Neither nature nor nurture

It is a common misconception, though a very dangerous one, to view Capitalism as a practical manifestation of Darwinism: a level playing field that favours the survival of the fittest. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Capitalism, as we know it, is the art of undermining the law of the jungle that it purports to uphold. There seems to be a contradiction here, and this is what leads to the misconception in the first place. If Capitalism manages to manipulate the law to its advantage, then that too must be part of the rules of the game and therefore not contrary to the notion of the survival of the fittest.

However, just as the body can begin generating its own destruction through cancerous cells, the natural order can be usurped by an alien force. That force is the human intellect. It has evolved beyond nature: for better or for worse; for better, such as supporting weaker lifeforms rather than exploiting them, for worse, through the creation of laws that oppress the natural order by superimposing a system that only benefits the few.

An example will clarify this beyond any doubt. Let us say, then, that Joe Bloggs inherits a fortune from his parents. This wealth is then increased through legalised wage theft, direct and indirect subsidies, devious laws that eliminate or debilitate any opposition and behind the scenes bribery.

Mr Bloggs is anything but Nietzsche’s Superman, in fact, he is a viscid, spineless, cruel and incompetent individual whose security depends solely on loaded dice. And here is the tragedy: we vote for politicians that uphold this exploitative system, often while being well-aware that we are voting for “the lesser” evil. In other words, we have resigned ourselves to a state of servitude that is both, in all intents and purposes, an abomination against natural justice and contrary to evolved enlightenment.

More than just an unfair advantage

Now let us look at some real examples focussing on the EU. In December 2023, Italy passed a law (172/2023), banning the production and sale of lab-grown meats and animal feed (produced from cell cultures). It also restricts labelling plant-based products with meat-related terms, criminalising such terms as “veggie burger”, “vegan sausage”, “vegan cheese” and “almond milk”. Companies breaking the rules can face fines of up to €60,000 for violations plus the confiscation of goods and forced closure.

In 2026, plant-based brand Oatly lost a UK trademark battle over its ‘post-milk generation’ slogan after opposition from Dairy UK, highlighting tensions over the use of the word ‘milk’ in non-dairy marketing. Photo by Tiia Monto © CC BY-SA 3.0
In 2026, plant-based brand Oatly lost a UK trademark battle over its ‘post-milk generation’ slogan after opposition from Dairy UK, highlighting tensions over the use of the word ‘milk’ in non-dairy marketing. Photo by Tiia Monto © CC BY-SA 3.0

Such laws are passed while the majority of the population is too busy thinking about how to pay their next bill than to keeping a watchful eye on what is happening in parliament; and even if they did, most would not understand the implications of these sly laws that are gradually creating a culture in the image of Mamon.

So what are the implications of this law? There are several. The most significant concern the undermining of the free market, the upholding of outdated, immoral and environmentally catastrophic mechanisms of production, and manipulating language to erase veganism by gagging the presentation of products.

The justification for this law is that it aims to protect traditional Italian agriculture and food culture. The religious equivalent would be protecting Catholicism by monopolising religious terminology and penalising and restricting new faiths in order to “protect” traditional Italian beliefs.

This is as Fascist as it gets, but Italy is not alone in Europe, even though it was the first to jump the gun and bulldoze ahead before the EU could pass its own rules. In the wake of draconian initiatives, a deal was struck on 5 March 2026 involving the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which will bar the use of over 30 animal-associated terms from vegan products.

These terms concentrate on terminology relating to meats and cuts, so that labelling a product “vegan shrimp” or “vegan drumsticks” would be illegal. However, some format-based names like “burger”, “sausage” or “nuggets” would be permitted. Whether Italy will relax its laws accordingly remains to be seen, but the EU’s stance is restrictive enough, sprinkling as much salt as it can get away with on a nascent vegan industry.

Of course, the onslaught does not stop there. The level playing field is further undermined by massive subsidies to the meat and dairy industries. The very businesses that are one of the main causes of pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, animal cruelty and health problems, including pandemics.

These subsidies can be direct, such as those linked to cash payments, or indirect, such as tax exemptions or reductions. They not only disadvantage local competition, but competition in general. If, for instance, potatoes are being sold locally at a price that does not even match the production cost, what hope would a producer in a neighbouring country have of exporting their potatoes there? Eating seasonal and local produce is good, but a manipulated market rarely is.

From the 1970s, price supports in the European Union drove butter surpluses that grew into the ‘butter mountain’, a stockpile that later dwindled and largely vanished by 2017.
From the 1970s, price supports in the European Union drove butter surpluses that grew into the ‘butter mountain’, a stockpile that later dwindled and largely vanished by 2017.

The “butter mountains” of the 1970s, 80s and 90s offer a physical representation of the levels of absurdity of contrived intervention. These stockpiles, reaching over one million tons, were the result of massive European Economic Community (EEC) price-intervention subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Surplus butter is easier to store and sell off cheaply, though storage and transport costs add to the futility of the process, but surplus perishable produce such as tomatoes are even more vulnerable and are often dumped rather than sold as a loss, as destruction often proves to be the cheapest option.

Subsidies can be a useful tool in kickstarting production when a market failure causes supply issues of important goods, however, they are plagued with serious problems ranging from corruption to mismanagement. According to Investopedia:

“Most subsidies are long-term failures in the economic sense but still achieve cultural or political goals.”

It is precisely these cultural and political goals that are most dangerous as attempts at undermining the vegan market make plain.

Counting the cost

Finally, in case anyone was under the impression that these handouts are trifling amounts, here is some information to set the record straight. CAP Expenditure details are deliberately cagey, with payment data mostly being area-based, meaning they’re not tied directly to specific production (e.g. cows vs crops) and therefore they can take eons to analyse. According to a February 2026 Report published by Foodrise, a charity focussed on the food systems which take into account climate, nature and justice:

“High-emissions beef and lamb received an estimated 580 times more common agricultural policy (CAP) subsidies from the European Union than legumes such as lentils and beans in 2020 (€8 billion compared to just €14 million) … Similarly, dairy received an estimated 500 times more CAP payments than nuts and seeds (€16 billion compared to just €29 million).”

This amounts to a total of 77% of CAP subsidies going to meat and dairy.

The rich get richer

Moreover, if this were not bad enough, according to payments data gathered by Greenpeace:

“A tiny fraction of rich landowners and industrial farmers siphon off the lion’s share of the EU’s subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with a wealthy 1% of recipients taking as much as 40% of the money paid out in some countries…”

Fossil fuel subsidies and arms industry subsidies are equally sinister. In other words, our hard-earned tax money is mostly used to bolster those very industries that are responsible for the destruction of our planet primarily to satisfy the greed of our elites.

The Unholy Trinity: Putin, Trump and Netanyahu, have helped bring to light the motives behind Government operations through their blatant disregard for international law and contempt for human life, but sadly the emperor’s new clothes are not so much the deception of the emperor anymore, but a public who still fails to see the naked truth.