I’ve read that it’s OK to eat oysters if you are vegan. Can this really be true?
Elia, Ham, Surrey
Is that a trick question, Elia, or are you just having a laugh? Something tells me I’m bound to get into all sorts of bother for even dipping my toes into these particular waters, so here goes nothing.
At face value, the answer would appear to be an open-and-shut case (#sorrynotsorry). Oysters are bivalves, and as such are clearly much more closely related to the likes of clams than to any plant matter, so they’re animals, right? And The Vegan Society defines a vegan as a person who avoids “all animal foods such as meat (including fish, shellfish and insects), dairy, eggs and honey – as well as avoiding animal-derived materials, products tested on animals and places that use animals for entertainment”, which surely rules out oysters full stop. “Veganism is about rejecting the notion that animals are food or products, therefore we don’t view oysters as something to eat,” a Society spokeswoman confirms. Phew, I’ve no idea why I was worried now. This culinary agony aunting lark is easy: 130 words in, and I’ve already earned my corn. I’m off to the pub …
Er, not so fast, sunshine, because this is where those waters get murky. You see, there is a school of thought that argues the exact opposite, even though that may seem a wildly have-cake-and-eat-it opinion. Far from it, says chef Alexis Gauthier, of Gauthier in Soho, one of the UK’s top vegan-friendly fine dining haunts, complete with a £70 nine-course vegan tasting menu. Gauthier is himself vegan, yet as far as he’s concerned, it’s fine to eat oysters. “You what?” you may well ask, but let’s hear the man out.
Gauthier takes an “eat nothing with a face” approach to veganism. “For me, a vegan diet is fundamentally about compassion,” he explains, “and, as current research confirms, oysters are non-sentient beings with no brain or advanced central nervous system, so they’re unable to feel pain. That’s why I’m happy to eat them.” He accepts this view isn’t shared by all, which is why oysters don’t feature on his vegan menus. “There are plenty of other ingredients to choose from.”
Gauthier is not a lone voice, either. It turns out the “Are oysters vegan?” debate has been going on for decades, and while the naysayers are in a clear majority for obvious reasons, there are a surprising number of advocates out there. Chef/restaurateur Jackson Boxer of Brunswick House and Orasay in London is among them: “I’d never dream of foisting oysters on anyone who doesn’t want to eat them for whatever reason, ethical or otherwise,” he says, “but there is a case for saying they’re less sentient even than trees. Unlike most farming, oysters have a demonstrably beneficial impact on the environment around them, too – they filter and purify the water, which in turn encourages secondary ecosystems.”
You might think Boxer would say that, wouldn’t he, considering he’s not a vegan and everything, but this column’s far too cowardly to start pointing fingers at anyone about dietary purity one way or the other – after all, what we choose to put in our mouths is entirely up to each of us as individuals. As the bioethicist and philosopher Peter Singer put it in 2009: “It’s hard to imagine [oysters] can feel pain. But if you have doubts about it, don’t eat them.” And vice versa, presumably.
So, clear as mud then. I now need a lie-down, rather than a pub. Thanks, Elia, I hope you’re pleased with yourself.
