It’s January, and that marks the beginning of the ever-popular Veganuary supported by millions across the world. Be it for the health benefits, ethical beliefs, or environmental concerns, the movement encourages people to take up a vegan diet for the first month of the year.
In a strange turn of events, London Dungeon, the world-famous attraction offering an interactive look at some of the gory moments in London’s past, appears to have banned vegans from entry this month. VeBANuary, they’re calling it…
Apparently, this comes in support of one London Dungeon’s grizzly live characters, Mrs Lovett, a fictional character who acted as Sweeney Todd’s accomplice and created human meat pies. “If she doesn’t do vegan, neither will we!” is the thinking behind the idea.
When the press release for this information came through, a couple of thoughts came to mind for what’s going on here. Let’s unpack them.
Scenario one: It’s a joke, and we’ve taken the “gotcha” bait. In which case, haha…
Scenario two: This is actually a fully fleshed out policy. That has been thought through. Banning people based on how they choose to eat. Not a great look, guys.
Given the lack of content about this “veBANuary” on the London Dungeon website and social media pages (not to mention the pretty unbelievable nature of the so-called policy), I heavily suspect the former scenario.
Above all, it sure seems a great way to put off many a visitor. 2020 saw 400,000 people sign up to the non-profit movement of Veganuary, a number that has increased every year since 2014. And that number is likely to be dwarfed by a figure that includes those who practiced a vegan diet without signing up anywhere.
The “policy” is said to run between January 3 – 31, though I very much doubt this is a Berghain scenario where the pesky vegans are snuffed out in the queue by a cunning bouncer. In fact, I don’t think anyone is really barring you entry if you say you are a vegan. At this point, I. Am. Just. Confused.
In the press release, a London Dungeon spokesperson (supposedly) said: “This Veganuary, the London Dungeon has decided to stand behind our Mrs Lovett and her iconic but somewhat suspicious meat pies.
“If she doesn’t do vegan, neither will we! So we’ve decided to not only ignore Veganuary but launch our very own version, denying entry to any vegan visitor who tries to darken our Dungeon. And the best bit, no need for additional security to help identify the veggie lovers, as we know they will most likely mention it within minutes of stepping foot into the attraction!”
Hilarious.
Anyway, if you’re taking part in Veganuary this month, don’t let what is more than likely a joke in poor taste to kick up a storm online (which, yes, we know we are playing into) put you off. There’s plenty of brilliant vegan and vegetarian businesses for you to try this month across the capital — which happens to have just been named the world’s best city for vegans in a study.