“You are what you eat” has a whole new meaning in 2022. Now, it feels like every morsel we put in our mouths not only has implications for our health and the future of the planet, but also for our identity. From vegavore to vegan, climatarian to flexitarian and reducetarian, what’s behind this need to label the way we eat? Do we even need to do it when the wider culture is collectively making more plant-based choices, so making this the new normal? And do these labels unknowingly undermine our good intentions in eating plant-based?
Once upon a time, a “normal” diet used to mean eating meat, fish, dairy and a few standard vegetables, but that definition has grown in recent years. As lexicographer and etymologist Susie Dent explains, “normal” has meant many things over the years. “The word first appeared in an English dictionary in 1658, where ‘normal’ is defined as ‘done exactly, according to the rule’. But ‘normal’ has continued to change and grow. The question ‘what is normal?’ is not quite so simple as it sounds, and when it comes to food, things are changing fast.”
So, while plant-based choices have shaken the idea of what’s normal, accurately labelling yourself is still not straightforward. Everything from vegan to flexitarian can be met with a roll of the eyes, regardless of the undeniable benefits of adding more vegetables to your diet.
“When such labels proliferate, they risk becoming self-defeating, requiring more attention rather than less,” says Dent. “Not everyone will immediately grasp what a flexitarian or reducetarian is, and few of us would know a carnesparsian if we met one.” Yes, we had to look it up too: a carnesparsian describes someone who eats meat only occasionally. “Once these labels become opaque and exclusive, their positivity starts to fade.”
In other words, we alienate people and undermine our shared goal of eating a planet-friendly, plant-based diet. “Not that all labels are political, or designed to further a cause, but food is surely something that should bring us together rather than set us apart.”
Food is a reason for us to be with friends and family, to develop traditions and express our love to one another. Because what we eat is an innately emotional and personal decision. And the trouble with labels such as vegan, for example, is that it’s all or nothing. You either are or you aren’t, and if you have a drop of milk in your tea then you aren’t. This level of commitment to a label can be a disincentive for us to make plant-based choices that we’d be otherwise open to.
As Dent puts it: “Even well-established food identities may, in their labelling, hinder more than they help. Vegans often feel that their eating choices are treated as a ‘thing’ by others, and are assumed to be somehow tricky or cultist. Equally, an invitation to eat a ‘vegan muffin’ will probably invite a whole load of preconceptions. If meat eaters don’t have to identify themselves as carnivores, do those who don’t eat meat still have to identify themselves as ‘different’?”
Just think of the uproar when a company launched vegan sausage rolls a few years ago. Would it have been the same if the rolls had simply been presented as savoury pastries that happened to be plant-based? The outrage drummed up around them was, perhaps, an expression of disdain towards a certain type of person. “Attached to veganism, usually unfairly, are assumptions of elitism and expectations of high prices: not everyone can afford to shop from the ‘free from aisle’, yet changing diets doesn’t necessarily involve huge restrictions,” says Dent. “As more of us move towards a plant-based life, our labels may need to shift to reflect a whole spectrum of new ‘normals’.”
And the presence of plant-based options is ever more apparent. Virtually every supermarket and restaurant has plant-based alternatives, making it easier than ever to adopt more plant-based choices even without taking on a wider label.
The evolving language around our food choices is encouraging. “None of this means that the vocabulary of food and our approach to it should shrink rather than grow,” says Dent. “Many of us are trying to be conscious and ethical eaters, and there is a vast middle ground between carnivore and vegan.
“Of all the new creations, ‘climatarian’ seems to hold the most promise – it implies an understanding of the issues at stake, and the freedom to choose what we consider justified and sustainable. Rather than setting us apart, climatarian seeks to be inclusive. But it’s not the most pragmatic choice, and nor will it be the last on the list. We will continue to search for the right words to express what we put on our plates, and why it matters.”
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