“Vegans are constantly pushing their agenda on others,” is a frequent reaction when a vegan posts anything about their lifestyle on social media.

If you identify as vegan, there’s a good chance you’ve been scolded by friends, loved ones, even complete strangers about crossing a line when you post anything that even remotely looks like a threat to a carnivore’s food choices.

The truth of the matter is this; the carnivore agenda is so engrained in the U.S. culture, you would be hard pressed not to be inundated with everything from social media images and ads, television ads and product placement in movies and sitcoms, roadside billboards and other signage all designed to do one thing, push the carnivore agenda.

When you consider the sheer number of fast-food restaurants in the United States topping over 200,000, and over 826,000 globally, it’s no surprise that advertisers spend billions of dollars to “push the agenda” to eat meat, dairy, and eggs.
 

THE CHEESE PULL

 
Have you heard of the “cheese pull”?

In advertising, the “cheese pull” is what you see when a paid actor pulls a piece of pizza from the pie as a mass of cheese strategically drips from the pizza slice as it is is slowly, even seductively, pulled toward the actor’s mouth.

In reality, it is more than just a tantalizing glimpse of melted cheese. It is designed to trigger the part of our brain that is not verbal, but instead responds to images.

The goal is to trigger hunger, thirst, arousal, and desire.

“A cheese pull is an image that “brings people into the moment and gets them out of their right minds,” said Mark DiMassimo, chief executive of advertising agency DiMassimo Goldstien.

https://qz.com/693590/why-the-cheesiest-advertising-trick-in-the-book-still-makes-us-hungry/

The cheese pull is just one way the meat and dairy agenda is constantly pushed.

With every ad, image, subliminal message and new item on the fast-food menu, children, teens, and adults are getting heavier, and sicker, by the day.

Let’s get one thing clear. This is NOT about fat shaming or body shaming. This is about exposing the truth of how people are being manipulated into an early grave not to mention a decline in the quality of life.
 

“COUNT THE ADS” TEST 

 
To understand more fully how pervasive the meat and dairy agenda is, take this simple test.

Turn on any television channel that airs commercials. For a period of one hour, count the number of commercials that push meat, cheese, dairy.

Compare that to the number of vegan themed commercials. There will be no comparison. If you’re like many people, once you do this, the number of commercials pushing carnivore food choices may shock you.

Additionally, from that point forward, you’ll be more aware of how often an add runs.

Here’s another test. The next time you drive along virtually any U.S. highway that display billboards, count how many billboards have images of pizza, cheeseburgers, milkshakes, sodas, and other similar food choices.

Then there are the small signs posted strategically as you exit the freeway, as a quick reminder to stop by one (or more) of many choices of fast-food joints to grab hamburgers, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza oozing with cheese that you down with a milkshake or soda.

If it seems like there is an advertisement for fast food at every turn, you are not imagining it.
 

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

 
As the population gets fatter and more diseased by the day, the number of food establishments (and profits) increase.

• The United States has over 200,000 fast food restaurant businesses as of 2021
• The US fast food industry market size (by revenue) is $296.6 billion as of 2021.
• McDonald’s is not only the most popular restaurant in terms of fast-food sales, but also in number of locations.
• Even though Burger King has the unhealthiest food due to calorie and sodium counts, McDonald’s is a close second.
• The amount spent on advertising on food, beverage and restaurant companies is almost $14 billion per year in the United States

By comparison, it is estimated that the global vegan food market was worth 12 billion (USD) by 2021 (less than the ad budget to “push the agenda” to eat meat and dairy.)

Statistics regarding ad spends for vegan products are not readily available.
 

CHILDHOOD OBESITY IS OUT OF CONTROL

 
With childhood obesity on the rise, children are at a marked disadvantage. As chronic disease is also on the rise, there’s no disputing the fact we are fighting a losing battle when it comes to what most people, and especially children, are subjected to with advertisers.

Roughly one in six youth are obese, according to the newest available data. According to data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, in 2019-2020, 16.2% of youth ages 10 – 17 are obese.

Six states with youth obesity rates much higher than the national rate are Kentucky (23.8%), Mississippi (22.3) Louisiana (22.2%), West Virginia (21.9), Alabama (21.8%) and Tennessee (20.8%)

In the past, it was believed genetics was the culprit, but no longer is this the entire truth. Rather than one’s genetic lineage, it is often food habits children are taught that play a major role in their weight and health. https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/children1017/

According to Fast Food F.A.C.T.S. (Food advertising to Children and Teens Score) less than 1% of all kids’ meals combinations (33 out of 5,427) met recommended nutrition standards.
 

HEALTH HALO EFFECT

 
Many people believe it’s simply a matter of saying ‘no’ to unhealthy food and ‘yes’ to healthy food. Yet, the challenge resides in the misguided information people have been given as to what is, and is not, healthy.

Not a day goes by that most everyone is bombarded with ads that misrepresent what is healthy.

Whether it’s on television, billboards, social media ads including LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, flashing neon ad campaigns in Time Square or the Las Vegas Strip, one would be hard pressed to not be bombarded with advertisements designed to encourage the overindulgence of any variety of unhealthy fast foods disguised as harmless meals that “do a body good.”

Many of these ads are created under the cloak of the Health Halo Effect. The Health Halo Effect is the perception that a particular food is good for you even when there is little or no evidence to confirm this is true. It is when a particular food is thought to be ‘healthy’ people happily purchase or eat this food unaware that they are adding fuel to the health epidemic fire.

More information on the HEALTH HALO EFFECT CLICK HERE. 
 

AD SPENDS

 
The great majority, more than 80% of food advertising is targeted to children, teens, and communities of color to eat fast food, sugary drinks, candy, and unhealthy snacks.

“Targeted marketing practices also contribute to African American and Hispanic youth consuming more sugary drinks and having higher rates of diabetes and heart disease, on average, compared to their white peers.”

More information on ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN. CLICK HERE.
 

KFC ADMITS TO GROOMING CHILDREN

 
In July 2022, KFC announced the newest addition to its menu, chicken nuggets intended to attract younger consumers.

“We’re targeting younger customers, like Gen Z and Millennials, who are interested in boneless chicken options,” said a KFC spokesperson.

“The earlier you can engage with a consumer, the more potential you have for building loyalty and building frequency over the course of more years,” Robert Byrne, director of consumer and industry insights at the restaurant consulting firm Technomic, previously told CNN Business. It’s hard to develop loyalty “once somebody’s past that window,” he said.

Full article CLICK HERE
 

“PUSHY” VEGAN

 
While some vegans are very lowkey about their lifestyle choices, others invest a great deal of time educating themselves on the truth of animal agriculture, factory farming, climate change, health challenges of a carnivore diet, and the overall demise of our culture due to out and out lies about what healthy eating is and is not.

With the rise in obesity and disease in virtually every community, race and age group, the increased threat of global warming and the horrendous treatment animals bred simply for the purpose of being slaughtered and processed for a meal, many vegans are no longer willing to sit by and hope things get better.

Many, like myself, are doing what we can to raise awareness. Whether it be a peaceful vigil outside a slaughterhouse, hosting educational webinars and digital summits, appearing on podcast shows, writing books, articles, and blog posts, we are not willing to be silenced.

We are truly a voice for the voiceless.

There is far too much at risk. Additionally, with all the noise from food advertisers, at the slightest mention from someone who is vegan about any one of the negative issues that absolutely must be addressed immediately, there is swift pushback that the vegan is forcing their agenda.

Is it that we are forcing our agenda, or is it that we are all at the edge of one massive cliff that is disintegrating right before our eyes?

The truth of the matter is that food advertisers don’t want you to know how unhealthy the products they represent are. With every advertisement you are exposed to, your health is further at risk, as is the health of your loved ones.

Educate yourself about the truth of animal agriculture, childhood obesity and the diseases associated with obesity and what cheap fast-food is really costing us.

Ready to let your voice be heard? Access the Influencer Guide at no cost to you to learn how to use podcast interviews to be a voice for the voiceless. https://veganvisibility.com/influencer