Veganism has come a long way, so much so that in some parts of the world it is now almost as convienient a way to eat as being a carnivore.

It wasn’t so long ago that a Vegan would have severely limited choice in supermarkets and restaurants, and it was seen mostly as a fad. Once upon a time it was hard just to be a vegetarian!

But then the pop-up vegan food shops came along; vegan food made by vegans for the benefit of the animals. A lot of these traders were independent, and they put in a lot of hours for not much profit.

Now the supermarkets and big chain restaurants have caught on. Even places previously seen as grubby such as Greggs have now changed their image and regularly sell out of their vegan sausage rolls. Providing fantastic choice especially with Vegan readymade stores, but at the expense of the independent vegan traders, and all for the money rather than the animals.

It’s not hard to find supermarkets, celebrities and sportspeople all endorsing vegan food, which is great. However I wish the reasoning for this wasn’t so selfish.

Supermarkets now sell vegan food as its easy profit. sportspeople eat vegan as it improves their performance, and celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver promote vegan dishes because they have a new book to promote.

These are all perfectly valid reasons, but entirely selfish. I hoped the main reason people choose these diets is simply to save animals from unnecessary suffering. I hoped Jamie Oliver would say that you wouldn’t eat a cat or a dog, so why would you eat a goat or a cow?

Even Simon Cowell has recently turned vegan, though mostly for health reasons, and of course vanity. “If I was on a one to 10 scale of being handsome, I was an eight and now I’ve gone to an 11“. Yuck.

It’s fantastic that vegan diets are growing in popularity. The more people eating less animals should mean less are being slaughtered.

I just wish the reasoning was more to do with empathy rather than self worth.