The World Economic Forum and the Vegan Diet

Now that it's January, the World Economic Forum, the group with the answers to everything, have weighed into the diets of the sweaty masses once again.  This time, they aren't promoting the consumption of insects and weeds, rather, they are promoting a vegan diet.

 

Here is the WEF's posting on veganism dated January 7, 2022: 

 

I hadn't heard of Veganuary before but apparently, it's a thing.  Veganuary is a non-profit organization that attempts to get people around the world to try going vegan for the entire month of January, a program that was launched in 2014.  For those of you who aren't familiar with veganism, it is a diet based solely on plants with no foods being consumed that are derived from animals (i.e. dairy products and eggs which are generally eaten by vegetarians).  Veganuary claims that during their 2021 campaign, more than 500,000 people took their pledge to try a vegan diet.  Their aim is to have a fully vegan world but that's looking like a bit of a stretch given the group's participation rate since 2014:

 

While Veganuary and the WEF have various reasons why a non-meat-based diet is "essential", one of the key reasons is the to protect the environment, particularly reducing greenhouse gas emissions as shown on this screen capture from the Veganuary website:

 

The push to veganism is nothing new for our overlords at the WEF.  Here is an article on their website from November 2018:

 

Here's an almost laughable graphic showing the "growth in interest over time" which means absolutely nothing since it only relates to searches on Google for veganism and vegetarianism:

 

Here are some quotes from the article:

 

"Some of the world’s largest food brands and producers are now throwing their weight behind this shift, keen to benefit from changing eating and food spending habits. Danone, the French producer perhaps best known for its dairy products, invested $60 million last year to expand production of plant-based beverages at its North American division. Additionally, one of the world’s largest meat producers, Tyson Foods, purchased a 5% stake in Beyond Meat, a company that makes meat-free burgers.

 

Fast-food giants are also starting to take notice. In 2017, McDonald’s introduced the McVegan burger in outlets in Finland and Sweden.

 

Increased interest in and consumption of meat-free food is, in part, thanks to campaigns such as Veganuary and World Vegan Month, which have been promoted successfully through social media. Veganuary is a UK-based registered charity that encourages members of the public to eat like a vegan each January as part of their New Year’s resolutions. Interest in Veganuary grew by 183% in 2018, with 168,500 people taking part, up from 59,500 in 2017. There were just 3,300 participants when the campaign started in 2014." 

 

Note the reference to Veganuary, touting the group's growth rate of 183 percent between 2017 and 2018 and yet only 168,500 people took part in 2018, hardly what one would call a resounding success but it's enough to get the WEF on board.

  

The WEF also notes the following:

 

Hey, if celebrities are doing it, then surely it must be the right thing to do!

Of course, the WEF has nothing but our best interests at heart as quoted here:

 

"The benefits of switching to a diet less reliant on meat are sometimes the subject of intense debate. Commonly asked questions include, “How can you get enough protein if you don’t eat red meat?” and “How can you get enough calcium if you’ve given up dairy?” These concerns can be addressed by careful nutritional planning. And according to researchers from Oxford University, “a global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to eight million lives by 2050”.

 

The researchers also predict potential cost savings of $700-$1,000 billion per year from easing the pressure on healthcare, plus a reduction in unpaid informal care and lost working days.

 

On the upside, you can feel good about switching to a plant-based diet.  Veganism means that there will be more meat for the ruling class like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab and his merry band of oligarchs!