Animal Writings

[I hope this is ok...I want to take a break from discussing welfare reforms and animal movement policies for a bit. I'll return to the subject in a little while.]

Here's something I've been doing lately; it's subtle and almost effortless: Conspicuous buying of vegan products.

For instance, if I'm near the dairy section and I see someone eyeing the cow's milk, then the organic cow's milk, then casting a glance at the Silk soy milk, as if they're not sure what they want, I'll conspicuously pick up a quart of Silk. I do this because of the well-known phenomenon that people imitate others. I suppose my buying the soy milk legitimizes the choice or makes the product more attractive or curious or something.

After I buy it, I walk away and continue shopping, leaving the other person to himself or herself. Because of another phenomenon. If the person is a little nervous about buying soy milk—maybe it's their first time, or their friends all drink cow's milk or they think only new-age hippies drink soy milk or whatever irrational subconscious fears they might have—they'll feel safer and maybe more emboldened about making the purchase in private, when no one's looking. (Although I furtively sneak a peek back to see what happened.)

Silk isn't my usual brand of soy milk—the company is owned by a big dairy conglomerate—but in these cases I'll make an exception in hope of accomplishing a greater good.

I think this technique works best when you have non-vegan products intermingled with or right next to vegan alternatives.

I make a point to go to the nearby Whole Foods and check out the deli counter. If there is some notable vegan offering, like vegan meatloaf or tofu with orange-sesame sauce—and there are other people mulling around, I'll order the vegan dish. Deli purchases are far more public than taking a can off the shelf. You basically announce your selection, and then the clerk scoops it out, puts it into a container, rings it up, and hands it to you. It's a relatively conspicuous and drawn-out process.

Again, the idea is the same. People who may have shied away from the vegan stuff may now instead follow my lead.

Since many delis allow customers to try samples, sometimes I'll ask for a sample of a vegan dish that I think most people haven't tried but will like. That gives me a chance to say "Yum, this is good; I'll buy a container of it." Another type of culinary activism.

I would do this at the more old-school supermarkets in my area, but they hardly have anything vegan at their delis.

I tend to use conventional checkouts, with cashiers, rather than self-checkout. It gives me a chance to display my vegan goods. In line, people will see my Smart BBQ or Amy's Tofu Scramble or GardenBurger Riblets. I try to put the featured item—something tasty but not that popular yet among non-vegans—on top of the other stuff in the basket. When I unload items onto the belt, I try to subtly arrange them so that the vegan products I want people to see are visible. On occasion, someone asks me about one of the products. Which suggest to me that perhaps many more at least notice it. Today in fact, a friendly cashier noticed my pizza crust, marinara sauce, olives, and other pizza toppings and asked if I was making pizza. "You guessed it," I replied, and that initiated a mini-conversation about vegan pizza, all the possible toppings you can put on it, and how you can make it cheeseless or with vegan cheeses like Parma.

All this is pretty easy activism that generates almost no pushback. A way to incorporate activism into everyday tasks.

(By the way, this is the 1000th post on AnimalWritings.com.)

Labels: activism, shopping