An Animal Rights/Vegan Activists' Strategies Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

Richard Rogers, Jr. discusses how naming vegan foods after animals is detrimental to the movement, and urges us to move towards a future where we no longer normalize eating other creatures by the way we talk about plant-based food.

Who You Callin’ Chicken?
From Richard Rogers, Jr., VLCE, Main Street Vegan Academy, MainStreetVegan.com
August 2026

rooster and vegan foods
Images from Canva

Originally printed in the Main Street Vegan blog, MainStreetVegan.com.

Begin Scene

Racing into the house after an invigorating run, Jeffrey knew he only had 30 minutes to shower and dress before heading to the vegan potluck at Brandon’s Way Vegan Café. The cafe held these events once a month for local folks who shared a common lifestyle. Jeffrey never missed a chance to catch up with vegan friends at this event. Brandon’s Way was like a portal for all things good in the vegan world, and the people showed up with food, music, poetry, and positivity. A “don’t-miss” vegan/plant-based party so far as Brandon was concerned. And this month’s theme was Tastes Like Chicken!

After showering and quickly dressing in his favorite baggy Kente cloth drawstring pants and comfy cream-colored linen shirt, Jeffrey slid his feet into some circadian sandals. Gliding throughout the kitchen, he opened the fridge door and pulled out the big bowl of chick’n salad he’d made the night before from chickpeas, chopped celery, chopped red grapes, sage, and a few seasonings—the perfect combination for vegan chicken salad if you let it sit overnight marinate. He knew this salad would be a big hit at the event.

Entering Brandon’s Way there were big hugs, smiles, and hand slaps all around. Brandon was there in his usual style, more energetic than anyone in the room, even at 79 years old. He was the perfect example of what the lifestyle can do for longevity, optimal health, and spreading love through the community and world. Brandon and Jeffrey were longtime friends who jokingly called themselves the Banana Brothers because they both ate about 10-15 bananas a day. No kidding.

There were more people at the café than Jeffrey had seen in a long time, probably because it was early fall and folks were getting back from summer vacations and time away. The potluck table was full of “Tastes like Chicken” vegan/plant-based magic. Jeffrey picked up an index card and marker and wrote, “GF Chick’n Salad” along with the ingredients, so people would know what was in the bowl. Looking at the other dishes and index cards, he saw all kinds of delicious vegan foods—Chickun Taquitos, Chikken Noodle Soup, Cluck Tenders, Buffalo Winngs, Chickin and Dumplings, Chik Nuggets, and the list went on. How exciting!

Everyone was hungry and ready to eat. All the folks took seats and Clark, aka Chef Divine, who was one of the lead chefs and spiritual guides at Brandon’s Café, asked everyone to join hands and close their eyes. Clark guided the meditation, “Welcome to all who have gathered here tonight for this divine experience in communal spirit. We are blessed to be here in unity as we enrich ourselves nutritionally, spiritually, and healthfully to honor the animals, the environment, our wellness and each other. Together we take a deep breath… bringing our hands together at our hearts, and together we say, ‘Shanti, shanti, shanti.’”

Everyone was ready to dig in as they all went around the table announcing the food each had prepared:

“Chickun Taquitos!”

“Chikken Noodle Soup!”

“Cluck Tenders!” The oohs and aahs getting louder with the name of each dish.

“Buffalo wi…” and suddenly, the music stopped playing, the lights shut off, and all stood still.

An ominous voice echoed, “WHO YOU CALLIN’ CHICKEN?!” Every head swiveled in alarm. Eyes darted frantically. Shrieks were all about, startled by this unexpected and unknown interrogation. “WHO YOU CALLIN’ CHICKEN?” the voice demanded for a second time.

The walls shook! The potluck table and dishes rattled uncontrollably! Everyone stared, frozen and eyes fixed on the table.

Unbelievably, the voice was coming from the food, “WE ARE NOT CHICKEN! WE COME NOT FROM CHICKEN! WHY EAT US AND PRETEND THAT WE ARE CHICKEN? WHO YOU CALLIN’ CHICKEN?!”

End Scene
###

Who You Callin’ Chicken?

Of course, all of this did not really happen at the potluck. No walls shook. No dishes rattled and, certainly, no food spoke to interrogate all in attendance. But there are many potlucks taking place, many restaurants preparing and serving food, and many companies marketing and selling vegan/plant-based alternatives that carry the name chicken, or some similar-sounding derivative to name food that certainly is not chicken. Why is this happening, and as many non-vegans ask, “Why do you guys (vegans) refuse to eat animals and then name foods after animals? Why do you try to make food taste like the animals you don’t want to eat?”

We as vegans understand the simple answers, some of which are:

Some of us like the taste of foods that we used to eat that came from animals, but we refuse to take part in the murder and torture of animals. We can achieve those tastes from non-animal-sourced foods.

The food industry uses animal-sourced food names from the standard American diet as a marketing tool to help consumers identify alternatives so they can sell more product.

How else would people know what they are ordering at a restaurant if it is not named after chickens, cows, fish…?

We can call it what we want to call it so long as we are not murdering and eating animals.

We Can Do Better

With a little thought, these answers make little sense, and I think we can do better. We have a responsibility to do better. We owe it to the animals, the Movement, and ourselves to change the practice of naming foods that do not come from animals after animals. Why?

Simply put, continuing to use the names of animals to name foods that do not come from animals perpetuates the normalization of eating animals. I’ll say that again—continuing to use the names of animals to name foods that do not come from animals perpetuates the normalization of eating animals.

Continuing to use the names of animals to name foods that do not come from animals stops the progression and maturation of the vegan/plant-based food industry in its tracks.

Continuing to use the names of animals to name foods that do not come from animals sends a contradictory message to the non-vegan world, making the vegan movement look confused and weak. It sends a confused message to the vegan world, as well. As recently as 20 years ago, as we started to see new products emerging in the vegan/plant-based food industry, some of the animal-sourced naming made sense to help identify what the new products were. That may have been normal in the infancy of the development of products for the general public. But to continue to do so does not promote growth in the industry. As this movement and the dietary lifestyle within the movement progresses and evolves, so must the language that is used.

Our Responsibility as Vegans

We have a responsibility to develop and foster autonomy in the vegan/plant-based food industry. The way to do that is through transparency in the naming and presentation of food, offering food to the vegan consumer base as what it truly is on a consistent basis. Forgetting the approach based on capitalism and honoring an approach based on truth in a consistent manner will serve to normalize the consumption of real food…original food… vegan/plant-based food over which we, the vegan/plant-based, have ownership and autonomy.

The Movement is at a different place now. It has a long way to go, but it has advanced. I am so pleased and excited when I meet people who have been vegan since the day they were born, having never tasted or consumed animal products nor animal-sourced foods. If you are not one of those people, think of the absurdity of walking into a restaurant and ordering Vegan Chicken Nuggets, having no reference to what actual chicken nuggets taste like. Such a person only knows the taste of non-animal-sourced foods and has no thought of imitating the taste of nuggets made from a real chicken. It makes no sense.

Our Vision of the Future

Let’s go many steps forward into a future where food from animals is outlawed and does not even exist. Imagine this futuristic world with restaurants that still carry the names of animals in the food being served. Imagine in this same futuristic world, people who were born into a world where no animal-sourced food exists anymore and is not produced. How silly it would be to walk into a restaurant to order something called chicken, when food from a chicken isn’t even something that has existed from the day you were born. That being the case, any name could be used to identify that food; one that is the new norm and used universally to identify that particular food.

We must do better. We will do better. Let’s get started.

“May I take your order?

“Yes. I’d like a large order of garbanzo bean nuggets with bowl of cauliflower coconut soup. And please bring a booster seat and a plate of peas for my Rooster friend who will be joining me. He said he’s running a bit late. Thank you!”

By Richard Rogers, Jr., trained and certified as a vegan lifestyle coach and educator by Main Street Vegan Academy, www.MainStreetVegan.com.

Photo credit: Richard Rogers

Richard Weston Rogers, Jr. is a whole-food plant-based/vegan entrepreneur, speaker, coach, author, and yogi combining plant-based lifestyle with running and meditation for betterment and daily well-being. He is the director of Philadelphia VegFest (Philly VegFest Instagram and Philly Vegfest Facebook) and founder of the former Ambler Vegan Company, a high-raw vegan restaurant in Ambler, PA. He lives in the suburban Philadelphia area with his dog, Sherman and cat, Jade.

Richard is a legacy graduate of Franklin and Marshall College where he studied English and holds a Master of Science in Education from Drexel University. He has lived a whole-food plant-based/vegan lifestyle since 2013 and provides awareness and knowledge of the whole-food, plant-based/vegan lifestyle through coaching, speaking, writing, and healthful/purposeful living. Find Richard on Instagram @theplantbasedhuman.

He is a Main Street Vegan Certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator and Certified Master Coach of Personal Development through the Van Der Gaag Institute.

Posted on All-Creatures.org: September 9, 2026
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