Bullying By a Vegan Company: Why Daiya Got It Wrong

Having been bullied since childhood, I know that others judge me just by looking at me. I am larger than others think I should be. Fatphobia is a socially accepted prejudice. Size privilege is a reality. I have been bullied in one way or another way several times per week since I gained weight shortly after my dad's suicide when I was 10 years old. I was bullied regarding my weight, told every day for a year in high school that I was a "fat ass," called all sorts of names beyond what someone with a conscience could fathom, and eventually bullied to near suicide myself. 

I know bullying.

I am passionate about veganism. I am an animal rights activist who has written on veganism and animal rights issues for a wide variety of national publications. I recently had the honor of writing three articles for "Act'ionLine," the magazine of Friends of Animals, for which I am extremely thankful.

I have been vegetarian for a very long time and am a fairly recent vegan. I made the mistake of assuming that people who can think and be open-minded enough to realize that it is very wrong to eat animal products should also be able to think and realize that size prejudices are wrong. Boy was I incorrect about some bigots! 

Imagine my horror when one of the companies I love as a vegan, so much so that I have felt the need to include photos of it in previous blog posts, posted a really horrible comment and post that I feel was very bullying.

Daiya Vegan Cheese asked over a link labeled, "Being Fat is Now Illegal in Japan :)" (Notice the SMILE.) Over this, the company asked, "Should This Be Adopted in North America?" 

Well, we'll ignore the obvious comparison of a country, Japan, to a continent, North America. I assume they mean the US. But...the important point....

How could anyone not know that is wrong? The company asks if we should adopt making fat illegal on this entire continent? That is so wrong on so many levels. It is bullying. It is further cruelty to people who are already victims of a socially accepted prejudice in this country.

Daiya then made a really half-assed follow up that ignored what they did and added insult toinjury by suggesting that they were "looking for opinions on healhy eating and lifestyle practices"....by bullying others regarding size? Say what?

The company stated, "Daiya Foods would like to thank everyone for actively participating in the discussion on our facebook page. This morning’s post was not meant to upset or offend anyone, but was just a discussion point. The Daiya Foods team was not promoting or agreeing with the practice in Japan, we were simply looking to our fans for opinions on healthy eating and lifestyle practices." 

Daiya has since posted a really half-assed apology that did NOT include an apology for what was truly offensive, the way that the link was presented and the offensive question that was asked. Daiya said, "Daiya Foods believes that each individual is unique and must be respected equally and never judged. We realize that by posting this video, some of our fans have been offended and for this we sincerely apologize. Our intention was to foster open dialogue and certainly was never meant to promote negative stereotypes. We have learned a huge lesson from this experience today."

That is largely missing the point. Eric Herboso said it best in his response on the company's Facebook page. What Eric said was this:

"Daiya, your apology is truthful, but it does not go far enough. You need to write a post that unequivocally says your company believes that people of all sizes are respected and desired as individuals. 

The video is NOT what people are upset about. Rather, we are incensed by the sentence you wrote preceding the video. You acted as though discussing whether we should have that kind of policy in America is an okay thing to do. 

Whether you wanted to or not, you have come off as prejudiced. It may be a socially acceptable prejudice, but it is prejudice nonetheless. You said the equivalent of: 'Should we implement a policy of firing people in wheelchairs in this country?' or 'Should we....fire black people?'

To correct this, you need to write a post that uncompromisingly says you understand what Healthy At Every Size (HAES) is. If you don't yet, you NEED to look it up. You need to post saying you are okay with the Fat Acceptance movement. This needs to be loud and clear. Do not be obtuse. Do not squirm out of a real apology.

I like that you are open and honest about your mistake. I like that you did not delete the video in question. Now all I need to know is that you have learned from this opportunity. I need to know your company, which yesterday was unaware of its own prejudice, now realizes that just because a person is fat does not mean they are any less worthy. You need to be CLEAR in your apology. And, if I were you, I would make the statement come from an operating manager ot at the very least someone high up on your brand team. And it needs to come before you post any other status on any other topic. This needs to be addressed NOW."

Eric was right. Did they address it, though? No. They continued to comment on other posts, ignoring the root of all the hurt they caused. They put little hearts by comments that mocked the fact that many of us were hurt by their prejudiced post.

And the bullying posts that Daiya kept on their page would make your head spin. Such cruelty and size prejudices were revealed. Someday people will really look on those bigots as we do other sorts of bigots from the past. Someone even stated "big is not beautiful," among many other abusive things. The real people who are not beautiful are the ones who judge others' bodies. Being ugly on the inside shows on the outside, too. These comments today have really opened my eyes to how bigoted and prejudiced many vegans are. It's sad.

I am so overwhelmed myself and really upset as I get at fat prejudice that, today, I turn to others who are able to better articulate their sadness over the issue. Sometimes I can, but not today. A commenter named Christa responded in a great way to the bombardment of bullying from fellow vegans on the page. I could not agree more with her statement.

In response to those who were mocking and critizing those of us who felt upset by the fact that Daiya posed the question of whether being fat should be illegal on this contintent, Christa Trueman stated, "It is the height of arrogance and privilege to tell a person who's been victimized that they have no right to their feelings of hurt. Daiya effed up by giving weight bigots an open platform to spew their hatred without then following up and moderating the subsequent comments. It wasn't the video per se that was the problem; it was that they (intentionally or not) paved the way for hateful rhetoric that hurts and alienates a good portion of their customer base to be posted on their Facebook page. To continually harp on and on about how the video wasn't offensive is to either display your complete lack of reading comprehension or deliberately try and reframe the conversation in a disingenuous and obtuse way."

I think these points needed to be explained and addressed. I have many Daiya products in my fridge and freezer, and now I must re-consider the ethics of this company, to say the least.

It is extremely upsetting when, as a person who does not fit society's ideal of beauty and the right size I'm expected to be, to have to deal with prejudice from a formerly favorite vegan brand after a day in which I already faced prejudices out in society. I am very disappointed in Daiya.

Please consider learning about Health At Every Size.