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Comment by xvx | Hacker News Reader

Similar to how some companies avoid putting the word ‘vegan’ on clearly vegan products. Even these new meat alternatives. There was a story a few years back about how half of the Girl Scout cookies are vegan but the soccer mom sellers didn’t want the logo on the product in case it reduced sales. Initially some said vegan on the box and those were crossed out to hide it!

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There's actually a term for those "normal" foods that are vegan but not labelled as such - you'll often see them called "accidentally vegan" foods in the vegan community.

Oreos are a famous (and my favourite) example :)

The Euphemism Treadmill dictates that "vegan" is now "plant-based diet."

Among those that herbivores would like to convert, "vegan" is saddled with negative perceptions.

Strangely enough, plant-based doesn't necessarily mean vegan. Some 'plant-based' diets include eggs and dairy at times. I've yet to find a plant-based food item that wasn't vegan though, so perhaps the diet aspect needs further refining.

This makes sense to me, doesn't "based" or "base" mean that the food is _mostly_ made from plants.

As someone who's trying to follow a vegan diet I am very happy about "plant-based" food generally being vegan though!

There is actually a difference between 'vegan' and 'plant-based diet'. A car can be 'vegan'. A car is not part of a 'plant-based' diet.

Understood, but that difference doesn't apply when we're talking about food specifically. I'm saying that the "vegan" label is marketing liability if you're trying to sell to the general public (and not just to the existing vegan community).

If we're talking about shoes, or cars, then the euphemism will be something like "cruelty-free". No car company is going to associate their cloth interiors with veganism. Well, maybe Subaru would :)

Don't forget about the subset of vegans who avoid palm oil/almonds and other particularly environmentally taxing plant-based products.

That's why the common parlance is 'plant-based upholstery' for these situations.

Oddly enough the gluten free ones are proudly labeled gluten free.

Kirkland shampoo is labeled "gluten free"! Just in case people are going to drink it; it won't interfere with their gluten free diet.

People often mock gluten free labeling for products that should either be obviously gluten free or are not food. But the range of gluten sensitivity does vary, and there are people who react to gluten in cosmetics (where it can be added). There are also cases where gluten is added to food where it would not be expected.

If you are gluten free because you can't tolerate gluten, that labeling is very helpful.

I get the feeling that's because gluten-free food is - for some people - medically necessary, while people with, say, allergies to some animal product e.g. eggs will usually just buy normal food and be careful not to buy anything containing egg. As a result, "vegan" food has a negative perception that "gluten free" escapes.

Gluten free does not escape a negative reputation. There are many people who follow a gluten free diet because it's somewhat of a fad, and there are many others who, as a result, don't take it seriously.

As someone who is gluten free because I can't tolerate gluten, I would add that, for those who don't have that issue, gluten free food is not always the healthiest choice. In particular, gluten free baking is tricky, and gluten free baked goods are generally much higher in sugar.

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