Veganism Continues To Surge Among Black Americans
Black Americans nearly three times more likely to be vegan than white Americans, poll finds, as activists say the current pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests have made the decision to ditch meat more significant than ever.
Activist and founder of Black VegFest, Omowale Adewale. Credit: Omowale Adewale/Facebook
A new report by BBC News explains why so many black Americans are embracing a plant-based diet.
Recent polls show that black Americans are nearly three times more likely to be vegan or vegetarian than the general population.
And more black-owned vegan restaurants are opening this year, while others are expanding their businesses to multiple locations.
According to the BBC report, “for many black vegans the journey begins with a quest for a healthier lifestyle”.
This was one of the main reasons why Louis Hunter explored veganism. He has recently opened the first black-owned vegan restaurant in Minneapolis, where over half of his customers are black.
"To nurture my community is amazing”, he says. “I pinch myself almost every day to see if it's real".
The current pandemic has emphasised the rampant inequalities of black Americans, who typically live in poorer, inner-city communities, where the local shops are more likely to offer fast food, rather than fresh fruit and vegetables. As a result, black Americans suffer from higher rates of cancer, diabetes, and obesity, than the general population, and are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
"While the root cause is systemic white supremacy, one of the symptoms is we have access to the unhealthiest foods", Tracye McQuirter told the BBC.
As thousands march across the country in Black Lives Matter protests, McQuirter says it is "urgent for us to take care of ourselves and eat well so we have the energy to fight these battles".
Earlier in the year, McQuirter, an award-winning public health nutritionist, launched a program to help 10,000 black women go vegan in 2020.
McQuirter says she was inspired to stop eating meat after listening to a speech by the Civil Rights activist Dick Gregory in the late 1980s. Gregory had given up meat in 1965, and memorably declared: "Because I'm a civil rights activist, I am also an animal rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike”.
For Omowale Adewale, it is important to link veganism with black culture. He tells the BBC that he was inspired by the Rastafari religion, which emerged in Jamaica during the 1930s, whose members promote a diet of organic, locally sourced, plant-based foods.
He set up Black VegFest in 2018, which debuted in New York City. “You love to see yourself represented. That's one of the main reasons why the black community has really galvanised around the vegan idea”, he says.
The trend for embracing plant-based foods has also been helped by leading black celebrities promoting the cause.
Beyoncé co-owns a successful high-end vegan meal-planning service, and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation recently invested in oat milk brand Oatly, with other backers including Oprah Winfrey. And Snoop Dogg is now an ambassador for Beyond Meat.
Unsurprisingly, many black-owned vegan restaurants are thriving this year. Slutty Vegan is to open a third location in Atlanta, Georgia, after starting out serving from a food truck, while Gangster Vegan Organics has opened a fifth restaurant in Riverdale, Maryland. Recently, a former McDonald’s worker opened the first black-owned vegan restaurant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
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