It is common that during the Christmas season, civil society organizations and nonprofits distribute meals among the population in need. A similar thing happens every year with Christmas presents for children from low-income families. This year 2020, in Playa del Carmen, two groups carried out a slightly different initiative. In this case, Million Dollar Vegan and Casa Animal have distributed vegan Christmas meals, with a special message attached to them.
These vegan groups advocate for suppressing animal consumption in the human diet, especially exotic animals. Why so? Apart from the usual arguments of veganism around the meat industry, animal exploitation, and animal rights, there is a new one. I.e. to avoid new pandemics. Million Dollar Vegan and Casa Animal link the consumption of meat with zoonotic illnesses. I.e. those arising from microorganisms that live in other animals.
The reach of the vegan Christmas meals initiative
The initiatives of Million Dollar Vegan managed to reach National News at Milenio TV last May. At that time and with a similar project, the spokesperson of Million Dollar Vegan, Jessica Gonzalez, argued that it is not only about feeding people who need it (of course), but also about inviting them to a different relation to animals.
In fact, on the national news broadcast, some of the users of the vegan meals initiative spoke about it. In their interviews, some of them affirmed being considering changing to a plant-based diet. The message of M.D.V. resonated with them, and also the vegan food was good, tasty, and healthy.
See also: Chaya, the Yucatan Superfood.
The menu of the vegan Christmas meals consisted of 500 plant-based Christmas dinners, 500 glasses of Christmas fruit punch, and 1,000 cookies. To get those dinners, they had been distributing tickets in the weeks before, so they could plan ahead and assign them properly. Apart from that, there will also be some toys, shirts, and shoes distributed. Plus there will also be dinner delivery in Cancun, at nursing homes, and orphanages.
