A few days ago, Beyond Inc. launched a new campaign starring Kim Kardashian with the intention of promoting their products. The mogul called herself Chief Taste Consultant.
In the promotional video, Kardashian can be seen consuming some of the brand’s products, while a couple of cooks pass her preparations to her.
“I believe so much in the mission of Beyond that I’ve stepped in to help with my greatest asset – my taste.” Kardashian says in the video.
It is not the first time that she has made content showing her support for the brand, since in the past she did some streaming showing how she prepared her taco recipes with Beyond Meat for her children, which was published on her sister Kourtney’s blog (Home-Poosh).
She has even come to show the contents of her fridge where she boasts of having many products of this brand for her day-to-day life at home. However, Kardashian is not vegan (although she calls herself 98% vegan), as she is known to consume animal products when she dines out and wears fur in her clothing as well.
Beyond has used several celebrities before to promote its products, Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Shay Mitchell and Lisa Koshy are some of those who have joined the mission to spread the benefits of consuming these plant-based meats. However, none of them have the power of dissemination as great as Kim Kardashian. Its influence is almost a guarantee seal for many products to be sold massively.
All this behavior is not gratuitous, as there is a very strong economic reason for Beyond to make this decision. It is known that its shares have been decreasing by 80% since 2019 and many people have questioned the quality of its products, especially about the nutritional factor of its meats.
And indeed, after this announcement, the value of the company’s shares rose by 8%, showing that the tycoon’s influence is still effective.
But Kardashian has been teased on social media, and many vegans did not take this publicity in a positive light.
Many people pointed out that she was not consuming any of the products, which caused Beyond to release a new video in which she showed that she was eating everything that was offered to her. Some chefs pointed out that the fact that she was at the forefront of these flavors and quality, actually implied that there was nothing convenient about being sponsored by her.
There is a big problem here, as this completely distorts the meaning of the word “vegan”. Well, it is not a question of whether the taste is better or not, whether it is a nutritional competition with respect to animal products. Not even whether a person with influence consumes these products or not. The goal is always to respect animals.
Kim Kardashian has trivialized the meaning and should actually use other terms to define herself (such as plant based, for example). For some people, this may not have any significance, but it can cloud the main objective of veganism.
While it’s a great joy to see sales of plant-based products gaining recognition every day, we must not forget that this cause isn’t about humans and their comforts, or how we choose to exploit their environment. Either using plant or animal sources for their food.
It should be noted that Beyond’s target audience is not vegans. In fact, they are focused on people who normally consume meat but occasionally look for other alternatives to take care of themselves.
It is okay if these products are consumed, but it is not okay to hide that millions of animals are still being killed daily for the personal satisfaction of humanity.
