(Note from Erin: If you’ve spent any time here at HNN then you know I happily live a plant-based lifestyle. You also know that I don’t shame anyone for their food choices at all. We do not tolerate any type of shaming here. So, having said that, let me say that this story absolutely shocks and saddens me.)
The owner of a vegan cafe in New Zealand called Cool Beans Cafe has been forced to shut down after customers complained about not being served dairy milk. (I’m still trying to wrap my brain around why someone would go to Cool Beans for coffee if they knew he didn’t use dairy?)
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The cafe, in Mangawhai on New Zealand’s North Island, had been offering a wide range of plant-based products when the local Mangawhai Activity Zone Charitable Trust (MAZCT), which manages commercial operations on the site, let owner and operator Morgan Redfern-Hardisty know that there were complaints about him not offering dairy products.
They let him know that in order for his contract to be renewed he would need to meet the “status quo.” Essentially they threatened him to do what they wanted or his contract wouldn’t be renewed. This is shameful.
And so, Mr. Redfern-Hardisty decided to close saying, “When it comes down to taste or suffering, suffering is not worth it.”1 (We agree but also feel so sorry for him. We cannot imagine the loss of income and passion- he was doing what he really loved and working for himself- something I totally understand and respect.)
After developing Crohn’s disease, Redfern-Hardisty made the switch to a plant-based lifestyle and until now the majority of the community had been “very supportive”. He said, “My intention purely was to reduce the cafe’s impact on the environment, provide healthy alternatives and to not use and exploit animals in any way. Even the best dairy farms in New Zealand are still tainting the waterways.”2
And he said the change to non-dairy alternatives was a conversation-starter, “I had been holding my tongue serving cow’s milk, but since making the switch the community reaction has been so positive. There is a trend happening worldwide towards more environmental, ethical and health conscious products, and so when people saw a small cafe like mine make this change they were very supportive. I just thought New Zealand is so adaptable.”3
Or at least the community had been supportive.
Since switching to non-dairy (but still offering six milk alternatives: homemade almond milk, and soy, oat, rye, coconut, and hazelnut) sales were up 25 percent in the last month.
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Mr. Redfern-Hardisty believes his last day operating will be New Zealand’s Labour Day, October 22.
Members of the Mangawhai community have expressed outrage on social media at the trust’s decision and launched a petition calling for the trust to reverse its decision. To date, they have received over 13,000 signatures.
