist meat eaters may not see a conflict in eating meat because they see their individual environmental impact of meat consumption as low.{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=Evon |last2=Kallis |first2=Giorgos |last3=Zografos |first3=Christos |last4=Olsson |first4=I Anna S |title=Why environmentalists eat meat |journal=PLOS ONE |date=11 July 2019 |volume=14 |issue=7 |pages=e0219607 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0219607 |pmid=31295301 |pmc=6622546 |bibcode=2019PLoSO..1419607S |doi-access=free }}

Vegans may not always be discredited for ideological reasons. Sometimes the reason may be that the vegaphobe cannot share food with them.{{cite journal |last1=Bresnahan |first1=Mary |last2=Zhuang |first2=Jie |last3=Zhu |first3=Xun |title=Why is the vegan line in the dining hall always the shortest? Understanding vegan stigma. |journal=Stigma and Health |date=2016 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=3–15 |doi=10.1037/sah0000011 }}

Vegaphobia has been framed as an intersectional problem connected to masculinity, race, and gender identity issues.{{Cite journal |last=Oliver |first=Catherine |date=2021-10-24 |title=Mock meat, masculinity, and redemption narratives: vegan men's negotiations and performances of gender and eating |journal=Social Movement Studies |volume=22 |pages=62–79 |doi=10.1080/14742837.2021.1989293 |s2cid=239837115 |issn=1474-2837|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |last=Staloch |first=Laura |date=2023-06-01 |title=Vegans are perceived as less suitable for jobs stereotypically associated with masculinity, study finds |url=https://www.psypost.org/2023/06/vegans-are-perceived-as-less-suitable-for-jobs-stereotypically-associated-with-masculinity-study-finds-164217 |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=PsyPost |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last=Delmestri |first=Giuseppe |date=2018-08-01 |title=Vegaphobia. Emancipation and institutional change for an overlooked diversity dimension |url=https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/AMBPP.2018.17488abstract |journal=Academy of Management Proceedings |volume=2018 |issue=1 |pages=17488 |doi=10.5465/AMBPP.2018.17488abstract |s2cid=150031743 |issn=0065-0668|url-access=subscription |hdl=11385/246679 |hdl-access=free }}

In the early 1990s, McDonald's started describing its French fries as vegetarian when they, in fact, contained beef-derived flavouring, leading to a ten million US dollar settlement in 2002 for misleading Hindus and other vegetarians into eating food against their conscience.{{Cite web|title=McDonald's to pay $10M to vegetarians - Jun. 5, 2002|url=https://money.cnn.com/2002/06/05/news/companies/mcdonalds_a/index.htm|access-date=2021-05-09|website=money.cnn.com}}

In 2020, a parliamentary employee of the nationalist Alternative for Germany called someone who ordered vegetarian food in the canteen of the German parliament a pejorative term, saying "we are going to get you".{{Cite news|last=Fiedler|first=Maria|date=2020-11-20|title=Debatte im Bundestag wird zur Generalabrechnung mit der AfD|language=de-DE|work=Der Tagesspiegel|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/tiefpunkt-einer-dauerhaften-strategie-debatte-im-bundestag-wird-zur-generalabrechnung-mit-der-afd/26643632.html|access-date=2021-10-30|issn=1865-2263}}

Philosopher Oscar Horta links vegaphobia to discrimination against vegans, which he observes, among other instances, at the workplace.{{Cite journal|last=Horta|first=Oscar|date=2018-10-08|title=Discrimination Against Vegans|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11158-017-9356-3|journal=Res Publica|language=en|volume=24|issue=3|pages=360|doi=10.1007/s11158-017-9356-3|s2cid=149303895|issn=1356-4765|quote=The fact that vegans are often considered worse than nonvegans epistemically, morally, and in general due to vegaphobia, explains some cases where they are intentionally treated worse, and also why vegans are in many cases pressed by others to quit veganism.|url-access=subscription}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH2uQrPy5lk|title=IRN 2020 - Discrimination Against Vegans|last=The Vegan Society|date=4 March 2021|via=YouTube}}

Vegans have in individual instances been harassed in the workplace and have been terminated from jobs or excluded from the applicant pool for their veganism.{{Cite web|title=Prejudice towards vegans endemic in the workplace |url=https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/prejudice-towards-vegans-endemic-in-the-workplace/|access-date=2024-08-04|website=HR Magazine|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=What rights do vegans have?|url=https://www.vegansociety.com/get-involved/international-rights-network/what-rights-do-vegans-have|access-date=2021-05-09|website=The Vegan Society|language=en}}

{{Cite web |date=2017-07-18 |title=Vegan rights in the UK courts |url=https://www.thelawyer.com/vegan-rights-uk/ |access-date=2021-05-09 |website=The Lawyer |language=en-GB}} A survey by the law firm Crossland Employment Solicitors found that among "over 1,000" UK-based vegan employees, nearly a third felt discriminated against at their workplace.{{Cite web|title=Nearly half of vegans feel discriminated against at work|url=https://www.crosslandsolicitors.com/site/hr-hub/nearly-half-of-vegans-feel-discriminated-against-at-work|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Crossland Employment Solicitors|date=9 May 2019 |language=en}} A London NHS trust (a unit of the UK's National Health Service) in 2017 put up a discriminatory job advert for an occupational therapist (OT) saying, "Unfortunately, OTs with vegan diets cannot be considered", and that "Veganism or other highly restrictive eating practices cannot be accommodated." When challenged by The Vegan Society, the trust changed the advert and apologized.{{Cite web |last=Fouzder |first=Monidipa |title=Vegan challenges discriminatory job ad |url=https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/lawyer-in-the-news/vegan-challenges-discriminatory-job-ad/5061773.article |date=3 July 2017 |access-date=2021-05-12 |website=Law Gazette |language=en}}{{cite web |last=Mathes |first=Sarah |title=Veganism as a… Religion? |url=https://medium.com/@sarahmwrites/veganism-as-a-religion-c31be69bb4c7 |date=2022-03-12 |website=Medium |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20220312224458/https://medium.com/@sarahmwrites/veganism-as-a-religion-c31be69bb4c7 |archivedate=2022-03-12 |url-status=live}}

A vegan was denied a Swiss passport by local voters,{{Cite web|last=Roberts|first=Elizabeth|date=2017-01-12|title=Vegan denied Swiss citizenship for her 'loud' views on animal rights|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/12/health/switzerland-citizenship-vegan-trnd/index.html|access-date=2021-05-09|website=CNN|language=en}} and people have thrown KFC chicken at vegans in England,{{Cite web|last=Parker|first=Hayley|date=2020-09-17|title=Drivers lob chicken legs at vegan activists protesting outside Wayne Walker's|url=https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/passing-motorists-lob-kfc-chicken-4519001|access-date=2021-05-09|website=StokeonTrentLive|language=en}} in both cases as a reaction to their lawful animal rights protest. In 2018, William Sitwell, then editor of the Waitrose Food magazine, responded to a request for a vegan column by proposing "a series on killing vegans, one by one".{{Cite web|date=2018-10-31|title=Waitrose magazine editor quits after joke about killing vegans|url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/31/waitrose-magazine-editor-william-sitwell-steps-down-over-email-mocking-vegans|access-date=2021-05-09|website=The Guardian|first=Jim|last=Waterson|language=en}}

A vegan college student from Bristol was told to watch bull castration and visit an abattoir or fail her course in animal management. The university reconsidered after support from The Vegan Society.{{Cite news|date=2021-04-13|title=Bristol vegan student 'told to visit farm or fail course'|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-56734140|access-date=2021-06-27}}

A primary school in Solihull forbade a five-year-old from bringing soya milk to school. It took three months and the help of The Vegan Society for the father of the child to change the school's mind.{{Cite web|last=Hockaday|first=James|date=2021-06-24|title=Vegan dad couldn't sleep because daughter couldn't take soya milk to school|url=https://metro.co.uk/2021/06/24/vegan-dad-couldnt-sleep-because-daughter-couldnt-take-soya-milk-to-school-14821352/|access-date=2021-06-27|website=Metro|language=en}}

When learning about a vegan person's diet, many nonvegans list all the animal-based foods that they like, without consideration for how this can make vegans feel uncomfortable ("I just love bacon").{{Cite journal|last=Greenebaum|first=Jessica Beth|date=August 2017|title=Questioning the Concept of Vegan Privilege: A Commentary|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0160597616640308|journal=Humanity & Society|language=en|volume=41|issue=3|pages=355–372|doi=10.1177/0160597616640308|s2cid=148375150 |issn=0160-5976|url-access=subscription}}^:363

Some vegans use the term veganphobia (with an 'n') when discussing prejudice and discrimination against vegans specifically.{{Cite web|title=Banned vegan TikToker complains 'veganphobia is real' – after comparing animal rights to coming out as LGBT+|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/banned-vegan-tiktoker-complains-veganphobia-131605296.html|access-date=2021-06-08|website=uk.news.yahoo.com|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|last=Wrenn|first=Corey|date=2016-11-08|title=A Month of Vegan Research: Veganphobia|url=http://www.coreyleewrenn.com/veganphobia/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=Corey Lee Wrenn, Ph.D.|language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2018-11-01|title=Meat martyrs be warned: the vegans will inherit the Earth |last=Hinsliff |first=Gaby |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/01/vegan-william-sitwell-waitrose-meat-plant |access-date=2021-06-08 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}

The {{Lang|es|Unión Vegana Argentina}} in 2019 petitioned the Argentine government agency National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism to include vegaphobia in its discrimination mappings.{{Cite web |last=UVA |date=2013-10-25 |title=Petición al INADI |url=http://www.unionvegana.org/peticion-al-inadi/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=UVA}}{{Cite web |last=Bouzón |first=Sofia |date=2021-12-14 |title=Veganismo y discriminación en Argentina |url=https://latfem.org/que-es-la-vegefobia/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=LatFem |language=es-AR}}{{Cite web |last=UVA |date=2019-11-30 |title=OBSERVATORIO NACIONAL DE LA VEGEFOBIA |url=http://www.unionvegana.org/observatorio-nacional-de-la-vegefobia/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=UVA}}

The application of the term "vegaphobia"—and the extent to which it can be compared to other forms of discrimination—is a somewhat divisive issue.{{Cite web |last=Addis |first=Richard |title=UK court gives veganism status of a religion |url=https://theday.co.uk/stories/uk-court-gives-veganism-status-of-a-religion |access-date=2021-08-01 |website=The Day|date=7 January 2020 }}{{Cite web |date=2013-05-16 |title=Végéphobie, bisouphobie : l'explosion des phobes |url=https://www.contrepoints.org/2013/05/16/124574-vegephobie-bisouphobie-lexplosion-des-phobes |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=Contrepoints |language=fr-FR}} Sophie Wilkinson of Grazia opined in 2018 that discrimination against vegans (unlike sexism, racism, and homophobia) does not go beyond the level of microaggressions. She also wrote that "discrimination is about being treated differently for who you are, not for what you choose to do", implying that being a vegan is not who you are, but rather what you choose to do.{{cite news|last=Wilkinson|first=Sophie|date=December 3, 2018|title=No, Vegan-Based Discrimination Is Nonsense|publisher=Grazia|url=https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/food-and-drink/no-vegan-based-discrimination-is-nonsense/|access-date=July 20, 2019}} Others have distinguished between two kinds of veganism, lifestyle and ethical. Veganism motivated by ethical beliefs about animals was ruled to be a protected belief in the United Kingdom under the Equality Act in an unfair dismissal lawsuit in 2020.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-03 |title=Ethical veganism is a belief protected by law, tribunal rules |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jan/03/ethical-veganism-is-a-belief-protected-by-law-tribunal-rules |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=The Guardian|first=Damien|last=Gayle |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2020-01-03 |title=After tribunal's ethical veganism ruling, what is a protected belief? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/jan/03/after-tribunals-ruling-on-ethical-veganism-what-is-a-protected-belief |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=The Guardian|first=Damien|last=Gayle |language=en}}

• Animal rights movement
• Do-gooder derogation
• Food choice
• List of fictional vegetarian characters
• Speciesism
• Veganarchists
• Anthropocentrism

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite web|last=Gorvett|first=Zaria|date=4 February 2020|title=The hidden biases that drive anti-vegan hatred|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200203-the-hidden-biases-that-drive-anti-vegan-hatred|website=BBC Future {{Free access}}}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Cole|first1=Matthew|last2=Morgan|first2=Karen|date=March 2011|title=Vegaphobia: derogatory discourses of veganism and the reproduction of speciesism in UK national newspapers1: Vegaphobia|journal=The British Journal of Sociology|language=en|volume=62|issue=1|pages=134–153|doi=10.1111/j.1468-4446.2010.01348.x|pmid=21361905|doi-access=free}}{{Closed access}}
• Horta, Oscar (2018). "Discrimination against vegans". Res Publica 24 (3): 359–73. {{doi|10.1007/s11158-017-9356-3}}.{{Closed access}}

{{Animal rights}}

{{Discrimination}}

{{Veganism}}

Category:2011 neologisms

Category:Prejudice and discrimination by type

Category:Veganism

Category:Vegetarianism