Why Allure’s Anti-Vegan Piece by Elizabeth Gulino Feels So Unfair

Here’s why Allure’s anti-vegan piece by Elizabeth Gulino feels so unfair.

Los Angeles, California, March 14th, 2026 –  I’ve just returned from the 2026 Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center—the world’s largest gathering of its kind—and the energy was nothing short of electric. The floor was a sprawling sea of innovation, with “vegan” and “plant-based” signage as far as the eye could see. I personally witnessed the crowds swarming booths for vegan brands like Just Egg, Daring, Elmhurst, Oatly, and Violife, to name but a few. It was an inspiring, high-octane testament to a movement that is growing and evolving. That is why reading Elizabeth Gulino’s recent piece for Allure, which claimed, “It seems like nobody wants to be vegan anymore” felt like a punch to the stomach.

As a journalist who has covered this movement for decades, I found the contrast between this reporter’s “trend piece” and the actual marketplace I witnessed to be staggering. While she writes about a “struggling” industry from behind a desk, I was on the ground with the UnchainedTV team, where we couldn’t even reach all the vegan booths because there were simply too many. I spoke directly with visionaries in the plant-based sector whose companies are not “tanking,” but are instead redefining global food systems.

Don’t Take My Word for it!

Here’s Our Mini Doc on Expo West & the Thriving Vegan Scene

Gulino’s claim that consumers are “retreating” to animal-derived ingredients like “crushed bugs” out of “animal instinct” isn’t just a bizarre take—it’s a direct contradiction of the massive growth I just witnessed. To frame a few brand-specific R&D failures as a total collapse of veganism feels like it was scripted by a meat industry PR firm. Was it?

The “death of veganism” is a manufactured narrative produced and directed by Big Meat. Due to the frequency of these hit pieces, there is now an organization that tracks them. It’s called VegMediaWatch. It is the responsibility of reporters, as well as the managers who edit their work, to question narratives being spoon fed to them by industries with a vested interest. Maybe Gulino should read The Guardian’s well-researched article entitled, “Inside big beef’s climate messaging machine: confuse, defend and downplay” or some of the other excellent journalism that uncovers the massive PR war against veganism being mounted by a meat industry that feels threatened by the fact that people are discovering they don’t need to kill animals to be healthy or to enjoy delicious food. Quite the contrary.

At Expo West, I didn’t see a “struggle.” I saw a revolution in full bloom. I just wish Elizabeth Gulino could have come to Expo West and seen what I saw. Oh, wait, she could have come to Expo West. Why didn’t she?

Elizabeth Gulino and her editors and managers at Allure, including Editor in Chief Jessica Cruel, are invited on to respond, comment and discuss. I would love to dialogue with you, If you’re in LA, we can meet at any one of the amazing vegan restaurants here. Take your pick: Planta Cocina, Crossroads, The Vegan Joint, Pura Vita, Cafe Gratitude, Hey Sunshine Kitchen, Shojin, Veggie Grill, Plant Power, BeeWali’s, Variable Cafe, Au Lac, Gracias Madre, B&T’s Deli, Mr. Charlies, ID Eclair, Vegan Glory, Baba’s Vegan Cafe, The Grain Cafe, Love Organic, Vromage, Monty’s, Cena Vegan, Doomies, Cruzer Vegan Pizza, among others.