ABSTRACT
As the number of vegans grows worldwide, fast and fast-casual food corporations have reacted in a number of ways. Some have seemingly embraced the growing vegan group, offering expanded plant-based options and advertisements promoting them, while others have countered against the “vegan options” movement under a veil of humor. This chapter provides a rhetorical analysis of various fast and fast-casual food advertisements focused on a seemingly “anti-vegan-options” message. Public responses to these communications are also examined, both from people defending the corporations and from those proclaiming offense. The “veganism dichotomy” this rhetoric propagates and the subsequent implications for those who might be vegan-curious but hesitant for sociocultural reasons are also considered. In providing this analysis, this chapter aims to capture a portion of the current rhetoric of “anti-vegan-options” discourses embodied by these advertisements, as well as an understanding of the tangible impacts this rhetoric might have on various stakeholders in the future.
