Ireland: Veganism debate 'plateaus' amid interest in where food comes from - Agri Aware

From farmersjournal.ie

Marcus O'Halloran outlines the recent growth of Agri Aware ahead of the upcoming 30th anniversary AGM 

“I came in to this role in February 2020 and a month later, COVID-19 came. We had 30,000 participants in our programmes at that time,” says Marcus O’Halloran, Agri Aware executive director.

The atmosphere at the time was challenging for those advocating for the typical Irish family farm.

“There was a lot of public debate about veganism, anti-animal farming brigades were prominent. People were trying out different bits and pieces around their diet,” he says.

“That all seems to have plateaued, but there definitely is an eagerness for more information about where food comes from.”

And that is where Agri Aware comes in, with educational programmes in schools, open farm days and a high-profile presence at events like Bloom.

“I believe Agri Aware has responded to that challenge. Our numbers are hitting nearly 150,000 participants at the moment, a five-fold increase in six years,” he says.

Young people

Incredible Edibles is the biggest programme with almost 100,000 primary school children involved in that.

“But the focus is right across the entire educational cycle of primary and secondary, engaging with children from the age of five right up until they are 18. We have a chance to make an impact with children when they’re in that age of influence.”

Marcus O’Halloran, Agri Aware executive director, with ‘Come Farm With Me’ participant and pig farmer Hannah Ryan

“Most young people are very conscious of what they are eating, both in terms of the source of the food, and the animal welfare standards, and in terms of maintaining a healthy and balanced diet,” he adds.

“We’re reaching into urban areas; the highest uptake of our programmes is in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick cities. They’re the areas where people might perceive the greatest challenge for knowledge or understanding of fruit, vegetables and dairy products, so that’s a huge strength of our programme.”

Agri Aware is now celebrating 30 years in existence. With Limerick farmer Shay Galvin the widely respected chair, O’Halloran has been building a team of young and enthusiastic staff to respond to the hunger for food information.

There are now 12 full-time staff, compared to the four-strong team O’Halloran inherited when he came into the role.

“Some of them have been with us for four years, which is good going in this day and age, we’re a tight team,” he says.

It’s also a young team. “We range in age from 22 to 33, all people who are passionate about their work, eager to drive on. Recruits came from teaching, from event management, straight from college.”

O’Halloran believes the work is rewarding. “We can all see the impact we are making when they are at events or out in schools.”

Agri Aware entirely depends on the agri-food community for funding. “We’re at €1.2m of a budget, and while we’re stretching that money as far as we can, to increase our reach we will need to increase that budget,” he admits.

Events for all

Next Thursday 27 August Agri Aware hosts its AGM, reflecting on three decades of advocacy for farming. It takes place at the Harlin family’s dairy Farm, in Kilmessan, Co Meath (Eircode C15 Y7XF).

The AGM begins at 12.30pm. Lunch follows at 1.30pm, then a forum at 2pm where GAA legend Liam Sheedy will speak on leadership, teamwork and high-performance environments. Pre-registration is required for people wishing to attend.

On Saturday and Sunday 29 and 30 August, the Harlins also host the open farm weekend from 10.30am to 5pm each day.

Families are invited to follow the farm trail, watch milking, sheepdog trials, meet the family, sample local food and more,

There will also be cookery and machinery demonstrations.

https://www.farmersjournal.ie/amp/news/news/veganism-debate-plateaus-amid-interest-in-where-food-comes-from-agri-aware-928537

Is it ethical to eat at non-vegan restaurants? Here’s where your money makes the most impact

From veganfoodandliving.com

Is it better to visit vegan-only businesses or should we support vegan options wherever they are? We explore cross-contamination, ethics, and where your money makes the biggest impact

                                                                                                                                     Photo © SolStock/iStock

It’s a great feeling when you go to a café or a restaurant and you know everything is vegan-friendly. No careful analysis of the menu is needed, no awkward questions about ingredients, and you are guaranteed to have more than one choice of dish.

So, if we’re lucky enough to have the choice, should we always support the all-vegan establishment? Most of us probably do our food-shopping in non-vegan shops and supermarkets, we buy toothpaste and paracetamol at a chemist, and we go to non-vegan pubs for a drink. While it’s wonderful to support vegan businesses whenever possible, it may be just too strict to limit ourselves to eating out at vegan-only eateries.

Is it ethical to go to non-vegan restaurants?

If you don’t have a vegan restaurant near you or you want to socialise with non-vegan companions, a place with vegan options is the next logical choice. Vegan options deserve all the support we can offer, but for many vegans, they come with a few potential pitfalls.

If you don't have a vegan café near you a place with vegan options is the next logical choice. Photo © rushay booysen/iStock

Were my chips fried in the same oil as fish or meat? Did they use a clean knife and chopping board to prepare my food? And what’s the white stuff drizzled on top of my meal – is it made from dairy?

These questions generally divide vegans into three groups: those who ask and examine, those who don’t worry so much about the details, and those who decide what makes a difference and act accordingly. By the latter, I mean decisions such as having a separate set of utensils for vegan options is great, but it won’t help save any animals’ lives, so perhaps we don’t need to interrogate the staff about it.

On the other hand, finding a dollop of dairy cream on your meal is not acceptable, not only because you don’t want to eat it, but because it increases the reliance on animal products.

Either way, you know what makes you uncomfortable and what you can tolerate, so the choice is yours. While you may not want to eat chips fried together with fish, other vegans might not see it as a big issue. Cross-contamination exists almost everywhere. That’s why there are labels such as ‘may contain milk’ on dairy-free chocolate and other food items.

We would prefer it not to be that way, and in a vegan restaurant it’s obviously not an issue, but at other places, it’s a risk that many of us are used to taking.

Don't be afraid to ask questions about what ingredients are in a salad dressing or sauce. Photo © Enes Evren/iStock

There are still many restaurants that don’t have any or many vegan options on the menu, so, in my opinion, restaurants that have at least one vegan main meal deserve support. And if you think the vegan option is boring, try suggesting a small change.

Just adding some fresh basil, a few olives or some capers to a tomato and pasta dish can make it a lot more appealing! Clear and respectful communication is vital, and not just when it comes to food!

It’s a similar situation when a local shop starts stocking a new vegan product, and you feel obliged to buy it so that they keep selling it – in turn offering more customers the chance to try it.

Chains vs small businesses

So what about vegan options in independent cafés and restaurants versus big chains? It’s a tricky question, because it adds the ethics of supporting small businesses, as opposed to big corporations.

It’s comforting to be able to buy your vegan lunch at a chain restaurant, knowing it will be the same in other branches, wherever you go. If you don’t have any other option or are in a hurry, then go for it. But, without doubt, a small, independent restaurant is a more ethical choice.

Formerly vegan businesses

Now this is a sore spot… What to do when your favourite vegan place starts serving animal products?

For many people, it’s a betrayal that puts them off ever visiting again. For others, it’s a disappointment, but they will still support the vegan side of the business as much as possible, with the hope that eventually the non-vegan options will disappear again.

Either way, you go from feeling a positive vibe to discomfort, and that’s not great. On the other hand, the owners may well have had a tough choice to make: close down or make changes.

Many small vegan businesses have chosen to shut their doors rather than compromise on their values, which is commendable, but vegans and animals are no better off for it. Supporting a formerly vegan café that has a range of vegan options is still more ethical than supporting a chain restaurant with just one vegan menu option.

Would you rather support a formerly vegan business that still offers great options, or resort to a plain salad at a chain restaurant? Photo © nicoletaionescu/iStock

At the end of the day, we need to work with the world we’re living in, and encouraging even the smallest reduction in meat intake via delicious vegan options is, arguably, the way forward.

Negative news stories and disappearing vegan dishes at your favourite food joints can feel like a step backwards, but in reality, the plant-based movement is in a phase of transition.

It’s moving towards more inclusive options, and healthier, whole food dishes that don’t shout about being ‘vegan’. And any way we can support that is a vote for a more compassionate and sustainable future.

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/features/ethical-non-vegan-restaurants-dining-tips/ 

Vegan Menus May Be Hurting the Vegan Movement. Here’s How to Fix It

From vegnews.com

By Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

What feels like a win for vegans may actually be keeping plant-based food from the people most likely to try it. New research points to a better approach

We've all been there. We walk into a restaurant, and the first thing we ask is: “Do you have vegan options on your menu?” The server says, “Absolutely we do! In fact, we have a separate vegan menu just for you.”

You’re thrilled. You feel special. You feel seen.

But what feels like a thoughtful accommodation is actually a velvet rope—one that keeps the general public out.

After three decades of advocating for animals and exploring the power of language to do that as effectively as possible, I’ve come to a conclusion that might surprise you: We should not advocate for vegan-only menus.

While our goal may be to normalize the consumption of plants and to move toward a more compassionate world, research shows that the way restaurants market vegan options inadvertently leads to fewer people choosing plant-based dishes over animal flesh and fluids.

And before you get your broccoli in a bunch, I’m not saying we should never use the word “vegan.” I am saying that we need to look at what research shows is most effective for influencing what people actually choose to order from a menu if we actually want to change behaviour.

Many restaurants see the value in accommodating vegans as well as non-vegans, but having a chef who knows how to make delicious plant-based fare is just one ingredient in the recipe. If we want these items to actually sell to more than just a minority of diners, we have to look at how they are marketed to the general public.

Canva

Why separate menus act as a barrier

We tend to think that a separate menu is a convenience, but in the world of social psychology, it’s a wall.

When a restaurant hands out a vegan menu, it may make vegans feel special, but if a diner doesn’t identify as “vegan,” they won’t even look at that list—let alone ask for it.

This effectively removes the plant-based options from the consideration of 95 percent of customers. Isolation ensures that only the already converted ever see the options, which is the opposite of normalization.

I don’t want to live in an exclusive vegan club; I want people who don’t identify as “vegan” to eat plants and not animals. The more we make it seem like eating plant-based foods is exclusive to vegans, the more we are sabotaging the very thing we care about.

Canva

Integration is the key to normalization

The most effective thing a restaurant can do is stop segregating the plant-based options. Incorporating plant-based items directly into the main menu—placing the plant-based burger right next to the beef burger—ensures it is seen by 100 percent of the customers and removes the “otherness” of the dish.

If we want the items to sell, they need to be in the line of sight of every person opening the menu.

When the food is integrated, it just becomes part of the menu. Period. It sends the message that these dishes are for everyone, not just a subset of people. To be clear, the default should be that every dish is integrated and those free of animal products are clearly marked. If a restaurant wants to offer an additional vegan menu as a supplement, that’s fine—as long as it’s a supplement, not the only place those dishes live.

But visibility is only half the battle. For these items to actually move, the marketing—what the dishes are called—has to be as attractive as the placement (and taste, of course).

Canva

The “vegan” deterrent

While I understand wanting to demystify the word “vegan,” the fact is, labelling a dish as “vegan” can actually lead to lower sales among non-vegans. Research shows that for many people, the word “vegan” triggers a “deprivation” mindset—they think about what is missing (meat, dairy, eggs) rather than what is actually there.

To the general public, “vegan” is often seen as a restrictive, “members-only” label. By using descriptions like “plant-based” in the fine print—or a small, unobtrusive symbol like a leaf or a “V”—we trust that the dish can stand on its own merits without triggering that psychological barrier that the word “vegan” can invoke.

It turns out that descriptors related to taste, texture, and enjoyment are what actually drive sales. When a menu uses words like “decadent,” “smoky,” “rich,” “creamy,” or “crispy,” it’s selling an experience just as much as it’s selling the food itself.

The name of a dish is the best chance a restaurant has to grab someone’s attention. Think about it: a customer is far more likely to choose “Zesty Chili Citrus Roasted Asparagus” over plain “Roasted Asparagus.” They’ll choose “Tangy Ginger Broccoli and Smoky Shiitake Mushrooms” long before they’ll order a side of “Broccoli and Mushrooms.”

Even titling a plant-based burger “Impossible Burger” or “Beyond Burger” is much more effective than calling it a “Vegan Burger” or “Veggie Burger.” If it’s not a commercial patty, the restaurant can call it something exciting like “Smoky Grilled Grain Burger” or “Mexican Chipotle Bean Burger.”

This is exactly what we should be encouraging restaurants to do: move toward a world where plant-based food is simply seen as the most delicious thing on the menu.

Jakob Layman

(More) suggestions for restaurants

Once plant-based items are on the menu and marketed correctly, restaurants can further increase sales by using a psychological tool social psychologists have understood for a long time: our ingrained desire to conform to societal standards. You can actually change a person’s behaviour simply by highlighting that other people have already changed theirs. It’s social peer pressure for good!

As I discuss in my book, The Joyful Vegan: How to Stay Vegan in a World That Wants You to Eat Meat, Dairy, and Eggs, a study led by researchers at Stanford University proved exactly how effective this is. They worked with a burger restaurant to add a simple, unobtrusive message to the menu: “Our Meatless Burgers Are on the Rise.” On the credit card machine, they added: “We’ve noticed customers are starting to choose more meatless dishes.”

These two small interventions resulted in a significant increase in the sales of meatless dishes. It works because when a behaviour is presented as a rising societal norm, our brains are wired to want to join in.

Finally, we should encourage restaurants to look at the “how” and the “what” of their plant-based offerings. Studies show that the way food is plated actually enhances the perceived flavour. If a dish looks like a masterpiece, it sells like one. And aside from plant-based burgers and nuggets, restaurants shouldn’t rely too heavily on seitan or tofu. For many non-vegans, these unfamiliar ingredients still carry negative associations. Using familiar, hearty plants—mushrooms, grains, beans, and roasted vegetables—lowers the barrier to entry.

These are small changes in tactics, but they could have a massive impact. By focusing on flavour and social norms instead of restrictive labels, we stop making plant-based food a novelty and start making it the main event.

https://vegnews.com/vegan-menus-are-hurting-the-vegan-movement 

Vegans develop complex skills to navigate an omnivorous society, new research shows

From phys.org/news

Going vegan is a life-changing decision. Successfully committing to eating only ethically sourced, non-exploitative products—no dairy, no honey, no eggs, no animal output of any kind—can be daunting, especially in a society where most people are omnivorous. Foregoing meat and other animal products purely for ethical reasons can cause tension between vegans and their friends, families, partners, businesses and even other vegans.

These tensions are the subject of a new paper by Concordia researchers. Published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the study examines the relational fractures vegans sometimes experience and the strategies they use to navigate this challenge.

"We wanted to look at these fractures from the vegan perspective, since most people are omnivorous and familiar with trying to accommodate others' dietary needs," says co-author Zeynep Arsel, a professor in the Department of Marketing at the John Molson School of Business. "But what we studied can be applied in other contexts, such as driving electric vehicles."

Stressors on all sides

The study was led by Arsel's former Ph.D. student Aya Aboelenien, now an associate professor at HEC Montréal. Between 2017 and 2022, she conducted interviews, attended vegan festivals, protests and sit-ins to gain insight into how vegans managed interpersonal strains. Aboelenien also studied online news, videos, blogs and social media posts on sites like Reddit.

She classified relational fractures into three types: co-performance, co-learning, and marketplace.

• Co-performance fractures can arise when vegans introduce novel elements to shared practices or activities like family meals. Changes in dietary habits require accommodation from their regular dining companions. This shift can result in tension, misunderstanding or labelling vegans as "difficult."
• Co-learning fractures usually occur within the vegan community itself, when individuals new to veganism turn to other vegans for advice. Conflicts can arise over what constitutes vegan food and how—or even whether—to interact with non-vegans. However, this rigidity can confuse and repel those new to or interested in veganism.
• Marketplace fractures are caused by a lack of places where vegans can meet their dietary needs. Even as plant-based foods become more popular, most supermarkets and restaurants cater to omnivorous appetites and finding businesses that cater to vegan diets can be difficult.

"Many of the people I spoke to really wanted to discuss the personal struggles they faced, which in many instances discouraged them from maintaining a vegan lifestyle," Aboelenien says. "Many of them just retreated from veganism because of the stress in their personal relationships."

A range of responses

Aboelenien further identified four kinds of social skills vegans adopt to manage conflict. First is decoding, in which vegans try to explain their choices to friends and family members. They also continue learning about veganism from others in their community and developing an understanding of labels, menus and other food requirements in a mostly omnivorous marketplace.

They may also try decoupling: behaving parallel to omnivores while actively avoiding conflict triggers. Examples include preparing and/or bringing one's own meals to family gatherings so that they can share space, if not the food itself.

Other vegans practice divesting, where they avoid problematic food-related relationships whenever possible. This involves an uncompromising approach to the extent that they will not share meals with non-vegans.

Finally, chameleoning involves navigating between one's beliefs and a "go-along-to-get-along" posture, in which a person who considers themselves vegan will occasionally revert to an omnivorous diet to avoid conflict.

The researchers say the patterns identified in the study are easily transferable to other contexts.

"If you stand apart from the norm for ethical reasons, like driving an electric car or trying to live a green, sustainable life, others may take it as you trying to impose a moral lens on practices they've had for a long time," Aboelenien says.

"A lot of consumption is moral, even if we don't think it is," adds Arsel, Concordia University Research Chair in Consumption, Markets, and Society. "And when there is a moral element, it is bound to cause friction."

https://phys.org/news/2026-03-vegans-complex-skills-omnivorous-society.html 

Eco2026: Veganism needs a change of language, warns researcher

From camdennewjournal.co.uk

Ryan Bogle warns that hard-line warns will do more harm than good 

                                                     Ryan Bogle criticised a recent PETA campaign

A RESEARCHER has warned that hectoring lecturers will not convince more people to take up meat-free diets – and that vegans need to talk about plant-based food differently.

Ryan Bogle was speaking in the upstairs room at the Chapel Park Tavern last Thursday as differences of opinion were shared over ways to raise awareness for vegan options, the production of which are friendlier to the environment than intensive meat and dairy industries.

He said he was a vegan himself, although ate cheese on holiday and warned the crowd that he would “slag off [vegans] a lot” during his presentation.

“Veganuary” – framing veganism as a mission of self-improvement, like dry January or going to the gym – has ultimately done the cause harm, he warned, as has terminology like “plant-based diets”, which imply clean eating and dietary purity rather than focusing on other benefits.

So too has more controversial approaches by animal activists, such as PETA’s comparison between the number of people killed in the Holocaust with the amount of animals killed in Europe every hour for the meat industry.

“We need to reach out and reassess our language and communication as vegans,” said Mr Bogle.

“What I try to do is rephrase the same arguments in ways which are more outwardly friendly, rather than implying complicity or guilt to non-vegans. Bringing up the worst tragedy in history does the movement no favours.”

                                                               Ryan Bogle at the Chapel Park Tavern

Mr Bogle told how he hopes to “dethrone” plant-based health influencers in favour of messaging that focuses on the environmental and animal benefits of going vegan, citing an Oxford University study that found a vegan diet has just 30 per cent of the environmental impact of high-meat diets, which require more land and agricultural resources.

Producing meat is water-intensive, while famously a source of methane – emitting from the livestock – and fertilizer nitrous oxide.

Mr Bogle said: “In progressive movements, there are always purist approaches, and the fact that vegans are debating where they go from here is a symptom of how incredible the vegan movement has been so far in combating the meat lobby.”

But a full range of vegan views were aired at the talk and there were differences of opinion over understanding flexitarian diets in the context of expensive meat alternatives.

“The vegan movement is not plateauing, it really isn’t,” Mr Bogle said.

“Yes, we’ve lost some vegan food brands which all jumped into the market at the same time, that’s what happens when a new market emerges. Lots of companies jump in, not all of them survive. That’s how markets work, it doesn’t mean that veganism is failing.

“Vegans need to unite under the same umbrella despite the differences they have. There’s so much more at play.”

https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/eco2026-veganism-needs-a-change-of-language-warns-researcher

"Why am I a vegan? I do it for my mental health"

From theguardian.com

By Emma Beddington

Vegan restaurants are closing, RFK Jr is sounding the drum for carnivores, and the protein cult is bigger than ever. But eschewing animal products helps me ward off a sense of impotence – and despair 

Let's get this out of the way, because I’m itching to tell you (again): I’m vegan, and this is our time, Veganuary! Imagine me doing a weak, vitamin B12-depleted dance. Unlike gym-goers, vegans are thrilled when newbies sign up each January, for planetary and animal welfare reasons, but also, shallowly, for the shopping. This is when we can gorge on the novelties retailers dream up: Peta’s round-up for this year includes the seductive Aldi pains au chocolat and M&S coconut kefir.

I need retail therapy, because Veganuary has become quite muted and that’s part of a wider inflection point in vegan eating that I’m sad about. “Where have all the vegans gone?” Dazed asked in November, and now New York Magazine has investigated, with the tagline: “Plant-based eating was supposed to be the future. Then meat came roaring back.” It details a wave of vegan restaurant closures (plus the high-profile reverse ferret performed by formerly vegan Michelin-three-starred Eleven Madison Park to serving “animal products for certain dishes”), declining sales of meat substitutes and a stubbornly static percentage of people identifying as vegan (around 1%). It’s not new (rumours of veganism’s demise have been swirling around since at least 2024) and it’s not just a US phenomenon; many UK vegan restaurants have closed this year, including my lovely local.

You can be vegan and avoid ultra-processed foods – you simply have to live like a 1970s hippy!’ Photograph: Maria Korneeva/Getty Images

What’s going on? For a start, the Trump 2.0 “roaring” meat revival. As the New York Times reported last year, meat sales are up and fewer Americans are interested in curbing their intake. That movement feels partly provocative – an in-your-face rejection of woke orthodoxies around cutting your carbon footprint, consuming mindfully, or, generally, caring. There’s also the influence of US health secretary RFK Jr, saying what the seed oil-eschewing, raw milk-swilling “crunchy” tradwives and Maha cranks want to hear. His weird new inverted pyramid of dietary guidelines majors on making steak great again. The American Heart Association was underwhelmed, highlighting the link between red meat and animal fats and “increased cardiovascular risk”.

People are starting to think it’s too late, so why bother – they might as well be hung for a lamb chop

Beyond RFK Jr’s tallow-fuelled obsessions, there’s a wellness angle to ebbing interest in veganism. Plant-based eating fits poorly into the relentless protein cult: you can hit your protein goals with plants (even the new, higher US-recommended amount; RFK Jr won’t rest until the entire country can bench press Greenland), but it’s harder. There’s valid concern, too, about UPFs: making “meat” or “cheese” from plants inevitably involves some ultra-processing. You can be vegan and avoid UPFs (I do! You simply have to live like a 1970s hippy!), but it’s not a no-brainer.

I wonder, though, if other things are happening. I’m concerned that we have reached the “shrug and give up” stage of trying to combat climate breakdown and that’s also why fewer people are vegan. People are starting to think it’s too late, so why bother – they might as well be hung for a lamb chop. Plus, on climate, there’s a good argument that what individuals can achieve is exceptionally limited and that making us feel responsible is a cynical trick. Why am I diligently washing out coconut kefir bottles to recycle, when half the world’s climate-heating emissions come from the products of 36 fossil fuel companies?

More broadly, I don’t think I’ll surprise anyone by venturing that the world feels tremendously, terrifyingly bad right now. People need the odd little treat to face – and keep facing – the horrors. Is it so wrong, relatively speaking, to carpe diem and butter yourself a crumpet now and then? Of course not.

All I can say to that, really, is if you’re interested in feeling good – and who isn’t? – it feels good to actually do something. My veganism is basically self-interest, by which I mean, I do it for my health: not physical, but mental. Not supporting ecologically disastrous factory farming, not contributing to the regularly reported acts of abuse and cruelty in the meat industry, and making a – yes, infinitesimally tiny – contribution to cutting carbon emissions helps ward off my sense of impotence, and despair.

More cheerfully, something else is warding off despair right now: this daft new craze for “fibremaxxing”. Because if there’s one thing vegans know, it’s fibre. So hold on, comrades, keep the mung beans soaking. Our time will come again.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/18/why-am-i-a-vegan-i-do-it-for-my-mental-health