Veganism has taken over, and more and more people are choosing to become anti-animal product consumers. Now going to lunch with my friends is a vicious battle over vegan values. People are not the only ones falling victim to this trend because now veganism has come for the beauty industry. The introduction of vegan beauty products is proof of that.
Vegan-beauty is a fraud. Going vegan is putting on a facade of betterment. Everyone I know who takes on the vegan lifestyle makes sure to tell me, “Yes, I am vegan now!” in a prideful voice that emphasizes the misconception that being vegan means being healthier. However, putting a vegan label on something doesn’t automatically make it better.
“Chips are accidentally vegan, but they’re not healthy,” said Sunny Subramanian, an animal lover and vegan advocate who introduced plant-based beauty in 2007 on her blog “Vegan Beauty Review” in a New York Times article. “It’s the same with makeup. Just because it’s vegan and cruelty-free doesn’t make it healthy. Its ingredient list can be chock-full of unhealthy chemicals and fillers.”
Despite it being known that vegan beauty products can still have unhealthy ingredients in them, the beauty industry will most likely market their products as healthier because they are vegan. They will say that their products are an instant way to feel healthier and happier.
Don’t get me wrong, being vegan does have its health benefits, but none of them will make you wake up a week into the diet with a six-pack of abs and glowing skin. Even if that did happen, the whole point of refraining from consuming animal based products shouldn’t be to better yourself, it should be to protect the animals. Ironically, the one thing a vegan diet does ensure, which is animal protection, is usually the secondary concern when people take up the lifestyle. The beauty industry is no different in this sense because their primary reason for going vegan is not to help animals, but to help their industry.
In a New York Times article about the introduction of vegan beauty, there was not a single statistic about animals in the whole piece. The article is titled “Why You Should Care About Vegan Beauty” and failed to even mention the component about saving animals, which is the main reason for why we should care about vegan beauty. Going vegan is supposed to be a selfless choice, but for so many it is just the opposite.
Nothing is wrong with going vegan if you are doing it for the right reason. Making the decision should be a matter of personal ethics, not personal fitness. It should be about our environmental responsibility, not a stunt to try and look good for spring break. There is a huge misconception about being vegan in today’s society.
With the beauty industry falling victim to the veganism trend, there is no avoiding it. According to the Chinese New Year, 2019 is “The Year of the Pig.” Ironically, The Economist declared 2019 the “Year of the Vegan.” There is no dodging this nutri-bullet of veganism. Get ready to say bye, bye to porky and hello to vegan-beauty.
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