Five trustees quit Vegan Society as one labels it 'not a safe place for young, black, queer or any other marginalised people'

When the Vegan Society was established 77 years ago, its founding fathers proudly claimed to have created a way of life everyone could embrace to prevent cruelty towards animals.

But that compassionate ethos was said to be woefully lacking in the charity’s treatment of humans after five trustees quit last month amid claims of racism and intolerance.

In the summer, the Vegan Society commissioned Ijeoma Omambala, QC, to investigate claims the then vice chair, Eshe Kiama Zuri, had posted racist comments online.

Her report, published in June, found Zuri had in fact written two “unprofessional and inappropriate” comments about the society, but neither was racist.

The barrister noted how the “vast majority” of complaints against Zuri were unfounded but appeared motivated by an anonymous person’s “profound personal animosity” towards Zuri due to their “identity and protected characteristics”.

Zuri, 25, describes themself on their personal website as “disabled and non-gendered”, meaning they do not identify as either male or female.

The activist, who also boasts on the website of being a campaigning “loud mouth”, has written how veganism was coined by a “white man” but “hippy vegan food” is based upon culinary traditions including dal from Pakistan, tofu and wheat from China and hummus from the Middle East.

The barrister’s report to the society added how during its council meetings Zuri had been “mis-gendered” - referred to by a sex they do not identify as - and the council “is not equipped to have mature and constructive conversations on diversity and inclusion matters; nor is it able to deal effectively with challenges to prevailing orthodoxies”.

The publication of the barrister’s report saw Zuri, Robb Masters, Joel Bravette, Michele Fox and Sally Anderson quit as trustees last month.

Zuri’s resignation letter states they had been “naive” joining the council in 2019 as a “multiply marginalised trustee, being black, queer, disabled and working class” accusing the charity of being “institutionally racist”.

Explaining how they had been “forced out” due to a “smear campaign”, Zuri adds: “I can confidently say that the Vegan Society is not a safe place for young people, for black people, for queer people or for any other marginalised people.”

Zuri claims to have “brought a perspective to council that challenged not just trustees as individuals, but also the systemic racism and oppression that exists in any organisation set up without any time taken to look at diversity or inclusivity … and with a white supremacist structure...”

Zuri, who is believed to have been active in the Black Lives Matter movement, adds how wearing a jumper emblazoned with the word ‘Token’ was deemed “inappropriate”.

In his resignation letter, Robb Masters, the former chairman of the society’s council, complains of a “toxic environment” which saw Zuri face “hostility”, with other “oppressions” being commonplace, including transphobia - prejudice against transexual or transgender people - and ableism - discrimination in favour of able-bodied people.

After joining the council in 2018, his hopes that “while we continue to focus on challenging the exploitation of other animals, we strive not to uphold the oppression of marginalised humans as we do so” were short-lived, he wrote.

Instead, he said he became the victim of a “public smear campaign … instigated by certain trustees” who prioritise “income over ethics while preserving a predominately white, predominately male, predominately cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied and neurotypical stranglehold over the Vegan movement....”

Ms Omambala found complaints Mr Masters supported alleged racism by Zuri were also unfounded.

A spokesman for the Vegan Society said there had been “conflict” within the charity’s board of trustees which it had been “working hard to address”, adding how it was “regrettable” the resignations were received the day before a planned mediation session.

He added how the charity was seeking to implement “as quickly as possible” the recommendations listed in the barrister’s report.

“As with many charities, the Vegan Society has a number of challenges that we must address as we evolve into an even more diverse and inclusive organisation.

"This is something we are actively working on, supported by respected external ED&I consultants, and our commitment is to foster an inclusive environment for all of our staff, trustees, members and supporters.”

CORRECTION: This article previously reported that trustees had resigned following a row regarding cultural appropriation. This was incorrect. The trustees resigned citing alleged bullying and racism within the Society. We apologise for this error.