This has been a long time coming, but the time has finally come:
Effectively January 1st, the Calgary Vegan Meetup group will shut down.
About a year ago, I first met with the creator of this group, Crystal, and I met with a very small group of friendly vegans at Vegan Street Eats.
Thereafter, I volunteered to become co-organizer.
But I didn’t realize how hypocritical it was of me to do this.
For one reason.
I am not vegan.
I have never been vegan.
And most Calgarians are not.
Just last month, Modern Love announced that they were no longer vegan and would start serving animal products.
This includes chicken, steaks, and the signature beef options Calgarians crave.
The numbers don’t lie: less than 2% of Calgarians are Vegan and **4.6%** of Canadians. In 2020, per capita beef consumption in Alberta increased to around 79.1 lbs per person. This is significantly higher than the Canadian national average of 51.2 lbs per person.
Most Calgarians don’t want to just eat fries and “fake cheese” and “fake meat” when they could have the supposedly “healthier” meat and dairy animal counterparts. To most of these Calgarians, the plant-based movement is a sham invented by the fear-mongering conspiring “vegan extremists”.
Think about it: you don’t go out to eat healthy. That’s why you don’t find oil-free, whole-food, plant-based menu options anywhere. Think back to before you went “vegan” or “plant-based”: what did you think of vegans? Would you ever go out to eat vegan food?
Unfortunately, we have to accept the harsh reality:
There’s no market for it.
Instead, you find “fast food” chains like MacDonalds, Wendy’s, and even VBurger. And even local Edmonton plant-based manufacturers like Nabiti have gone out of business — even after striking a lucrative deal with Costco.
There just wasn’t enough demand.
And speaking of Costco, try finding the plant-based Rivera yogourt there — no longer stocked.
Even Subway got rid of their plant-based options. Want a sub? Only veggies for you.
Some avid plant-based eaters or vegans out there may argue that there has been a recent uptick in vegan restaurants like Padmanadi, but for those people, I also have news.
Just last month, my good friend Jasen and Riki had to shut down their Calgary whole-food, plant-based food delivery operation, Menu Mandala. Over the phone, Jasen explained to me that “there just isn’t enough business in Calgary […]. It’s a niche market”.
I’ll be blunt: the future for Calgary vegans and plant-based looks grim. The numbers don’t lie, and less and less Calgarians go vegan and instead flock to appease their animal-based cravings and adopt low-carb, keto and carnivore diets (2020).
It really is unfortunate, but admittedly, it also wasn’t great that with the influx of vegan options available, meat-eaters began to associate veganism with unhealthy, ultra-processed plant-based alternatives.
But by the same token, vegans know what they’re getting into. They know that it’s very difficult to survive as a vegan in Calgary.
I should know, being plant-based for over 6 years in Calgary.
So what next? Do we just abandon our plant-based lifestyles, follow the masses and kill the estimated 550,000 animals per year and give up.
Maybe.
Some people will inevitably find it easier to succumb to current of animal-based eating in Calgary, but others may decide to double down on their plant-based eating habits. This means:
- Participating in vegan and plant-based potlucks
- Joining vegan advocacy groups
- Protesting animal rights
Personally, I have done the latter and can highly recommend the local Calgary Plant-Based Potlucks group (Meetup). The members are all super laid-back, relaxed, science-oriented, and understanding that most Calgarians don’t follow a fully plant-based lifestyle.
For the vegans out there, there’s also Tawnya’s Facebook group.
For myself, I really am not the right person to lead a “vegan” meetup group, and admittedly, some of the co-organizers may decide to pony up the cash to renew the Meetup.com group, but ultimately, with such low adoption, and only accruing under 100 members in a year, it’s time to bid farewell to the Calgary fad that was vegan ultra-processed foods. As Beyond Meat’s stocks tank beyond repair and more and more people choose convenience over “confusing” plant-based alternatives. Ultimately, it’s very difficult, if not impossible to combat the Canadian and Albertan government subsidies for animal husbandry, and as the Alberta Beef Association continues to pedal myths about nutrition, it’s probably a lot easier to given up than to try to “save the world” or “save the animals”.
Until then, we can only do what works for us, and that may or may not include following a whole-food, plant-based diet low or completely devoid of ultra-processed foods. I'll continue sharing insights, recipes, and Calgary vegan & plant-based news here -- but my allegiance will be towards a more open, inclusive, and welcoming plant-based movement moving forward.