On the veggielution of IKEA
Rumors has it that IKEA is about to release veggie meatballs after claiming to be concerned with the climate impact of the increasing meatconsumption in the world.
IKEA is currently selling about 150 million meatballs a year, and their hope is now to come up with a more climate-friendly option on their menu.
It all sounds good, and vegans and vegetarians around the globe are now praising the company, whilst eagerly awaiting the launc of the veggie meatballs in an IKEA store near them.
Once again IKEA manages to feed the world with its do-good image.
But let’s stop for a second. Let’s hold it right there and reflect over this grand-slamming news.
I do understand the first thought that will come to several peoples minds;
Hallelujah, more veggie food to the people! (And cheap!)
Or:
IKEA, what a smashing company. They are definitely eminent in their work for a fairer, more global-friendly society.
Or my favorite:
Yayness. More veggie food = less meaty food. This is indeed revolutionary!
It’s all fine, I get it! But don’t be fucking fooled by this happy-go-lucky way of thinking.
This whole story takes me back to the late 90ies. 1998 to be more specific. McDonalds was under severe preassure from animal-rights movements and militant vegans. All of a sudden a company called ‘Meaning Green’ entered the fast food market, claiming to be a sort of McDonalds substitute for vegetarians and vegans. Their message was simple:
“Our vision is to become a leading actor within vegetarian food, and to create a brand that represents a holistic worldview; one that protects humans as well as animals and the environment”. Full stop.
Similar to the case of IKEA, vegetarians, vegans and animal-rights activists were exulting. Ethics was back in the news!
What ‘Meaning Green’ forgot to mention was that their main owner did bring more than 2000 pigs to slaughter every year. Ethical, environmental-friendly or just another way to cash in some folded money from another type of audience?
IKEA is a huge, commercial, capitalistic company just like any other major company in this system. Thusly IKEA is a contributer to, and a supporter of the system that fundamentally has generated, and still generates the rapidly increasing meat-industry that they insist on being concerned with.
The idea of introducing veggie meatballs is not a way for IKEA to take responsibility for the increasing meatconsumption. Nor is it a way for the company to stand up for the environment.
It is a mere way for the principal owners to cash in on even more people.
In this way, IKEA will sell their 150 million meatballs a year as well as an addition of X amount of veggie meatballs.
The sum: increased profits and decreased external criticism. Fuck environment, fuck meat-industry. Fuck animals.Bo-fucking-ya.
I get the liberal way of thinking that the coming veggie-meatballs is a good way to make sure that “even people who opt out meat” can choose to eat at IKEA stores.
I respect that people become vegetarians and vegans for unpolitical reasons.
But don’t for a second think that this is a way for IKEA to take responsibility for the meatproduction, meatcomsumtion, a more equitable selection of food in their restaurants nor the environment.
Most vegetarian semi-manufactured foods requires shit loads of energy, and even though the question of the environmental impact of these products hasn’t ben studied enough, it’s becoming more and more clear that most of them are equally bad for the environment as the consumption of fish or chicken. No, no animals are being slaughtered in order to fabricate these products, but from a climate perspective the argument does not hold.
Every individual that decides to exclude meat from their diet does it for their own, specific reasons. This text is not about discussing the various reasons, nor to weigh them against eachother. However, when it comes to the pros and cons of big companies cashing in benefactor points (as well as monetary profits) by preaching ethics, at least I will choose to look a bit further behind the curtains before I fire my cannons and bang my drums.
