VegNews Using MEAT Photos??
Posted by sarabiz on Apr 14, 2011 · Member since Feb 2009 · 2 posts
http://www.quarrygirl.com/2011/04/13/rant-veg-news-is-putting-the-meat-into-vegan-issues/
Have you heard about this yet? Vegan blogger Quarrygirl posted that VegNews has been using stock photographs of meat products, parading them as vegan dishes! This really saddens me, as I look to VegNews as my go-to publication for all things vegan. I feel this is lacking any journalistic integrity, and honestly, is just plain lazy. You only need to look as far as their sister site, vegweb.com, to see the thousands of beautiful vegan food photographs!
What do you guys think about this? If you subscribe to VegNews, will you continue to do so?
Hip Whip isn't vegan? what?!
Reminds me of the Stoney Field Soy Yogurt that they finally labeled as milk-derived after several years of me buying and eating it.
I remember hip whip getting discontinued. Wasn't it because of a non-vegan ingredient, or am I crazy? I know for sure about those marshmallows, though. Can't recall the brand but we were marshmallow-less for a couple years until that Dandies brand came along.
I added this to the VegNews site, and I'll repeat it here. I am disappointed in their response. But I do understand; I run an internal corporate magazine, and while there's a vast difference I am not cancelling my subscription.
Yeah, I don't subscribe to the magazine (no $ to do so), but I do get their newsletter. I respect Your choice.... however, I think that I will unsubscribe to the email newsletter. Hopefully they'll see some dwindling numbers of subscriptions (magazine and email) and take it as a sign of a serious customer backlash.
I also agree that those who are reacting with extreme outrage are often the same folks who alienate others from the vegan community, who look down on folks who aren't vegan but might be trying, or might be interested, with such contempt that it paints the entire community as a pseudo-cult of fanatics.
Hmmm.
I sure don't want to alienate anyone--veg*n or otherwise--from the lifestyle. Why would I want to keep others from accepting veganism for the awesome thing that it is??
...but WHY should a veg*n magazine represent itself with actual meat in its photo spreads? Isn't the exclusion of animal slaughter/torture the basic idea behind veg*nism? Using strictly meat-free photos would NOT be considered part of some radical fringe of cultish fanaticism.
Furthermore, those who are suggesting VegNews is contributing to the abust and exploitation of animals by using stock photos - please. Get over yourself. I certainly hope those of that mind never shop at a grocery store that sells meat, eggs, dairy, or honey. Or visits a farmer's market that might have stands selling the same. Or eat anyplace that offers even a single non-vegan item. Or buys clothes anywhere that sell wool or leather. None of us are perfect, and every purchase we make results in pain, suffering, and probably even the death of some animal somewhere.
What?
I am one of those highly vocal advocates of "the only perfect vegan is a dead vegan"/understanding that there's only SO much We can do to maintain the "least amount of harm possible" lifestyle. I have actually used that argument--shopping for vegan food at a grocery store/co-op that also sells meat, buying vegan clothing at a store that also sells leather/wool/silk--when explaining that while Our consumer choices DO matter, We can't possibly buy things that are 100% detached from some non-vegan association.
But again, paying for photos of MEAT is directly contributing to some butcher shop/animal-killing industry.
If VegNews were to continue using that same stock photo site, but limit their purchases to strictly VEGAN food photos (I'm sure they do exist on there), it would be consistent with their supposed values as a veg*n publication.... even though that source also supplies photos of meat and other non-veg*n things, the actual purchases are what matter.
Personally, I'd like to see more people interested in veganism, not less. I'd like to see more people trying a few meatless meals a week and thinking about the food they eat. And the vitriolic crap I've seen some posters spew about this issue is exactly what's keeping some from making those initial steps. Keep it up folks, you're our own worst enemies.
I call bullshit on that "vitriolic crap" statement.
Vegans have every right to complain about a supposedly veg*n magazine that shows photos of dead animal flesh and LIES about it representing a veg*n recipe, who also deletes comments off of their site when people call them out on it, and then makes a completely self-absorbed, unapologetic, and non-committal statement in response.
If We can't have a magazine that accurately portrays veg*nism as a NON-MEAT diet/lifestyle, what the fuck is the point of letting that magazine call itself VegNews?
And seriously, what the hell. Maybe I'm naive but when a recipe is put up in a magazine, shouldn't the images that are used actually be FROM the recipe? It just seems dishonest not to, even if the stock photos were vegan, because when you look at a recipe photo there's an expectation that when you make the food, it'll end up resembling the picture.
UGH. Like everyone else has said, it would be SO easy for them to even post some sort of contest on this site where people can submit their own vegan stock photos. It would be FREE, fun for us, and save them all of this BS.
I think I'd be okay if they used a vegan food photo that was from a different recipe--like the picture of "Dragonfly's Ribs" that I posted earlier, to represent a different "rib" recipe--as long as it isn't so wildly different that the actual results will look nothing like the photo....
Still, You're right about the fact that they should feature photos that more closely represent the recipe it's associated with! A contest for VegWebbers/VN-subscribers would be absolutely perfect!!
Look around on VW.....there are TONS of professional-quality photos of well-displayed vegan food; it would be easy for them to find ones that already exist, and just as easy/frickin' fun for them to "commission" the pro AND non-pro photographers of VW/VN to make the recipes (testers!!) and photograph them for the magazine/newsletter.
OMG THEY USED A REAL MAC AND CHEESE PICTURE FOR MY RECIPE. I'M SO MAD.
I recognized that from the Quarrygirl pics :(
I am trying to get beyond this, and haven't been closely following the story, but checked them out on facebook today because I honestly believed that they must have issued a better apology/and brainstormed some solutions and not only have they NOT, they posted ANOTHER non-vegan photo on there for a give-away.....I just don't get it!!!!
The article linked here from ecorazzi illuminated a lot of how I think we are all feeling, that vegans are not a out-to-get eachother community, but a tight-knit community and I think what is shocking everyone, or at least me, almost more than the photos is the fact that they have not opened up communication about it....and they go on ignoring it after the insulting apology.... I am seriously much more irritated about it now than I was a few days ago....
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2011/04/17/vegnews-response-to-meat-scandal-may-haunt-magazine/
As I've said, the ignoring really is the issue that pisses me off the most. Of course using the meat photos was shitty, but I think the vast majority of us were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt & allow them to make things right. Well, they're not making things right & I really think they're fucking themselves over in the process. Now people who weren't initially pissed (LIKE ME) feel irritated & betrayed. Having our VALID feelings belittled & dismissed sucks.
Thanks for linking to that Ecorazzi article, BGS. I like this one by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, too: http://vegetarianfoodforthought.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-hope-for-vegnews-magazine-and.html
I just wrote a very polite comment on VegWeb's facebook page about this, starting with the suggestion that VN open up the opportunity for recipe testing/photography to their subscribers and VW users.
It was deleted RIGHT after I got a screencap.
motherfuckers.
ETA: I got an email notification that baypuppy replied to my post, but even when I refresh the fb page and hit the "most recent" tab, I can't see it.
Maybe it's just facebook being weird (wouldn't surprise me).
That's right, I used a swear, motherfuckers!
my inner SB just boiled to the surface in a frothy, loud-mouthed eruption. *ahem*
Are you sure it got deleted, CW? I thought that they had been deleting comments, too, but then I noticed that their FB page is set up kinda funky, and on the upper right area (underneath the featured photos and above the "Write something..." box for you to write in), you have to click MOST RECENT. I think the default is to just show posts by VEGNEWS MAGAZINE. Once you click MOST RECENT, it will change how their FB page appears, and will include posts from everyone, not just official VN posts.
yeah, I tried and it still isn't working (I've refreshed and tried other browsers, too), but the fact is that they've deleted comments from their site when they first got called out on it.
Even if my post shows up again, I'm pretty irked that ANYone would be censored if they're just stating facts.
ETA: I followed the link from my email notification in another browser, and I finally see my posts again. So there's hope at least for the VW facebook page...
Oh, totally. That's crap! I was actually surprised to see so many dissenting comments on their Facebook page, since they originally deleted comments like that from their website.
Yeah, I'm hoping that they'll see how much this is affecting their customer base and the veg*n community. I know this isn't the biggest issue in the world, and some would say We/I shouldn't get so worked up, but I think it is important for a veg*n publication to represent Us and Our values more accurately.
The scandal is now on a mainstream page, FitPerez (run by Perez Hilton). Here's the link:
http://fitperez.com/2011-04-18-vegan-magazine-prints-pictures-with-real-meat
This is embarrassing. However, if the author of the post, an omnivore, can see how screwed up this is, why can't VegNews?
Wasn't the marshmallow thing because Emes Kosher-Jel? It was marketed as being kosher vegan and was used to make vegan marshmallows, but in fact it's regular gelatin. They stopped making good marshmallow at around 2005 and we went years without a good alternative because of that.
+1 for me: The Seventh-Day Adventists knew it was animal-derived since the late 90s, so I went with them and didn't use it.
I quit subscribing to VegNews a long while ago, because the vibe was too hipster, veganer-than-thou. And they Aren't veganer-than-anyone. I think that is hilarious, and depressing. Companies will do anything to save a little bit of money.
Wasn't the marshmallow thing because Emes Kosher-Jel? It was marketed as being kosher vegan and was used to make vegan marshmallows, but in fact it's regular gelatin. They stopped making good marshmallow at around 2005 and we went years without a good alternative because of that.
+1 for me: The Seventh-Day Adventists knew it was animal-derived since the late 90s, so I went with them and didn't use it.
Can't remember why they ended up not being vegan, but you're probably right.
On a semi-related note, I work with an Adventist and although she isn't vegetarian, she brings me leftovers from her church potlucks.
Fun Fact: She told me if I wasn't gay, she'd invite me to her church (ha!).
I cannot believe they still are not addressing this!, I think it has def. gotten to the point of not just blowing over! The VegWeb users and subscriber helping idea for the photos is a great one CW! And it could help get that community feeling back into it! Why not VegNews!??! Jess-I feel the same, in the beginning I was like, "that sucks" but now I have gone all the way over to the other side of the fence to WTF VegNews?!!!!!
I saw all those comments on people posted under their give-away post (with the nonvegan cupcake) and nobody was havin' it!!!! But if you look at the comments on their page, when you follow the link, its as if nothing is going on at all! So they must still be deleting quite a few comments.
IF they have any hope of saving their magazine I think they need to come out and have a real apology, then give us some solutions (like yours CW)....if not I think everyone is pretty much over it!
Fun Fact: She told me if I wasn't gay, she'd invite me to her church (ha!).
Why don't you just choose to stop being gay so you can party with the SDA crowd, then?
Finally, an apology: http://vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?pageId=3180&catId=8
What do you guys think? I say better late than never, and it feels good to be heard.
Agreed. It will be a while before I will fully trust their photos again, and the old issues still gross me out, but at least they finally saw the light.
Wow, that response makes me feel (kinda) bad for referring to VN collectively as "dicks." ;D
Not only is there a clear apology, but the statement is thorough yet straightforward in addressing all those main concerns. I'm glad to see how this shaped up, and I'm looking forward to seeing this vegan food photo bank... Oh, AND it ends with contact info for direct feedback from readers.
I like it!
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