Militant vegan questions meat eaters' right to live
An Adelaide fitness blogger has sparked an online firestorm by asking if people who eat meat “deserve to continue living”.
Leanne “Freelee the Banana Girl” Ratcliffe first made the comments on YouTube a month ago, sparking a minor outcry.
The video has been reposted to LiveLeak now and thousands of commenters have descended on the clip to voice their disagreement with the extreme views, which include forcing everyone in the world to become vegan.
“I was thinking about something in bed … and that’s whether people who continue to eat meat and dairy, even though they know the impact of their diet choices on the planet, on the animals … whether they actually deserve to continue living,” she said in the video.
“We are in this situation where drastic change needs to happen and people aren’t taking it f---in’ seriously.
“If their position on the planet was threatened because of their dietry choices, they would change to vegan in a heartbeat.”
Ratcliffe goes on to acknowledge that the views do appear extreme and insists “No, I don’t want to kill people".
But that has not been enough to stop a barrage of criticism against the clip.
A follow up clip on her YouTube channel acknowledged that the comments had not gone down well with many viewers, bu Ratcliffe was unrepentant.
“After that video yesterday I received a lot of hate,” Ratcliffe said, acknowledging that more than 1000 subscribers had left her channel.
“It’s really interesting to, you know, have people come to my channel and to my video and tell me to mind my own f---in’ business, and that I’m a hateful b---- when they’re being hateful themselves.
“Something I noticed is I lost about 1000 subscribers yesterday and I am happy about it … You know why? Because I don’t want mediocre minds following me.”
Today the firestorm has flared up again on a reposted version of the video on Liveleak, in which the criticism has been flowing freely once more.
“I'd like to lock her in a room with a rabbit, just to see what happens after a few days,” said one viewer.
“Anyways the problem is not meat, the problem is factory farms. Eat less meat and eat more quality meat from free range animals instead. It is about prioritizing your budget not about eliminating something so important for health as meat,” wrote another.
Ratcliffe is no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year she was embroiled in a legal battle with another prominent health blogger.
Her radical approach to nutrition, which focuses on the importance of fruit - particularly bananas - has been both lauded and criticised online and in conventional media.
