
‘Farmers Fear Vegan ‘Terrorists’’.
That was the headline of our local paper yesterday. Where I live that’s the kind of headline that could start a war. The barista in my local café held the paper up this morning in outrage: “Can you believe this? They call us terrorists but they are the ones killing animals.” She had a point. And society should be mindful of just who they call terrorists. The vegans are rising. Their numbers are growing and they’re vocal.
While many don’t appreciate the vegan aggression that was experienced in Melbourne, you’d have to admit they’ve got the conversation on the front page of papers around the country. While the general public ignored their film Dominion last year, the film that vegans wanted everyone to watch, the vegan community have ensured that this time the conversation is centre stage.
Maybe that had to happen. Maybe it was the only way we’d look at our plate and realise the impact of our choices. Only problem is, I wonder whether the ‘vanger’ (that’s what I call vegan anger) has just further polarised the carnivores into bloody defiance. Some Australians have only just started eating salad, they’re a long way off living a plant-based diet.
I live in Mullumbimby, where every second person is not only vegan, their dog is too. We have pop up vegan restaurants that sell ‘pulled pork’ aka jackfruit on a bun. We even have a nail salon that boasts vegan-friendly products. We may have started out as a dairy region, but these days we probably run a bigger head of vegan than we do jerseys.