The economic consequences of veganism

We hope you enjoyed your Christmas turkey. But should you leave the poor beasts alone next year and serve tofu on the big day instead? Stuart Watkins reports.

100% Vegan statement of lifestyle choice
(Image credit: Peter Dazeley)

928_MW_P20_analysis_Stuart

Around 7% of us are now vegan
(Image credit: Credit: LightField Studios Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo)

Simon Amstell is that apparently rare thing a vegan with a sense of humour. He is the writer and director of the 2017 film Carnage, a mockumentary set in the Britain of 2067, when the eating of meat and all other animal products has been banned. Young people take the new regime for granted and struggle even to understand the moral order that has passed; older generations examine their consciences and suffer from feelings of guilt as they wonder what kind of monsters they must have been to eat meat, eggs and cheese as if there were nothing wrong in doing so. Amstell's future Britain is a world in which even the word "veganism" has disappeared, since it simply signifies the cultural norm; "carnism" has instead come in to use to describe the ancestral diet, as well as the extremist ideology that justified it. As Amstell has it, our present-day world is one where it's normal to suck on the teats of a cow who has had her "babies" ripped away from her and either killed or locked up in pens in the dark. If you prefer to drink beetroot juice instead, you're the maniac!

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Stuart Watkins
Comment editor, MoneyWeek

Stuart graduated from the University of Leeds with an honours degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and from Bath Spa University College with a postgraduate diploma in creative writing. 

He started his career in journalism working on newspapers and magazines for the medical profession before joining MoneyWeek shortly after its first issue appeared in November 2000. He has worked for the magazine ever since, and is now the comment editor. 

He has long had an interest in political economy and philosophy and writes occasional think pieces on this theme for the magazine, as well as a weekly round up of the best blogs in finance. 

His work has appeared in The Lancet and The Idler and in numerous other small-press and online publications.