The CEO of the National Dairy Council has labelled veganism a ‘fad diet’ which she predicts will only last ‘two or three years’.

Zoe Kavanagh argued that the boom in veganism is at its peak and is set to decline due to the ‘expense’ involved in the diet.

She said: “I don’t think it’s forever. We all know people who have tried the vegan diet but have dropped it because it is too expensive and that there are too many restrictions.”

Vegan boom

Veganism has been on the rise for many years, and shows no sign of slowing.

There was a 600% increase in people identifying as vegan in the US from 2014 to 2017. In the UK there were 3.5 million vegans in the UK in April 2018, a number which has surely grown significantly since and is a huge increase from 540,000 vegans in 2016.

The number of participants for Veganuary rose from 3300 in 2014 to 168,500 in 2018, and exceeded 250,000 in 2019. This means in five years Veganuary has grown to 75 times its 2014 participation.

The dairy industry launched Februdairy as a reaction to the huge success of Veganuary, but it has been a huge failure after being hijacked by animal rights activists.

Kavanagh argued the campaign is the wrong approach to save the struggling dairy industry.

“The danger with Veganuary and Februdairy is that it will turn into a tit-for-tat debate,” she said.

“We have to remember, if it was a true debate, we would win hands down every day of the week. The dairy industry has to set its own agenda and take the lead.”

‘Unfair and untrue’

Dominika Piasecka, spokeswoman for The Vegan Society, criticised Kavanagh’s description of veganism as a ‘fad diet’.

She told Totally Vegan Buzz: “To dismiss a lifestyle choice people make for very important ethical reasons as a fad is unfair and untrue. Veganism is a compassion-driven attempt to live an ethical, sustainable and healthy lifestyle that’s here to stay.

“On the other hand, an industry as inherently cruel and exploitative as the dairy industry cannot last much longer in the light of the growing awareness about veganism.

“While other diets have profit motives behind them, vegans have no financial gain from telling anyone about animal exploitation – we simply wish to inspire people to live in line with the ethics they already hold in their hearts.”

What do you think of Kavanagh’s comments? Tell us in the comments below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

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