The link between social media and the rise of veganism
Pizza Hut has announced it is trialling vegan cheese pizzas. Ben and Jerry’s recently brought their vegan ice cream to the UK. Meanwhile, McDonald’s has launched a vegan burger in Finland.
By the end of 2016, there were around 542,000 vegans in Britain, a 350% increase since 2006. Social media and vegan influencers — from vegan chefs to vegan vloggers such as avantgardevegan and Family Fizz — have played a big role in this shift.
Statistics from blogsite VeganBits show that the majority of UK Vegans made this lifestyle change between the ages of 16–24 & 25–34. The Office for National Statistics found that between the same age brackets are where individuals are most active on social media.
VeganBits found that 90% of UK Vegans live this lifestyle because of “ethical reasons”, while others state their reasons as “dietary” or “spiritual”. Vegan influencers often have a young, impressionable audience to push their own ethics upon.
Vegan influencers include “cheap” and “easy” in their titles to destroy the myths surrounding veganism, to promote the idea that veganism can suit any bank balance and lifestyle, from body building to student life — despite the income.
