Why is 'vegan' suddenly being used as a slur? | Emma Beddington
US republicans are tarnishing their plant-eating opponents at every opportunity. Yet vegans are perfectly suited to hold power – let me count the ways Cool news, fellow soy boys and girls – we’ve been promoted from feeble, tofu-eating wokerati to dangerous radicals unfit for public office. Politico reports that US Republicans have started throwing “vegan” around as a tactic to tarnish their…
In recent months, the term "vegan" has become a derogatory label used by US Republicans to disparage their political opponents. The strategy has gained traction in the media, with figures such as Donald Trump and Ken Paxton employing the term to portray Democrats as radicals unfit for public office.
For instance, Trump referred to Democratic Texas senatorial candidate James Talarico as "a vegan" in May, while Paxton sought to have the nickname "Tofu Talarico" associated with Talarico. Paxton went as far as calling Talarico a "vegan who thinks God is non-binary," a remark that struck the reporter as amusing in a political context.
The Republicans have also been rummaging through the past statements of prospective Democrats to tarnish their images. Colorado congressional candidate Manny Rutinel, for example, was labeled as a "far-left vegan activist who wants to end animal agriculture" following a press release from his campaign committee. Similarly, Arizona congressional candidate Amish Shah and Iowa congressional candidate Lindsay James have faced criticism for their support of vegan policies and the concept of "meatless May," respectively.
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