Vegans. You either love them or you hate them. I’m sorry, but there seems to be very little middle ground when it comes to the subject of Veganism and the people who choose to love their life that way. But at the end of the day that choice does come from a place of passion, as many vegans do not want to be fed by what some people would call ‘animal cruelty’. So it is understandable when a practicing vegan becomes upset because a famous food chain does not take their beliefs seriously. Or when they completely ignore their lifestyle and still serve them vegan unfriendly products to consume. Something which recently happened in a Pizza Hut in Plymouth in the UK, where a young vegan was heartbroken to learn that he had consumed a dairy product.
Pizza is a staple of many a person’s diet, because it’s just so good.
And there are so many chains and restaurants that can provide you with the cheesy and tomatoey goodness.
A great way to get fast and easy pizza as well as tucking into their some of their delicious stuffed crusts. Hamburger crusts though, WTF was all that about.
Another fast way to fulfil your pizza needs. Their garlic dip is the best one out there. Change my mind.
Pizza Hut offers more than just take-away pizza, it offers the full restaurant experience – making eating pizza an actual social event.
But this does not mean that the food chain has been well received by the vegan community.
Swabey is a devoted vegan and one day he decided to grab food at his local Pizza Hut in Plymouth.
For his main meal, Swabey enjoyed a well-made jackfruit pizza.
It’s always the case, after a good main, you have to get a nice pudding.
Of course he did, he now had the option of enjoying the ice cream factory like everyone else.
Sadly, Swabey did not enjoy the ice-cream, when he discovered that the toppings clearly contained dairy.
After this realisation Swabey was left emotionally disturbed that he had ingested something that had come from an animal.
Having devoted his life to being a vegan and to the care of animals, Swabey’s anger is completely fair.
Talking about the experience Swabey said, “This is appalling. I am outraged, heartbroken in fact. I feel like my lifestyle has been mocked. It’s a mistake that shouldn’t have happened.”
Although Swabey feared that the same could happen to another vegan, he also showed worry for people allergic to dairy who could also be harmed by the restaurant’s ignorance.
I guess Swabey is lucky that he isn’t lactose intolerant, otherwise the outcome could have been worse.
Swabey became a vegan due to his love for animals, and he was appalled at the restaurant’s ignorance to what is actually considered vegan cuisine.
“Even though I haven’t been vegan long, it’s still something I’m passionate and serious about.”
“It’s the fact that they have been promoting their new vegan menu for Veganuary, but the staff aren’t aware what’s vegan.”
Swabey immediately complained to the manager about the issue and was only offered a future free meal as compensation.
Swabey did not take the offer, vowing that he would never step foot in the establishment again.
Due to the attention that the story has received, a spokesperson for Pizza Hut had to issue an apology to Swabey and the vegan community.
“Ensuring the welfare of our guests is extremely important to us. All of our nutritional and allergen information is available in a printed book in each of our restaurants and also online. All of our staff receive specialist training, however due to the variety of ingredients used within the restaurant menu, and the diverse range of enquiries, as a rule we do direct guests to check the information for themselves through the formats available.”
“We’re sorry that in this instance, the wrong information was given to the customer as a result of human error. We are in contact with the customer and are taking appropriate action at this restaurant to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Do you think Swabey was in the right? Or do you think this is just another case of vegans complaining about the state of the food world? The decision is yours to make.