{"id":16239,"date":"2019-05-02T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=16239"},"modified":"2019-06-14T12:58:26","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T16:58:26","slug":"let-the-fur-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/let-the-fur-fly\/","title":{"rendered":"Let the Fur Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"
We are sorry. Your letters made us all think and led to a lively, ongoing office discussion.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/h6>\n
To read “The Vegans Are Coming, The Vegans Are Coming,” see https:\/\/issuu.com\/portlandmagazine\/docs\/may19_flipbook_fn\/24.<\/h6>\n
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“I was taken aback by the hostility in your recent May publication on the ‘Chowder’ page titled ‘The Vegans Are Coming, The Vegans Are Coming’ discussing the addition of The Copper Branch to Portland, particularly the line ‘As if we don’t have to listen to vegans talk about their diets enough, now we have to see it.’ The article goes on to claim that two vegan restaurants in Portland are sufficient. Our family of four is vegan and we’re thrilled to have another restaurant option in Portland. Many people who aren’t vegan are eating more plant-based food for health or environmental reasons, and non-vegan patrons abound at all these restaurants. Non-vegans can enjoy this food, and so can vegans, and it’s a great addition to Portland for so many reasons. The open hostility towards veganism feels unfortunate and unprofessional. It would be cringeworthy and invite a lot of negative press if you made the same statements about a restaurant that catered to a religious group or ethnic cuisine. Why such hatred for people who want to eat cruelty-free? We’ve already given up bacon, and now we have to suffer the wrath of random magazines?”<\/div>\n
\u2014Kelly Caiazzo, Scarborough<\/div>\n
\u00a0—<\/strong><\/div>\n
“It was incredibly frustrating to read such a terribly negative blurb in\u00a0Portland Magazine<\/em>, on the ‘Chowder’ page, with the words “A tasty blend of the fabulous, the eyebrow-raising, and the just plain wrong.” Referring to Copper Branch opening, the writer states, ‘As if we don\u2019t have to listen to vegans talk about their diets enough, we now get to see it.’ An important thing to remember is that veganism isn\u2019t a diet, so, no, we don\u2019t go around talking about it. It is a lifestyle that attempts to try and mitigate animal suffering and exploitation wherever possible. I don\u2019t know a single vegan who goes around talking about their \u201cdiet\u201d to non-vegans. Not a one. Perhaps the non-vegan author is referring to animal rights protests? I doubt it, the painful clarity was that he\/she simply doesn\u2019t approve of people trying to help stop animal suffering, because, God forbid, he\/she feel any guilt for eating bacon. Seems pretty selfish to me. Live and let live, to quote the non-vegans\u2019 mantra. Portland, a restaurant destination town, is very scant when it comes to vegan offerings. I have found in my travels that Portland, ME is possibly the worst town when it comes to choice in vegan restaurants. This blurb is especially annoying because it takes a population whose members spend their lives trying to eschew animal exploitation and groups them all into some annoying (and false) stereotype, and it thereby is actually promoting animal cruelty.<\/div>\n

I would like to see an apology published by\u00a0Portland Magazine.<\/em> We in the vegan community are excited for Copper Branch to open. It will be only the second all-vegan restaurant in Portland (and only a handful of others that have vegan options). Hopefully, they won\u2019t be so turned off by this offensive piece that they avoid advertising in your magazine. They\u2019ve got lots of advertising dollars, and I\u2019m surprised that you would allow such a hideous post from a potential source of revenue.”
\n\u2014Amybeth Hurst, Old Orchard Beach
\n—<\/strong>
\n“I email today to point out the disrespectful tone you took with a blurb was listed on the “Chowder” page: “A tasty blend of the fabulous, the eyebrow-raising, and the just plain wrong.” It was in the May 2019 issue. In your blurb, talking about the addition of a new vegan restaurant, you took an unnecessary disrespectful tone towards the vegan audience by perpetuating a stereotype vegans have long been trying to break. Saying “as if we don’t have to listen to vegans talk about their diets enough”, implies that veganism is strictly a diet and not a philosophy. There is nothing hateful in where we are coming from so we just ask the same. We care about animals, our bodies, and the environment; I think those are just fine conversation topics. Also, the blurb was not very welcoming of a new establishment. Why pass so much judgment without even trying it, and why pass that judgment on the everyone else who reads the paper? Please be more considerate of your readers next time.”
\n\u2014Emily Carter, Waterville
\n—<\/strong>
\n“I\u2019m super disappointed in the slamming of vegans in your article this month. How can you put people who are trying to save animals and the environment down like that? Ugh, for a periodical (and city) that considers itself progressive and open-minded, you have a lot of work to do.”
\n\u2014Amy Taylor Grimm
\n—
\n<\/strong>“I’m sure you’ve been inundated with emails from vegans like myself about the blurb your magazine wrote about the new restaurant Copper Branch. I’ve been thinking about what I want to say about this short article and there are many vegan-related points to be made\u2014 but I think one point that may have not been made yet is that this writing is lazy and pandering to an audience that barely exists anymore. I grew up in a family that loved the “meat and potatoes” type of food, and I dealt with a lot of push-back when I changed my diet. However, as years have passed both my family and the general population have started caring more about health and diet. This new restaurant has the potential to be great for anyone who just wants a healthy lunch. You would be better off if you talked up an exciting new option rather than reiterating a tired stereotype. I think you can have higher standards and make much more interesting articles than this one.”
\n\u2014Krista Marble
\n—<\/strong>
\n“I saw a picture of a recent article in the “Chowder” page of your magazine, about the new vegan restaurant coming to Portland. I found it really offensive and off-putting. The stereotype of vegans has no place to be perpetuated here. A healthy dining option is being brought to Portland for many of us who don\u2019t consume meat (for a variety of reasons, but treating my Multiple Sclerosis holistically is one of them.) Not all vegans fit the stereotype, and honestly, I can\u2019t believe this article even made it to production.”
\n\u2014Lindsay Bileau
\n—<\/strong>
\n“Just writing you to say that we think that your comments about “Vegans” and the new restaurant The Copper Branch were very unprofessional. We are a retired couple who live in Brooksville, Maine during the summer but spent last winter in Portland. We will be back in Portland this fall and can’t wait to eat at The Copper Branch.\u00a0 Hope you reconsider your unwelcoming words.”
\n\u2014Doris Groves and Bob Jones
\n—
\n<\/strong>“Really? I’m not even vegan, and I find this incredibly rude. I have friends and family that are vegetarian and vegan, and I think it’s wonderful. I am not sure why this article chose to be so hateful and how it got through. I really hope whoever wrote this finds a new job. I saw the post online from your magazine and had to read it twice thinking the person who posted it must have misunderstood. I think the vegan community is owed an apology in your next issue.”
\n\u2014Sandy Shelton, CT
\n—<\/strong>
\n“Like many others, I was dismayed to see this month’s article on the Chowder page, mocking vegans. Many people have dietary restrictions these days – whether from ethical choices, health choices, or allergies – and mocking them is in poor taste. Vegans and others with dietary restrictions are your readers and your neighbors. Thank you for considering the impact of what you publish on those of us who enjoy your magazine, and the influence you have to either connect people with each other or divide them.”
\n\u2014Valerie Todd
\n—
\n<\/strong>“I was really disappointed that you thought it necessary to bash vegans in [The Vegans Are Coming, The Vegans Are Coming,” May 2019]. It surprised me that, first of all, you would be so negative and hateful towards a group of people and secondly, you don’t even know if the food is any good yet. Give it a chance, and then rate the business on the service and food [or ask the] opinion of a group of people who choose to not eat animal products. You’re better than that.”
\n\u2014Marianne Miro, South Portland<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Editor’s note: The title, “The Vegans Are Coming, The Vegans Are Coming,” is referring to the 1966 film The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!<\/em> about a colorful New England community that comes to embrace the very people they thought they were afraid of.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 2019
\nMaine theaters are in high gear to build loyalty within their audiences. Here are some of the strategies behind the curtain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[323,160,322],"class_list":["post-16239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-extras","tag-portland-magazine","tag-portland-maine","tag-portland-monthly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16239"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16293,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16239\/revisions\/16293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}