A vegan activist has vowed to boycott Subway for sending 'degrading' flyers out 'mocking' Veganuary - because they jokingly suggesting customers enjoy alternatives such as 'Steakuary' and 'Turkeyuary'.
Jamie Carter received the 'very disappointing' promotional leaflet in the post earlier this month that listed Veganuary, followed by Tunauary, ChickenTeriyakiuary and B.M.T.uary, among other meaty month names.
The 27-year-old forklift driver, who has been a vegan for two years and was previously vegetarian for 18 years, then posted about the pamphlet to his Facebook followers - who branded it 'pathetic'.
Now the animal rights activist has vowed to boycott Subway despite having 'at least 10' within walking distance of his home as he feels the chain have 'undone their efforts' to support plant-based eating.
Jamie, from Norwich, Norfolk, said: "I'm not happy, I felt disappointed. I thought I might fancy a Subway so went to see if they had any offers in the leaflet. I turned it over and to my dismay I felt they were making a mockery of Veganuary.
"I've never seen any company, let alone such a big one, make a mockery of Veganuary. They include so many meats like 'Steakuary' or 'Turkeybreastuary, it was just a marketing opportunity for them
"I'd rather they just promoted Veganuary, it was unnecessary to add all the other terms. This should be a time of promoting a more ethical option.
"I was just pretty dumbfounded. I've never seen any other wording like that. I'll happily boycott them now."
Disappointed Jamie then posted a picture of the advert on Facebook to his followers, many of whom felt the same as him.
Jamie wrote: "Subway UK & Ireland very disappointed with you making a mockery of Veganuary.
"Posting a leaflet promoting people to eat whoever they want instead of promoting a cruelty-free compassionate option.
"SHAME ON YOU."
Jamie said: "This is a month where it should really be hitting home that there's other tasty options. I posted it online to see if anyone else had the same feelings as me, and an awful lot of people do.
"That was the first time I've ever addressed a big company directly and I've still not had a response from them.
"It's a leaflet with six vouchers inside - only one of which is for their plant-based section. The rest apply to any of their meat or dairy products.
"Other than the post, people have been contacting me [privately]. The general consensus is that people aren't happy. I do generally speak to like-minded people and they think it's degrading to the cause.
"I thought [Subway] had made a step in the right direction by bringing out plant-based options and they've done a 180 now.
"It's like they've undone their efforts so far."
After posting online, Jamie's post attracted 25 comments from others who felt the marketing material 'didn't reflect well' on Subway.
Subway was contacted for comment.
