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Influencers

Here’s why That Vegan Teacher was banned from TikTok

By Alma Fabiani

Feb 23, 2021

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On TikTok, Kadie Karen Diekmeye was mostly known as @ThatVeganTeacher. With over a million followers, she was infamous for the cringe-worthy videos she posted with the aim of educating people about veganism. That Vegan Teacher was often criticised for her content as some believed she was forcing people to turn vegan.

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It is reported that her account was banned due to “multiple community guidelines violation.” It remains unclear at the moment what these violations were exactly. Before this ban, several people had requested for her account to be banned because of the ‘forceful’ content she posted.

Some TikTok users had even created a petition to make it happen. The petition alleged that the creator “has violated multiple community guidelines in various videos, duets, and sounds.” It further added that some of her statements were problematic.

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As of today, the petition has more than 20,000 signatures, and counting! Meanwhile, others addressed her problematic content on Twitter. It is unclear if her TikTok account will be restored. Banned users can make an appeal, however, it is up to the platform if it wants to restore the person’s account.

Before her TikTok profile was banned, Diekmeye would often post content on the platform. Her engagement got her millions of followers. Around the same time, Gordon Ramsay also reacted to one of her videos. Even though the chef was not happy with her content, That Vegan Teacher celebrated the publicity nonetheless.

Apart from TikTok, she also has a YouTube channel where she has nearly 24,900 subscribers. She often posts videos there as well. Diekmeye even has a Spotify channel where she sometimes posts content. As of now, she has not addressed the recent TikTok ban.

In January 2021, rumours surfaced on the internet claiming That Vegan Teacher was going to jail. So, was it true? According to a YouTube video, the rumour started after she seemingly poked fun at a commenter who claimed their friend died after going vegan.

In response to the video, one person commented, “Wait a damn minute is That Vegan Teacher actually in jail?”. Another individual tweeted, “So I saw on TikTok that the vegan teacher is ALLEGEDLY going to jail because in Canada it is illegal to call yourself a teacher if [you’re] not [one].”

Another added, “I got great news, that vegan teacher who forced people to be vegan and said that people who eat meat should go to hell said false information like ‘God is vegan’, ‘veganism is a religion’ is gonna be arrested.”

On 21 January, That Vegan Teacher denied that she was arrested or in jail. “Apparently I’ve been arrested. Apparently I’m in jail. Apparently there’s some article about me in the Daily Mail,” she sang in a video posted on TikTok. She also told everyone to “stop freaking out” and remain calm, adding that followers should go check out her free documentary, Dominion.

While we wait to see whether her account will be given back to That Vegan Teacher, we can only hope that more petty drama is to come.

Image by Stefania Zanetti

Business

Why is the world of finance interested in veganism now?

By Audrey Popa

Aug 13, 2019

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The world of finance typically brings to mind dozens of stereotypes, with movies like The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short creating a pretty negative connotation of the finance world in our psyche. The realm of finance, in summary, is often depicted as the epitome of human greed. And yet, in a world driven by the insatiable need to maximise profits, with little regard to much else, an unexpected new trend can be spotted to be making waves. Against all odds, it looks as though capitalism could be going vegan.

Urban Dictionary’s number one definition of the Finance Bro is: “One who drives a BMW with white interior leather, balks at dehumanizing hookers and overall douchey appearance to impress everyone around him with the finance firm he works for.” Finance culture has obviously got a pretty bad reputation, and for valid reasons. Meme accounts like @litquidity perpetuate memes of what it means to work in finance with starter packs featuring JUUL pods, golfing, and cis white men interning at Goldman.

Veganism and the wave of social awareness regarding the environment have just recently become popularised. Veganism, in complete contrast, used to be reserved for the few that many used to perceive as too ‘hippy’. The finance bro and the realm of veganism seem as far away from each other on the spectrum of humanity as possible, and yet somehow we’re seeing them merge.

The Economist referred to 2019 as “The year of the vegan,” due not only to the general public’s swing toward veganism, but, evidently, the financial sector’s shift as well. Veganism isn’t solely about eating a certain way; rather, the idea is focused on individual lifestyle and health concerns related to what is mostly environmental damage caused by animal agriculture.

So how are these trends affecting those on Wall Street? Luckily, there’s a need to stay on-trend, as millennials begin investing and changing habits. With the number of Americans identifying as vegan having soared sixfold since 2017 according to GlobalData, it has become evident that there’s big money in veganism. Protein alternatives have recently dominated headlines, with Beyond Meats and Impossible Food making waves in financial sectors.

In recent years, consumers have also been demanding from companies and financial institutions to report on environmental, social, and governance issues (ESG), with regulation slowly coming into place to enforce such demands. Another reason why veganism and environmentalism are both looking lucrative to the finance industry’s own agenda is climate change. The risks associated with climate disasters pose a serious threat to people and, therefore, to investments. The looming financial consequences of climate change have become enough for investors to begin considering serious action in terms of sustainable finance. Unlike political figures, who are able to ignore the serious damage to come, climate change will hit the finance world where it hurts—in their monetary gains.

Investors are getting increasingly excited by meat alternatives and other investment solutions that provide both financial and social returns. It feels as though anything is possible. A vegan exchange-traded fund (ETF) is expected to launch next month, “seeking to address the concerns of vegans, animal lovers and environmentalist by avoiding investments in companies whose activities directly contribute to animal suffering, destruction of the natural environment and climate change.”

Of course, in the context of the entire finance world these actions are minuscule and new, but it’s clear that some of the finance bros might be going vegan. It’s just a matter of time now before we truly witness what could prove to be one of the most surprising unions ever.