I want to share a personal decision that I am continuing to stand by, and I know not everyone will agree with me. That is fine.
This is about where I feel comfortable placing my money.
Read more below.
Some time ago I wrote about my choice to stop buying products from Redefine Meat after learning that the company had donated food to the Israeli Defense Forces during the ongoing and devastating assault on Palestine. I cannot separate a brand from direct and explicit material support for a military force that stands accused by many legal scholars, human rights organisations, and international bodies of carrying out genocidal acts against the Palestinian people.
Since then, it has come to my attention that another Israeli food tech company, YoEgg, is starting to make moves into the UK market. YoEgg produces plant based egg alternatives and has been gaining traction internationally. However, according to a 2023 article published by Green Queen, YoEgg was listed as part of a group of Israeli food tech businesses that pledged products to feed Israeli defence forces following the events of October 2023.
I am not writing this to whip up harassment or to target individuals. I am also not suggesting that every employee of every Israeli company is responsible for the actions of a government. What I am saying is that when a company makes a public commitment to materially support a military engaged in what I believe to be an abhorrent and ongoing assault on a civilian population, I do not feel comfortable financially supporting that company.
What Israel has done and continues to do to the people of Palestine is, in my view, indefensible. The scale of civilian death, the destruction of homes, hospitals and infrastructure, and the collective punishment of an entire population are horrors that will stain this period of history forever. When I look at my shopping basket, I cannot pretend that it is disconnected from those realities.
My veganism has always been tied up with justice. Justice for animals, yes, but also justice for people. If I am asking people to consider the ethics behind their food choices, I have to apply that same scrutiny to myself. That means sometimes saying no to products that might otherwise excite me as a vegan consumer.
This is not about boycotting a nationality. It is about declining to support companies that have chosen to align themselves directly with a military force I believe is carrying out atrocities. There are countless plant based brands in the world. I am fortunate to have options. Exercising that choice feels like the bare minimum I can do.
You might shop differently. But for me, this is where I stand. I will continue to avoid vegan brands with direct and explicit connections to the IDF to the best of my ability, and I will continue to use this platform to be transparent about that decision.
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