Picking your battles

Vegan friendly Mayo!

This month I have come across a couple of things that I wanted to share with you... firstly Hellmann's are launching a new mayo that is vegan friendly! Now this was after an apparently well documented legal dispute that started on 10th November 2014 with Hampton Creek over the naming of their brand of Just Mayo.

The second thing I wanted to tell you about was about the new Ben and Jerry's vegan ice cream range. How about that for branding too?

Now, I wanted to share these things because I was very happy to learn that both of these large companies are now going to be offering vegan products. This is a good thing for me as an aspiring vegan consumer I can easily visualize these being stocked in my local supermarket. Whoop for vegan products! 

But then I read some of the comments on some of the social media sites regarding these new vegan products. The people commenting were not all as happy about this new turn of events as I was. Hellmann's are apparently greedy and only offering this product because of the unexpected backlash that abounded when they started their law suit. The vegan ice cream is not as much of a step forward for vegans, but instead is a way of them just trying to corner another market share. 'Why' some people asked, would you support these companies by buying these products, when they still support animal cruelty as a whole. 

I must admit this certainly got 'the little grey cells' working. 'Maybe I'm being a little naive?' I thought. Then I remembered somethings my ma say's a lot "You have to pick your battles"  In this case I think this is so true.

In life I do this everyday as a woman. I choose what to take offence at-do I take offence at the inappropriate joke made by the insecure man in the room, the man that holds the door open for you on the way into work or the person that says women don't garden properly. Should it be all, none or just one of these? Who determines what I take offence at? Just me and I only take offence when people try to put me in box and tell me what I can and cannot do. To me it is all about why I take offence and as a result challenge these actions.

So I see Veganism like a battlefield or a war. In any war that is fought for something as important as freedom, and that affects so many people, everyday will be a battle towards the war. You can see this demonstrated time and time over. Here is just a few;

• When Elizabeth Fry  set up the Association for the Improvements of the Female Prisoners in Newgate in 1817. This battle was not the end of the war for prisoners rights. In fact as recently as 10th Feb 2015 prisoners were contesting their rights to vote in elections.
• When Emmeline Pankhurst started the new women's political movement in 1903 the war on sexism hadn't just started but is marked as a battle in our history. It certainly wasn't won that day when you consider issues like some women working for British Airways not being allowed to wear trousers to work until 5th February 2016.
• When  Rosa Parks refused to stand on the bus in 1st December 1955 the war on racism was not won. It was not the end of the fight. The battle still raged on and is still at the forefront of the many peoples minds nowadays because of the scaremongering that happens within social media against terrorism and the drastic action the government reacts with.

I can now with confidence say that I think that it is positive that these companies have considered an alternative ingredient, one that has not been the cause of an animal suffering and dying. Well not only considered an alternative but also acted upon it. Okay so they are not yet completely throwing out their old outdated ways but are instead taking a tentative step. All change starts a little like this. It has to appeal to the people who can make a difference and in this corporate world what better than by revenue? 

I am left thinking 

"Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory." Sun Tzu

We vegans will see victory and animal liberation as an thinking person can recognize suffering in others and will eventually strive to stop it. The question is not whether these companies are doing the right thing overall just are the starting to think? Therefore, I am pleased and grateful of this small victory in this battle that has been won towards the greater war.