Unnatural Vegan

Swayze Foster , also known as Unnatural Vegan, is an American vegan YouTuber, utilitarian, and skeptic. Her channel has, as of August 2020, around 266,000 subscribers and 47.6 million views.Unnatural Vegan - YouTube 
Foster was originally a raw foodist when she started her channel, which is why her handle is "FitOnRaw"; she now describes herself as a "former crazy raw foodist turned pro-vaccine, pro-normal diet vegan". The name "Unnatural Vegan" is apparently intended to contest the appeals to nature that crop up in some vegan circles.
==Skepticism==
Foster favors a scientific and pragmatic approach to vegan practice and activism, and thus, frequently calls out anti-vaccine,Unnatural Vegan. Why I'm a Pro-Vaccine Vegan (and 12 vaccine myths dispelled). YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. Kat Von D Is Anti-Vax. And We Aren't Helping. YouTube. anti-GMOUnnatural Vegan. Why I'm a Pro-GMO Vegan (and 9 gmo myths dispelled). YouTube. and anti-fluoridationUnnatural Vegan. Fluoridated water is dangerous? Mercola & Fluoride Action Network are wrong. YouTube. stances, as well as overly restrictive dieting,Unnatural Vegan. Kristina, your advice is dangerous. Please stop. YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. No, I Don't Eat Raw Till 4. Here are 8 Reasons Why.Unnatural Vegan. Shine With Plants Shows You How To Eat An Extremely Restrictive Vegan Diet. YouTube. appeals to nature,Unnatural Vegan. Raw Vegan & Vegan Diets are Not Natural. YouTube. cherry picking of studies,Unnatural Vegan. Cherry Picking is Wrong, Even When Vegans Do It. YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. A Vegan Debunks 'What the Health' Documentary. YouTube. shill gambitsUnnatural Vegan. That Vegan Couple needs to stop (Re: Baby Dies from Vegan Diet! Parents Jailed). YouTube. and bad science in general,Unnatural Vegan. Seaweed makes cows good for the environment? CHECKMATE VEGANS! YouTube. regardless of whether it comes from the pro-vegan or anti-vegan camp. 
She generally provides citations for her statements, and freely admits and corrects her mistakes, however she has not made one of her so-called "I Was Wrong" videos since 2016.Unnatural Vegan. I was wrong (2015 edition). YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. I was wrong (2016 edition). YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. I Was Wrong About GMO Labeling. YouTube. In 2019 she denounced and heavily criticized the book she had authored seven years earlier, The Science of Eating Raw.Unnatural Vegan. I Wrote A Diet Book & It’s The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done. YouTube.
==The good: Ethics and nuance==
Foster follows a utilitarian ethic and bases her veganism on the idea of reducing suffering for animals, following the lead of Peter Singer and John Stuart Mill. She is, as such, critical of the deontological approach of Gary Francione, whom she criticizes for making veganism seem unnecessarily difficult and exclusive, even as he proclaims "Go vegan, it's easy!"Unnatural Vegan. Gary Francione doesn’t understand veganism or activism (dumpster diving & what it means to be vegan). YouTube. 
She is also quick to denounce and deconstruct and asshole behavior from other vegans,Unnatural Vegan. A Terrible Vegan Insults This 32-Year-Old Lady. YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. Misanthropy is Not Okay (a response to Gary Yourofsky). YouTube. particularly the more virulent specimens such as Vegan GainsUnnatural Vegan. Furious Pete's Cancer Won't Quit, But Vegan Gains Should. YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. Vegan Gains Should Get a Vasectomy (and stop promoting veganism?) YouTube. and ,Unnatural Vegan. That Vegan Teacher Thinks I'm a Coward. YouTube. and also stands out as showing a compassionate approach toward people who have fallen off the vegan bandwagon. She responded far better to Blaire White quitting veganism than most of her vegan Internet colleagues did.Unnatural Vegan. Blaire White: Quitting vegan is your choice, but please stop spreading lies. YouTube.And for her part, White commented to express her appreciation at how "civil and educational" this response was. However, she has also called out numerous people for making less-than-valid anti-vegan arguments, such as Lauren ChenUnnatural Vegan. Roaming Millennial needs a safe space from vegans. YouTube. and Jaclyn Glenn.Unnatural Vegan. Re: CRAZY VEGAN IDIOTS (straw man arguments from nihilistic atheists). YouTube. 
Her tolerant approach toward non-vegans,Unnatural Vegan. To Onision, Vegans, Mostly Vegans, "At-Home Only" Vegans, etc. YouTube. her favorable attitude toward Unnatural Vegan. Vegan Gains Doesn't Understand Reducetarianism. YouTube. and her rejection of pseudoscience in the vegan community have prompted other vegans to accuse her of being an infiltrator or of not really being vegan.Unnatural Vegan. Why vegans think I'm not vegan (low fat & low carb biases). YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. Why Am I Vegan When I'm So Negative About Veganism?. YouTube.
==The bad: Social justice==
She seems to have had a blind spot when it came to her 2017 video rejecting intersectionality, which she saw as incompatible with utilitarianism; she misrepresented it as a "belief system" in which victims of oppression are "beyond reproach", rather than simply a means of studying and understanding how different axes of oppression intersect with each other. This stance was criticized by YouTubers such as Marine (A Privileged Vegan)A Privileged Vegan. Re: "Why I'm not an intersectional vegan" by Unnatural Vegan. YouTube. and Reg Flowers.Reg Flowers. Unnatural Vegan Gets an "F" for Social Justice. YouTube. Although Foster removed the video in question and showed some surface-level understanding of privilege,Unnatural Vegan. This Is What Vegan Privilege Looks Like. YouTube.Unnatural Vegan. Re: Do All Vegans Think The Same?. YouTube. she continued to reject intersectionality in 2020, and used whataboutism to denigrate the imperative of the Black Lives Matter movementUnnatural Vegan. Do Vegans Need To Talk About Black Lives Matter?. YouTube. while claiming to support it,Unnatural Vegan. Responding To Comments (This Is Not An Apology, And I Still Support Black Lives Matter). YouTube. drawing criticism from YouTubers such as Niles Gilmore,
Niles Gilmore. Angry Vegans Rant About "Do Vegans Need To Talk About Black Lives Matter?"(Re: Unnatural Vegan). YouTube.Niles Gilmore. My Final Critique of Unnatural Vegan (Re: Responding To Comments). YouTube. Jean Maté,Jean Maté. unnatural vegan thinks vegans shouldn't have to support black lives matter. YouTube. Lo Aleen,Lo Aleen. vegans NEED to talk about Black Lives Matter (response to unnatural vegan). YouTube.Lo Aleen. is unnatural vegan CANCELLED??. YouTube. and happyblacklegends.happyblacklegends. UNNATURAL VEGAN.... AS A BLACK SUBSCRIBER I'M DISSAPOINTED. YouTube.
==See also==
*Peter Singer
*Utilitarianism
*Vegan Gains
==External links==
*Unnatural Vegan on YouTube
*Unnatural Vegan on Twitter 
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Animal rights
Category:Skeptics
Category:YouTube