"The Vegan Society publicly endorsing this type of energy is utterly ridiculous and doesn't make them look very clever...."
My recent post concerning Ecotricity's so-called 'vegan' electricity caused some controversy. "How dare you criticise such a noble venture!" some vegans asked. Other more militant (though equally ill informed) vegans accused me of making the story up - even though Ecotricity have been promoting their vegan trickery quite openly in rather graphic advertising that shows minced meat pouring from electricity sockets. This company, who flaunt the fact that they embrace energy produced by wind farms, make such a big deal of being 'ethical' that they are in danger of being consumed by their own self-righteousness. My problem with the questionable marketing of their energy as 'vegan' is Ecotricity's love affair with wind turbines which are known to kill birds, bats and many other creatures and to cause catastrophic damage to the environment. Their electricity is in no way, shape or form 'vegan' - even though the Vegan Society have, for some very bizarre reason known only to themselves, validated Ecotricity with their 'Vegan Trademark'. Electricity produced from wind turbines cannot be vegan. "from a vegan point of view, wind energy is a very problematic source of energy..." VegaWatt (German Vegan Energy Company) So it was with interest, and a sprinkling of cynicism, that I read about another energy company, this time in Germany, who also appeared to have jumped on a fashionable trend bandwagon in announcing that their electricity was vegan. But VegaWatt are not to be tarred with the same brush as Ecotricity. Healthy debate about the future of energy production is no bad thing and VegaWatt seem earnest at least. Their website has a great deal of information explaining why they cannot support the traditional methods of producing energy and their arguments seem quite sincere. Though I still question the morality of such a 'vegan' marketing ploy, one interesting, indeed crucial, point that VegaWatt make is that wind power cannot possibly be used in the production of vegan electricity. This from their website:- ...."from a vegan point of view wind energy is a very problematic source of energy. Larger wind farms are currently being built on the border with nature reserves or in the middle of the sea off the German coast. As a result, the sensitive ecosystem, especially in the Wadden Sea, can be significantly disturbed and the marine animals living there can be driven out of their natural habitat. In addition, due to the so-called bird strike, the rapidly rotating rotors, both over land and over water, can lead to deadly collisions with the wind turbines - especially in bats, birds of prey and seabirds...." "Our conclusion therefore: wind power is not sustainable, not vegan!" And there you have it. Direct from a company that is genuinely seeking a more ethical approach to energy. How on earth can Ecotricity claim that their electricity is 'vegan'? It just isn't. VegaWatt ultimately conclude that the only source of truly vegan electricity can be solar power and that vegan gas can only come from sugar beet biogas. We know that solar power has its own drawbacks but at least VegaWatt are resolute in their complete rejection of wind power as vegan or sustainable. Though one might question their ability to deliver energy on a large scale, I admire the honest motives of VegaWatt, which are in stark contrast to those of Ecotricity who appear to be trying to hoodwink vegans and others into thinking that their electricity is kind to animals and ethical. It just isn't - and has the potential to cause immense harm to wildlife. People need to wake up to the fact that wind farms are damaging and destructive. Ecotricity's misleading advertising is unhelpful and even dishonest. And the Vegan Society publicly endorsing this type of energy is utterly ridiculous and doesn't make them look very clever. I reiterate here that wind energy cannot be vegan - neither can it be green - it is harmful and unsustainable.
3 Comments
Luke
6/11/2018 09:48:12 am
Hi, I cam across your website after signing the petition to help save Ravens but now I'm genuinely interested in what you propose as an alternative to wind farms as I have always thought they are much better than burning fossil fuels?
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Hi Luke,
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Michael
15/2/2019 08:26:34 pm
I recently joined VIVA and have been listening to their podcasts. Imagine my horror when I heard an interview with an ecotricity rep and I realised they were endorsing their energy production as vegan. So now I must consign the word vegan to that lexicon of deceit and deception like organic, sustainable etc, words hijacked by big business for exploitation and profit. Many people have left the RSPB because of it's almost blanket endorsement of wind power and the money it's getting from it. Obviously they have been compromised and unfortunately it looks like big vegan organisations are going the same way. This is simply about honesty and transparency and staying away from big business for obvious reasons.
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