'Veganism should be considered a religion,' argues journalist Liz Jones
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Veganism should be treated as a religion, journalist Liz Jones argued today on ‘Good Morning Britain’.
A vegan diet means avoiding animal products including meat, eggs and dairy. You can also buy vegan beauty products and vegan fashion, which do not contain animal materials or animal-derived ingredients.
And while veganism is on the up in the UK, with the number of vegans increasing by 360% in the past decade, Liz believes it needs to go one step further.
She told Piers Morgan: “It’s a deeply held belief, it’s a passion I believe in not making others suffer. I believe in the most vulnerable members of our society, which is farm animals, should be treated with respect.
“People like me are always ridiculed. We ridicule Suffragettes, we ridicule civil rights movement, this is the next big movement. It’s more important than Brexit, this is the debate about the future of the planet and how we treat the animals we share it with.’
“It’s animals, I love animals. I believe a religion isn’t so much about a god, it’s about respecting others.”
She was subsequently ridiculed by Twitter users for her statement.
Right, so if i believe in Aliens can we make this a religion too ??? pic.twitter.com/MkLQhF9SHy
— kim🐝 (@kimnsib) December 5, 2018
If you look up the meaning of ‘religion’ it means believing in a Superhuman or God…..so nothing to do with food 😂😂😂
— Julie (@Julie16674401) December 5, 2018
From years of running pubs… vegetarians and their far more holy counterparts vegans are nothing more than attention seekers who like to make themselves look pc and proper by loudly complaining in front of a captive audience
— Martin Hodson (@MartinHodson5) December 5, 2018
Diet should not be a religion.
— Princess Isobel Aura (@IsobelAura) December 5, 2018
And while a vegan user understood where Liz was coming from, her ‘religion’ comments still proved controversial.
As a Vegan myself, no I don’t believe Veganism should become a religion however I do think that we should be shown some respect in our choices. Piers was totally out of order this morning talking over Lz continuously.
— TraceyH (@TraceyHdgs1972) December 5, 2018
While claiming veganism as your religious belief might be a bit of a jump, those who decide to follow a vegan diet choose to for a number of reasons including better health, weight loss and a longer life.
A spokesperson for The Vegan Society made clear to Yahoo UK that veganism is a “protected belief, not a region, under the Equality Act 2010.”
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