Vegan is gendered

California leads the world, as ever. On 18 September, the state legislature signed into law a bill that "requires a vegan option on the menu at hospitals, health facilities such as nursing homes, and state prisons". So far, so normal. What brought me up short was the self-congratulatory remarks of Judie Mancuso, founder of Social Compassion in Legislation, a lobbying group that sponsored the bill.

“Now, it’s in the state legislature, it’s in peoples’ households. They [lawmakers] have a daughter, they have a niece, they have somebody who is doing plant-based because of something they know, whether it’s for health, or ethical reasons.”

I'm not sure what the non-gendered version of niece is -- kin is a bit broad -- but by referring specifically to daughters and nieces Judie Mancuso reinforces the idea that women and girls are more likely to embrace doolally ideas about food. I'm sure that's not true.