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The Spatial Politics of Veganism: “Moral Branding” in Vancouver’S Downtown Eastside

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The Spatial Politics of Veganism: “Moral Branding” in Vancouver’S Downtown Eastside THE SPATIAL POLITICS OF VEGANISM: “MORAL BRANDING” IN VANCOUVER’S DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE by Peter Pawlak B.A., San Francisco State University, 2015 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Sociology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) November 2018 © Peter Pawlak The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: The Spatial Politics of Veganism: “Moral Branding” in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements by Peter Pawlak for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology Examining Committee: Renisa Mawani, Sociology Supervisor, Supervisory Committee Member Thomas Kemple, Sociology Supervisor, Supervisory Committee Member ii ABSTRACT This paper explores the intersections between the recent rise of veganism into the mainstream and the continued gentrification of low-income and marginalized areas within the urban environment. More specifically, I examine the spatial dynamics of one particular vegan eatery in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, how it produces social distance between patrons and DTES residents, thereby reproducing hegemonic power relations, both symbolically and materially. Via ethnographic fieldwork, critical discourse analysis, and engagement with social theory, I highlight how the histories of classism, colonialism, racialization, and othering that the Downtown Eastside was built upon are symbolically reproduced and socially perpetuated via the built environment of the restaurant. Additionally, I examine the restaurant’s usage of “moral branding” and the ways in which this style of branding produces narratives that justify the existence of the space while simultaneously actively erasing its connections to the poverty immediately outside its doors. Ultimately, moralistic vegan branding promotes a decontextualized, ahistorical, capitalistic version of veganism that does not take into account human suffering under industrial meat and dairy production and assumes veganism – in whatever forms it may take – to always be a positive and favorable ethical choice. iii LAY SUMMARY This paper addresses the intersection of the rising popularity of veganism and the continued gentrification of low-income, urban spaces. Via an in-depth analysis of the spatial dynamics of one specific vegan restaurant located in the midst of one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods, the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, this research explores the links between veganism and the reproduction of existing social inequalities. I also explore the role that moral vegan branding plays in the construction and reinforcement of simplistic understandings of veganism that do not consider the plight of human beings under industrial meat and dairy production. Considering the recent data available on the newfound popularity of veganism and the highly contested nature of urban spaces such as the Downtown Eastside, this paper contributes to an expanding range of literature that addresses the roles that veganism, restaurants, and/or food play on the usage of space within urban environments. iv PREFACE The research for this paper was designed and carried out exclusively by the author. The author conducted ethnographic fieldwork and analysis, and supervisors provided light guidance. This research did not require ethics approval to be completed. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………………...…..iii Lay Summary……………………………………………………………………..……..iv Preface…………………………………………………………………………………….v Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………......vi List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………..vii Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………...…....viii Introduction: Setting the Scene……………………………………………………...….1 The Spatial Politics of Veganism……………………………………………………......5 Veganism: Stigmatized Lifestyle on the Rise?................................................................7 Symbolism and Political Economy of the Meal……………………………………….13 The Field: Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside…………………………………………16 Situating Myself in the Field…………………………………………………………...20 “Studying Up”, Access & Related Challenges………………………………………...26 Inside/Outside: Opposing Realities……………………………………………………30 Concluding Thoughts…………………………………………………………………..45 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………51 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Restaurant interior……………………………………………………………….31 Figure 2: Restaurant website screenshot 1…………………………………………...……36 Figure 3: Restaurant website screenshot 2………………………………...………………40 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Infinite thanks and gratitude to my supervisors (and committee members) Dr. Renisa Mawani and Dr. Thomas Kemple for their support on this project and throughout my time in the program in general – their exceptionally helpful feedback, the indispensable readings they sent my way, and their consistent kindness, affirming words, and belief in my abilities were entirely integral to my success. Additional thanks to anyone who has supported, motivated, or inspired me in any way during these last two years – including fellow graduate students, faculty in the department, old friends back in the Bay Area, as well as new ones here in Vancouver. Much love and special thanks to my family, most especially my brother, Jacob, the smartest and coolest 17-year-old on the planet, and parents Ania and Artur. It would not have been possible for me to get to this point without the love and support of all of the amazing people who, for whatever reason(s), seem to care deeply for me – I appreciate you all more than anything else in this life. I would also like to sincerely thank the various faculty members at San Francisco State University (special shout out to Clayton W. Dumont Jr) who were so influential in revolutionizing my perspectives during my time as an undergraduate student – my original introduction to (and interest in) critical academic approaches stems from my time at SFSU. viii Hence, of all the things that people have in common, the most common is that they must eat and drink…The sociological structure of the meal emerges, which links precisely the exclusive selfishness of eating with a frequency of being together, with a habit of being gathered together such as is seldom attainable on occasions of a higher and intellectual order. Persons who in no way share any special interest can gather together at the common meal – in this possibility, associated with the primitiveness and hence universal nature of material interest, there lies the immeasurable sociological significance of the meal. – Georg Simmel, [1910] 1997, 130 Introduction: Setting the Scene Within a two to three block radius of Vancouver’s Main Street and East Hastings Street intersection there exists a remarkably varied scene of people, activity, and styles of consumption. Precisely the opposite of Simmel’s description of the meal as unifying those who may otherwise have no reason to be spending time with one another, here there are stark contrasts in the material realities of differing people’s lives on display, and the meal serves only to highlight this distance. Exploring this area in the spring and summer of 2018, I found a significant contrast between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ the likes of which cannot be found anywhere else in the city, and one that is marked by disparities in food consumption. Tucked in amongst the corner stores, emptied out storefronts, and single room occupancy hotels (SROs) that serve low income and impoverished residents of the area, newly opened restaurants and coffee shops with lavishly decorated interiors serve the more socio-economically privileged newcomers to the area. The deeply contrasting material realities of people found in this pocket of the city are startling in comparison to the relatively economically distinct neighbourhoods found throughout the rest of the city. Within this patchwork of various businesses and public spaces it is not uncommon to find a sidewalk scene of sharply-dressed young people bustling past elderly residents in Chinatown, a part of Vancouver that adjoins the Downtown Eastside, while 1 homeless folks in sleeping bags or blankets rest in the entries and along the walls of buildings. Contemporary Vancouver – amidst a growing number of major cities in Western industrialized countries exhibiting similar patterns – can be characterized as a city with wealth disparities that are blatantly visible and on-display. A walk along Hastings Street from west to east takes one from an area awash in readily observable displays of wealth of the central business district to the poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside within minutes. Some have used the term ‘dual city’ to describe the manner in which contemporary cities host – in close proximity – both the benefactors of the ‘digital economy’ and neoliberalism and those completely shut out of this realm, two “separate worlds living right beside each other, occupying the same space but living in isolated realities” (Hern, 2010, 15). When examining Vancouver in this historical moment, we find that these repercussions of neoliberal policies and the unchecked stream of capital become immediately and unforgettably apparent. This reality shapes the built environment and material reality of the city and is an important consideration in examining the spatial politics of the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood – something I have set out to do here. The two blocks along Vancouver’s Pender Street between
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