Hi all!
Today I am going to do my usual discussion post/product review. This particular item was sent to me by Mouths of Mums. I have reviewed products from them in the past. Click here to read similar posts. I’m also going to discuss why I am no longer supporting Unnatural Vegan on all of her social media. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Recently, Nescafe Gold released a plant-based latte range in the flavours Almond, Coconut and Oat. This is so exciting because despite having a caffeine intolerance, I’ve wanted to dip my toe back into the coffee pool but couldn’t due to there being no dairy-free sachet options in the supermarket. When Mouths of Mums gave me the opportunity to apply for this campaign, I jumped on it. I picked the Almond flavour and received not only a full-size box but two extra sachets to share with my family and friends. This range is 100% vegan and so simple to make. You just empty the sachet into a mug, fill it with hot water (not boiling), stir once and stir again after 20 seconds for a creamy, sweet beverage. For someone that hasn’t had coffee in years, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I also felt fine afterwards which was unusual for me. Typically I sweat and feel nauseous after caffeine, but I have found since having Abigail I am able to tolerate it more. I have tried the Oat flavour as well but the Almond is a definite winner. I highly recommend this to anybody trying to limit their dairy intake. You can apply for a sample pack here!
Before I dive into the discussion topic, I want to make something clear: this is not a hate piece nor do I want anybody else to send hate to Swayze. I am purely providing my opinion. If you like and support UV, that is absolutely fine.
I have been following Swayze from the channel Unnatural Vegan for years. I have quoted and sourced her work in this blog numerous times as well as recommended her to many people I know. I always felt like Swayze and I were very similar. We are both nerdy vegan mums who lean towards scientific, research-based thinking. I also used to say that I agreed with 99.9% of everything she has ever put out into the world. Until recently…
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, Swayze released not 1 but 2 videos about why she didn’t think it was necessary to talk about BLM. If you want to watch them first before reading on, they are linked below:
I was able to understand some of her points, but I had two major issues with both of these videos that ultimately made me unsubscribe from all of her social media platforms. 1.) Swayze has an incredibly large following of over 200,000 subscribers. When she tells an influential audience that they don’t need to discuss or advocate for BLM, that is essentially inviting mass silence which equates to mass violence. In the past, Swayze has reprimanded other YouTubers for influencing their followers irresponsibly and to me, this feels no different. After completing Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, I realised my racism lay in White Silence. I discuss this more here. I never spoke up on racial issues out of fear and complacency. After doing the work, I vowed to no longer stay silent. I sent the following tweet to Unnatural Vegan below and unsubscribed. This was an opportunity to practice ally-ship and I took it.
2.) Both of these videos were so unnecessary. At a time like this when black people need more ally-ship than ever, Swayze decided to dig her heels in and insist that she is right. It would’ve taken no time for her to share some resources and links to donate/sign petitions and instead she put all of this time and effort in releasing two videos that were the opposite of reading the room. If you look at the comments section you will see the majority of viewers (including black subscribers) expressing their heartfelt disappointment and sadness. I can no longer support somebody that is refusing to support BLM even though she claims to…
Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post. Just a quick disclaimer, I am not sponsored for the product review above. It was sent to me for free but all thoughts/opinions are my own.
Peace & Love xoxo
I absolutely love this post because I know I would unsubscribe from anyone who advocated for silence when what we truly need right now are voices. I love that you spoke up and shared your thoughts here. 🙂
Thank you so much I’m so glad you agree. It’s so important right now to speak up and to continue speaking up! X
Gosh, if you think that was bad, don’t watch her latest videos. Total trainwreck. She shows her true colors of being a clueless privileged white woman and blatantly equates her vegan issues with domestic abuse, systemic racism and homophobia while playing petty semantic gymnastics to say that she’s not equating them (but then does so…repeatedly) all while blaming her viewers. Its horrifying to think she’s encouraging that sentiment to her blind followers. Thanks for being a much better ally than she’ll ever be and making vegans seem nice and reasonable instead of trolling and tonedeaf.
Thank you for saying that, that means a lot. That’s disgusting to hear! I used to admire her so much and felt like we agreed on everything but since BLM I don’t feel like I know her anymore. I have not returned to her channel since and don’t plan to.