I’ve noticed over the last few years an increase in comedians discussing veganism. It seems that the topic of veganism in comedy has transcended past the banal, “How do you know if someone’s vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you” rhetoric, to a more engaging, thought-provoking, and realistic look at both the vegan lifestyle and animal agriculture. Perhaps comedy is collectively moving past the ‘denial’ stage, and on to the bargaining and acceptance stage, bringing the jokes and informing their audiences along the way.
Below I’ve compiled some vegan stand-up routines for some comic relief during these difficult times. Comedy can play a critical role in temporarily relieving pressures of grief and melancholy, whether about job loss, being stuck indoors, loss of loved ones, the inhumane treatment and mass killing of animals, living through a global pandemic, or missing friends and family overseas.
I hope this trend of using humour to educate the public about the horrors and hypocrisies involved in animal exploitation continues. I expect that the edutainment (education + entertainment) offered by comedians about veganism will raise people’s awareness about the realities of the world they had not previously understood and help encourage them to live a vegan lifestyle.
CW: language, sexual content
Drew Lynch – Why Vegans are the Worst
Drew Lynch – Going Vegan Improved My Sex Life
Ahmed Bharoocha – Those Poor Cows
Michael Anthony – Rotten Meat
Other comedians such as Tig Nataro, Nikki Glaser, and DeAnne Smith have also discussed veganism on their platforms and in some Netflix specials.
At the same time, vapid and tone-deaf comedy about vegans and, as this next video featuring Jack Whitehal demonstrates, the plethora of plant-based dairy alternatives now available, still make the rounds. The comedian questions why we have 15 different options of plant-based milks available, which many prefer instead of mammalian milk, yet still no cure for cancer: unbeknownst to him, cows milk has been correlated with prostate cancer in epidemiological studies. If the best cure is prevention, maybe those plant-milk options aren’t such an inconvenience.
Despite this, Jack eventually changes his tone and admits “we should all be vegan” in a sincere tone… right before making a “weak-bodied vegan” joke.
To quote Jack verbatim, to make fun of vegans is “low hanging fruit.” He continues, “There is no denying that your life choice, [is] 100% better for you, better for the world. I also know why human beings have a pop at vegans – it’s a very simple human instinct: as human beings, we just can’t bear anyone else who has exercised any degree of self-control.”
Skip this last video if you’re easily frustrated, but I included it to demonstrate the mental gymnastics that anti-vegan comedians have to do just to make a joke about people who try to do the right thing by boycotting animal exploitation (vegans). Personally, I find that quite amusing.
Jack Whitehal – Not Happy about Vegans
Here’s hoping stand-up comedy continues to shine light on the dark realities of animal exploitation to groups of people filling arenas, open-mic nights, and for the foreseeable future, socially distanced comedy clubs, and that the comedians still making fun of vegans eventually exhibit self-control and consider living as a vegan. It’s never too late, and we have delicious cookies.
Photo by Kevin Bidwell from Pexels
