1. Veganism
Enters the
Mainstream
Nick Pendergrast

2. Veganism
 1944: Donald Watson coined the term
“vegan” and set up The Vegan Society,
after unsuccessfully attempting to form a
non-dairy section of the Vegetarian
Society.
 1951: The Vegan Society extended the
definition of veganism to be far more all-
encompassing than just a diet.

3. Claims Making
 Vegan advocates are one example of claim
makers.
 An important sociological concept in
understanding social movements and social
change.
 „Claim makers are people who articulate and
promote claims‟ and their cause is benefited
„in some way if the targeted audience
accepts their claims as true‟ (Ferrante 2011, p.
178).

4. Vegan Advocates: Three Main
Claims

5. Veganism for Animal Rights
 Alternative eg activist websites –
mainstream sources eg BBC and The
Guardian (Victor Schonfeld), The New
York Times (Gary Steiner), ABC and The
Sydney Morning Herald (Katrina Fox).
 Public “ready” to discuss veganism.

6. Bobby Calves
 Animals Australia in
many major
newspapers around
Australia.
 7PM Project (start-
1.00, 3.00-end).
 Not specifically a
vegan
campaign, but
raised awareness of
problems beyond
meat.
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/bobby-calf-cruelty-exposed-on-tv.php

7. Google Trends
Link.

8. For the environment
Veganism

9. Animal Agriculture and the
Environment
 Livestock‟s Long
Shadow (FAO of the
UN): 18% greenhouse
gases.
 World Watch Institute:
51% greenhouse gases.
 From The Guardian: „A
global shift towards a
vegan diet is vital to
save the world from
hunger, fuel poverty
and the worst impacts
of climate change, a UN
report said today.‟

10. FOR Health
Veganism

11. Health, Celebrities and Media
Attention
 Attracting media attention for claims is an
important strategy in successful claims-making.
 Celebrities contribute authority and attention to a
cause.

12. „The Rise of the Power Vegans‟
 „The Rise of the Power
Vegans‟ in Bloomberg
Businessweek: famous
businessperson Steve
Wynn; American business
magnate and third richest
person in hip hop – Russell
Simmons; real estate
billionaire Mortimer
Zuckerman; Ford Executive
Chairman of the Board Bill
Ford; Twitter co-founder Biz
Stone; Whole Foods Market
CEO John Mackey; Mike
Tyson; and Bill Clinton.
 „[Timothy] Bradley‟s Vegan
Diet Not New Amongst
Athletes‟ in The Daily
Enquirer.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/bill-clintons-vegan-diet-inspiring-14344849

13. Conclusion
 Vegan diet enters the mainstream.
 Claims made by vegan advocates have been
increasingly successful:
 Received mainstream media attention.
 Coverage has not merely reported on the claims
of vegan advocates, but similar claims have been
made quite separately to the animal advocacy
movement.
 Likely to have increased the perceived legitimacy
of these claims.
 N.Pendergrast@curtin.edu.au
 www.ProgressivePodcastAustralia.com