Taco Bell recently upset many of its customers when it switched its rice from fully vegan to including butter.
Why the fast-food chain would alter its rice when omnivores, vegans, and people with lactose allergies alike enjoyed it is uncertain. Some speculated that dairy lobbyists paid the restaurant to make the change. Regardless, people were NOT happy.
One tweet alerting Twitter users to the disappointing change received hundreds of retweets:
The rice at Taco Bell is no longer vegan fyi pic.twitter.com/yNoVJJ3R58
— Carbie (@pleasebesarah) March 12, 2017
People made it clear that they felt betrayed by the company’s strange decision:
PSA VEGANS, Taco Bell rice no longer vegan https://t.co/WPyD94kzd6 shut up about quality, a lot of us broke kids rely on this place heavily
— Tristen Pieces (@keepyrdistance) March 12, 2017
this news bitesss man
— Tristen Pieces (@keepyrdistance) March 12, 2017
WHAT THE HELL
— lil chicken wing (@posibitch) March 12, 2017
this can't be true
— (ᵔᴥᵔ) Ⓥ (@__makesnosense) March 12, 2017
Someone even created a “Taco Bell Rice Watch” Twitter account to monitor the food chain’s menu item in the hope that it would be made vegan again:
There is still no vegan rice.
— Taco Bell Rice Watch (@_RiceWatch) June 1, 2017
Every day I wake up with no news of vegan rice returned, is more disappointing than the one before. @tacobell @TacoBellTeam
— Taco Bell Rice Watch (@_RiceWatch) June 3, 2017
But then, something wonderful happened:
We're excited to announce that our new certified-vegan rice has replaced the existing certified-vegetarian seasoned rice in all U.S. stores.
— Taco Bell Team (@TacoBellTeam) June 26, 2017
Taco Bell recognized its customers concerns and knew it had to change back to vegan rice. ?
“We worked closely with our supplier to make it happen as quickly as possible to let our vegan fans know we were committed,” said Alec Boyle, the chain’s spokesman. “We recognize we have a lot of vegans and vegetarians who come to us, and that even meat-eaters and flexitarians come to us and enjoy our vegan products.”
The Twitterverse exploded with excitement when the chain announced that its rice was vegan again:
Yassss! pic.twitter.com/hDehOeQZK8
— Blixbee (@Blixbee) June 28, 2017
Some users even took the opportunity to ask similar fast-food chains like Del Taco to follow Taco Bell’s lead and start including more animal-free options:
Step up the vegan game @DelTaco!!!
— MEGGAN ANDERSON (@MegganAnderson) June 27, 2017
This goes to show that positive change can happen when people politely pressure establishments to include vegan options. You can help perpetuate changes like this one by letting your favorite restaurants know why including vegan options in their menus helps to reduce cruelty to animals.
Animals like cows suffer greatly when they’re used for dairy foods. In the commercial diary industry, workers routinely take calves away from their moms on the same day that they’re born, resulting in extreme distress for both mother and baby. The cows are impregnated over and over and used as milking machines until their milk production declines and they’re slaughtered.
By choosing vegan items at places like Taco Bell, you won’t be involved in this cruelty!