the weird thing about being vegan on the internet is I've already had many many messages asking me to address oatly having raised capital including from companies with other unsavoury investments and also the fact that miley cyrus eats fish now? so here we go I guess.

I will start with miley cyrus because my thoughts on oatly are more ~complex~ but my honest opinion is that none of us really know anything about her health (mental and physical) and what's going on in her life.

I really don't ever want to be the person that slams someone for doing what they believe to be the right thing. if she thinks that is the right thing for her, that's all we can go off. from a factual standpoint I do wish she'd been more specific - "omegas" can mean...many things?

tbh my opinion is that it's none of my business what someone else chooses to do with their body, but also if you're vegan please make sure you eat enough nuts, seeds & oils to meet your needs!! I also take an algae supplement & I think it's smart to do so. follow @TheVeganRD!

ok so oatly...I have many thoughts on this & obvs I am a big fan of their products. I actually stopped using their milk a while ago because I found a milkman who could deliver oat milk (from the brand oato, made in cumbria!) in glass bottles to my door - v similar to barista tbh.

so I'm not the avid consumer of their products that I once was, I do still buy their creme fraiche and sometimes the greek yoghurt though. they are also the only options in my local shops for those items, there are no competitors for me to purchase from.

there are many posts going around stating that oatly donate to trump, and support deforestation. I think like anything it's important to look at what actually happened and make a decision from there. they raised investment, and a company that donate to trump invested in them.

that is a very different thing, still not great, but it's important to be clear on the facts. I don't support this and think it's a shame, but I do also think it's important to look at the other companies you buy from, what are their investors doing, the board, the founders?

the truth is that it's really hard to be 100% consistent with your values with regards to consumption. I avoid fast fashion but I bought some hiking trousers recently brand new and I have no idea what the manufacturing process is like. I needed something waterproof in my budget.

life is messy and hard and nothing shows this more than when ethical companies with strong brand values try to expand into the mainstream like oatly has. ethical investment exists but is it enough? idk. the system is very broken.

ben and jerrys? part of unilever but also incredibly vocal about black lives matter & making delicious vegan ice cream that is helpful to people who will never sit blending frozen bananas, you know? these things are really messy & require us to think about them in a nuanced way.

I think the oatly thing was a bad move but they have also spoken out and said they have not been profitable for years. there are smaller brands to support now too but if you wanted them to expand the way oatly have, they would probably have to do something similar.

I totally understand why people don't want to buy from them anymore and I myself am inconsistent sometimes - I also recently bought products from alpro and rude health and had messages from vegans who were disappointed I bought from them. it's not easy.

my personal decision is to shop small where I can, like with my milk delivery but also to remember that we should also be applying the same expectations and pressure on industry that we do on ourselves. what can we do to ensure companies can thrive without the need for this?

the other side of the coin is that companies like the blackstone group investing in a company like oatly shows that change is slowly happening? idk honestly. I just know that being vegan is a restrictive lifestyle as it is and we just need to do our best.

tldr - it's nuanced? I get why you may not want to buy it but I also get it if you still do? loads of recipes for oat milk but also pls remember brands like oatly fortify their milk with vitamins and minerals. again...follow @TheVeganRD! ok I will crawl back into my cave now.

popping back to add that I sometimes feel that strongly boycotting a brand gives me the illusion of control in really messy situations. for example I won't buy heck sausages anymore because they posted photos with boris johnson but I buy richmond vegan sausages & they sell meat?

there is no real consistent logic to this on my part but sometimes I feel a really strong urge to boycott a brand and it gives me an almost comforting feeling, like I have some say or control in a world that is really shitty and hard to change. life is messy and so am I, I guess!