All the Problems with WeWork’s Tyrannical New “No Meat” Policy

https://slate.com/business/2018/07/all-the-problems-with-weworks-no-meat-policy.html

by shimms • 8 years ago

35 30 8 years ago

easytiger6• 8 years ago

WeWork’s 6,000 employees around the globe have now been told that they will no longer be able to expense meals including meat,

Genuinely would not give wework any business on hearing this. Utterly disgraceful.

it’s also banning meat (but not fish) from all corporate events on the grounds

Is anyone comfortable with a property holding company telling you what you can't eat on the property you pay them to use?

eridius2• 8 years ago

It sounds like this policy applies to WeWork's employees, not to people who rent coworking spaces from WeWork.

easytiger6• 8 years ago

It also applies to catering applied for onsite events from the article

ethiclub• 8 years ago

Excusing the potential hypocrisy of the policy re: fish vs meat (given general movement in recent years as to the complexity of fish nervous systems) - As well as the fact that 'fish' is not a useful term in biology...

It seems extreme to say "Utterly disgraceful."... Let's assume the principle of charity here, and say that the move was about stopping net negative emotion in conscious entities.

They aren't stopping you from doing it. They just aren't funding it themselves any more. Your reply appears very knee-jerk considering that the principle of charity essentially makes this news into: "Wework cannot morally pay expenses for things that were used in the forced behaviour, or at worst negative emotion of, animals in modern industrialised farming. However, you can still eat meat on our property"

Is anyone comfortable with a property holding company telling you what you can't eat on the property you pay them to use? You can. They just won't pay you for it. And this isn't about clients, it's about employees (As an aside, this is possibly a statement that was worth due diligence checks being done, before assuming and posting).

I also note that many people are doing back of the envelope calculations on environmental impact of eggs vs flights etc. Can this not simply be "We [wework] don't want to pay for what we see as murder"?

easytiger6• 8 years ago

They aren't stopping you from doing it.

The article states that it applies to any onsite event with catering a customer might hold. Perhaps I misunderstand. Given most events hosted there are done in cooperation with or illustrating a relationship between wework with no commercial payment from the third party, i dunno where the lines are.

"We [wework] don't want to pay for what we see as murder"?

The questionable predicate for doing so is the environmental impact. Where do you get that from? They absolutely would not win any fans imposing moral absolutism on the eating habits of the majority of people.

TheCoelacanth• 8 years ago

They explicitly said it was because of the environmental impact, so the murder thing is not in any way a reasonable interpretation.

jonhendry182• 8 years ago

"Excusing the potential hypocrisy of the policy re: fish vs meat "

Especially given the significant issues of fishing bycatch, waste, overfishing, etc.

Fish is far from being environmentally "okay".

currymj• 8 years ago

that second quote is taken out of context.

The full quote is:

“It’s also banning meat (but not fish) from all corporate events on the grounds, handed down by co-founder Miguel McKelvey, that “avoiding meat is one of the biggest things an individual can do to reduce their personal environmental impact” “

The word “grounds” is used as a synonym for “reason” or “justification”. It doesn’t refer to WeWork properties.

I think it’s a dumb policy, but there’s no reason to think it will be inflicted on WeWork tenants.

bootlooped3• 8 years ago

Genuinely would not give wework any business on hearing this. Utterly disgraceful.

Why do you think a company making ethical choices about how to spend their own money is disgraceful?

busterarm• 8 years ago

WeWork doesn't really have the best history as far as ethical behavior goes.

easytiger6• 8 years ago

Why do you think a company making ethical choices

For a spurious definition of ethical not shared by almost all people.

marichards• 8 years ago

Unless meat was part of the sales pitch or contract, they can probably choose the menu they cater regardless, so this seems fine.

However I do think the expenses part seems wrong. Employers should not dictate restrictions on breakfast, lunch and dinner diets, that is a cultural imposition and treads a dangerous line for employers' control.

On business trips, that cultural imposition may be unavoidable for an employee and it sets a standard that it's okay for WeWork to try to control aspects of employees lives.. will staff be required to wear uniform at all times whilst on a business trip, including company mandated nightwear, only expense business travel if it is electric and only expense drinks if they're caffeinated.

Companies should have discretion on alcohol, night clubs, etc, but these would only ever be perks, food is a dependency and a costly one for many when staying in a hotel.

lukeinator42• 8 years ago

Haha I think I’m going to have to try making those bacon wrapped figs, they look delicious

mabynogy2• 8 years ago

Probably illegal as it's not good for health.

GuB-42• 8 years ago

- (pesco)vegetarian diet is not bad for health. Vegan diet can be bad for health but only if you are not careful (ex: make sure you get enough vitamin B12). In fact, veg* tend to be healthier, though I think it is just a byproduct of simply caring about diet rather than the details of it.

- They don't ban meat, they just refuse to pay for meals that include meat.

- They can make exceptions for health and religious reasons.

mabynogy2• 8 years ago

It's a controversial subject. I also think it's a political subject in western countries (not in India).

About the "if" (you are not careful), we can also say that for McDonald.

talltimtom• 8 years ago

People who eat meat (me included) do not need to eat meat at every single meal. So what if the company events will be vegetarian and you expenses dinners will have to as well? You can still eat meat whenever you want. They just won’t be paying for it. Our cantina has vegitarian days and no-one hardly even notices. Though if you have a meat addiction and absolutely need 200g at every meat, you can just bring your own lunch.

I feel people are far to religious about this. Bring back the outrage when any of their employees starved to death.

There are companies who don’t have company events at all and who don’t let employees expense any meals at all. Shouldn’t they be the real “tyrants”?

tomjen3• 8 years ago

There are carnists who only eat meat (Jordan Petersen is one) but like any minority they have to deal with more friction than the rest of us.

Vegetarians are also a minority, why cater specifically to them?

jasonvorhe• 8 years ago

Because they're a low common denominator, since a lot of religious and cultural limitations are based on specific meat.

lern_too_spel2• 8 years ago

The company gave environmental reasons.

geoalchimista2• 8 years ago

Vegetarians are also a minority, why cater specifically to them?

Second you on this. You may be interested in this article (which answers the why):

The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dict...

jonhendry182• 8 years ago

Nuts seem to be a common protein source for vegetarian/vegan diets and recipes.

That could be a problem for employees who are allergic to nuts.

b34r• 8 years ago

This is pretty obviously just the cofounder’s values being forced on the company. It’s one thing to promote a vegetarian lifestyle, another to ram it down throats and create awkward situations across the entire company.

All the Problems with WeWork’s Tyrannical New “No Meat” Policy

Related Stories