If restaurant offerings and airplane food are anything to go by, vegan options can be pretty boring.
But one woman wants to show that those on a plant-based diet aren’t just restricted to leafy greens and chickpeas.
Instagram account Ugly Vegan, run by admin Lucie Johnson from London, shares photos of greasy fry-ups, pasta, bread and non-dairy cheese enjoyed by vegans.
Lucie, 29, doesn’t want to encourage eating unhealthily but rather wants to make veganism more accessible and appealing by showing that you can enjoy your faves but from more ethical sources.
Environmentalism and health concerns were at the forefront when Lucie became a vegan and started the account four years ago.
‘It was a time where veganism was very narrowly depicted on social media,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.
‘I felt alienated by the world depicted: a sea of yoga goddesses with unobtainable lifestyles, showcasing colourful vegan bowls piled high with unaffordable and inaccessible berries, vegetables and seeds.
‘Veganism is often associated with diet culture but I wanted to prove that anyone can still be vegan for ethical reasons whilst having fun and eating a varied diet that includes junk food too!’
And so began Ugly Vegan, poking fun at stereotypical accounts that existed. It’s a light-hearted platform to show that plant-based options are pretty normal-looking.
‘I was vegan for my health and for the environment but I was eating food that was “normal” and ugly so I contradicted these pages with my most explicit creations and captions.
‘I try my very best to prove that veganism doesn’t have to be a preachy members club. I believe that I can help promote eating vegan food by showing that it’s accessible and inclusive to all.’
Lucie wants to use the account to invite more people to a plant-based diet in a more inviting, ‘non-preachy’ way.
‘Before I was vegan I was put off by the way vegans came across in the media and society but found my own way in,’ she says.
‘I quickly found that there are a lot of wonderful and likeminded people in the vegan community that believe that underneath it’s hype – kindness is at the heart of it all.’
It’s not just her own ‘ugly’ creations. Lucie invites her followers to send in submissions too.
She tells us: ‘One of my followers baked a whole vegan breakfast inside a loaf but I also appreciate the simplicity of someone just stuffing a sausage roll with noodles!
‘A particularly gross submission was when somebody sent me a video of a sausage stuffed with vegan cheese and the cheese oozes out in a really disturbing way.’
Veganism never looked so good.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/02/ugly-vegan-instagram-wants-to-show-that-plant-based-food-isnt-just-salads-11989604/
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