Anatomy of an apology: Daiya makes nice

I was so furious when Daiya Cheese posted a video entitled “Being FAT is now illegal in Japan”. Each fat hating comment and stereotype fueled this anger, which is why I quickly wrote up a blot post about it (and posted on facebook and emailed the company). The only thing I was seeing on their facebook page was empty apologies that clearly did not understand why people were upset.

When I got an email from Daiya Cheese requested my phone number so the CEO could give me a call, I knew it was a good sign. When I talked with Greg, CEO, and Andre from the company, my fire was completely put out. While Greg had a good explanation for not being around when the controversy started and being unaware of it, he did not use it as an excuse. Instead, he sincerely apologized for what happened. He told me exactly how he was going to remedy the situation. They were creating a code of conduct for facebook and would delete the really hateful posts by others. He was clearly frustrated with the social media employee, who up until that time had done a good job. He promised to give her training to understanding why the video post was so insulting to others. Andre shared with me his past of being bullied and they both shared how the hateful message from the video post goes directly against what they believe and what the company is about. What a relief!

I felt listened to. The apology was heartfelt. There were no excuses, just accountability. They were being proactive to remedy the situation and were addressing people’s concerns. They kept asking for my feedback and made sure I knew that their doors were open for further communication. I was impressed! Here is a video of Greg apologizing for the incident so you can see for yourself.

Companies have a human component, especially the smaller ones. I understand mistakes can happen. We all make them. To me it is more important how a mistake is handled, than what the mistake itself was. My hope it that this is a learning opportunity for everyone involved, especially the social media person. Daiya Cheese has won me back as a customer and I have new respect for them as a company.

Although there was a lot of hate being smeared across their facebook page, there was also a lot of people speaking up and showing me that fat vegans and their allies are out there and have a beautiful voice. It was nice feeling connected to them and even made some new facebook friends and was introduced to a new blog. I can’t convince every one to be open to the truth and be considerate, but at least I could find others who live like my motto; health at every size, respect for every body.

Daiya Cheese posts video that promotes fat hate - Updated!

UPDATE: Today I talked with Greg, the CEO, and Andre from Daiya cheese and I left our conversation feeling the company is in the process of taking appropriate measures to resolve the hurtful video posting on facebook and make sure situations like this do not happen again. I will be sure to blog about follow through of these measures and feel very confident that the company is sincerely good and will remedy the situation.

Daiya cheese just posted a video on their facebook page titled “Being FAT is now illegal in Japan” and then asked, “Should this be adopted in North America?” People have been commenting like mad, both upset and agreeing. Many comments were downright insulting and inappropriate. Daiya then did a post saying they did not want to offend anyone, just encourage a discussion. They obviously still do not get it.

By posting this video, Daiya is leading a discussion that promotes hatred. The idea of making fat people illegal contributes to stereotypes that we are all lazy and eat unhealthy. It contributes to the shaming of fat people and tells us they we need to change. It does not ask important questions; such as can you be fit and fat? The answer is YES!

You can see this when reading the comments by others. I get so enraged seeing how rampant fat hatred is and how quickly our concerns are dismissed and made fun of. People are not just speaking their mind; they are attacking me. I have been fat as long as I have been conscious of my existence, been fit majority of that time and vegan over 15 years. I have experienced people’s stereotypes and have been targeted for my size in ways you could not imagine. This includes, ironically, having a hamburger thrown at me during a mcdonalds protest and names slung at me by a car passing me as a bike up a huge hill.

Corporations have been profiting from people’s insecurities and promote unhealthy diets and unattainable bodies. As a result, our society is filled with eating disorders and bad body image. There is a solution. Promoting a healthy diet and exercise, along with body confidence, will contribute to a healthier population. A person’s size has no relevance in the talk about health. As a society, we should focus on health at every size and respect for every person.

On Daiya’s wall I posted that they should educate themselves about this issue, and even volunteered myself to be contacted to do so. Their response? A thank you for my post and that I can email them at any time. What! Wasn’t I already contacting them? And isn’t it their responsibility to educate themselves and correct their ignorance? I try to give companies a chance for a positive response since I have been at the other side of controversy before, but their response it not acceptable. Please join me in telling Daiya their post and behavior is irresponsible and not acceptable. Daiya should educate themselves why this post is considered offensive to so many and make a true apology. Email them at cr@daiyafoods.com.

And if you personally would like to know more about this topic, feel free to contact me, or check out some of the links below.

Big Fat Facts

Health At Every Size

Dances with Fat Blog

Fork Over Knives - A Documentary To Check Out

Forks Over Knives is premiering in Portland at Regal Fox Tower from January 7 -13. Please check it out and bring family and friends! Although the film was not perfect, overall I highly recommend checking it out.

I was actually not sure I was going to like it when the film first began. As a fat vegan who gets frustrated with the spreading of fat hate, scare statistics used by the “obesity epidemic” and the dehumanizing images about fat people, I am on high alert for further fat negative talk. The very first fact presented in the film was about Americans carrying around extra weight. There were images of faceless fat bodies and a lot of concentration about weight. This type of focus is detrimental to people and society. Luckily after that beginning segment, things got better.

For a documentary dealing with the health crisis in America, I am impressed that it mainly stayed on focus discussing heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, the over use of medication and our overall well being as a nation. The film was really about nutrition as medicine since the influx of our biggest killers is correlated with the increase of meat, dairy and sugar consumption.

The government often commits to taking on a specific health crisis. For Nixon, it was the war on cancer. These days it is the obesity epidemic. Never in all these wars do we actually look at the cause of the disease (often diet and lifestyle). Research and medicine is encouraged rather than healthy living. Studies support that only 2% of cancers are genetically predisposed, meaning the rest of the cancers can be prevented, if we make the commitment to do so. Unfortunately the food, lifestyles and chemicals which cause cancer are supported by big money industries (meat, dairy, corn, pharmaceutical, Monsanto, etc.).

Dr. T. Collin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn used their years of research, clinical experience and observations to separately come to the realization that a plant based diet will increase human health and be beneficial, and that the standard American diet leads to disease. Research has further shown that a plant based diet will not only keep you healthy, but it can actually RESERVE health conditions, especially of the heart.

Have you ever heard of endothelial cells? These cells keep your arteries healthy by promoting blood flow, properly dilation of the blood vessels and inhibit plaque build up. Eating a meat-based diet actually destroys these cells, which contributes to the high percentages of heart-related diseases. If someone with clogged arteries switches to a plant-based diet, these cells actually start to heal. I had no idea about this, and appreciate being introduced to this knowledge by the movie.

Some people say that a vegan diet is extreme. The documentary makes a great point that what is really extreme is open-heart surgery, which is now commonplace. What else is extreme is the lack of nutrition in our diets, the amounts of medications we take and the lack of acknowledging what is really contributing to our unhealthy state.

I truly appreciate all the information the film provided and the undeniable facts concerning our food choices in America. The mixture of science and case studies of individuals saving their life by simply changing their food choices are astounding. I truly hope people take the good health message and take back their health. Check out this film when it gets to your area since there is so much more to learn! To find out more about this film visit forksoverknives.com.