According to HKM lawyers, when it comes to religion, it’s generally frowned upon for a company to push its views on its employees. Yet, what about other views? Say, like eating meat? WeWork just announced that not only would the company no longer provide catering with meat at its office locations, but that it wouldn’t even allow employees to expense meals with meat.
Yes, you read that right. No more meat. WeWork claims it is to cut down on greenhouse gases, water use and whatnot, but it has been proven time and time again that if meat suppliers use sustainable practices, meat is actually better for the environment than plant agriculture. It’s only a matter of paying more money to make that happen. At a $20B valuation, one might think WeWork has enough money to make that happen.
Yet, that is not a path that WeWork decided to tread. They took the easy way out, because at the end of the day that bean curd and kale salad is cheaper than sustainable meat. I don’t knock a company for trying to make a profit, but I do knock a company for acting like it is being altruistic about it. If WeWork was upfront about the real reason – namely some PR and pushing views on other people – things might be a little different. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
So, for besmirching meat for all the wrong reasons, WeWork is one heck of an unvegan villain.