The Garden of Vegan by Cleve West

Author Interview

Cleve West is a committed vegan who, as a professional garden designer, has won six Gold Medals at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show in London. He is the author of The Garden of Vegan: How Plants Can Save the Animals, the Planet and Our Health (Pimpernel Press, 2020). ‘The Garden of Eden is broken,’ he writes. ‘The Garden of Vegan can fix it.’ Welcome to the twentieth in my series of interviews with authors of books about animal studies, animal rights, and vegan living.

Is there a straight line between being a Chelsea gold-winning garden designer and a vegan animal rights advocate? Or were there some twists and turns and dead ends along the way?

Quite a few twists and turns and the odd dead end if I’m honest.

I don’t have much of a profile compared to the likes of Monty Don or Alan Titchmarsh (TV celebrity gardeners in the UK), but I have tried to lobby the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to go plant-based at their shows and events. Naively I thought that the RHS would embrace the idea because it’s all about plants (you couldn’t get a better strapline from a PR point of view) but of course, it didn’t happen, and I succeeded in alienating myself from a lot of my colleagues.

There was a period when the RHS wouldn’t respond to any of my communications. After a regime change, however, they started warming to the idea. I had meetings with the RHS about shifting to plant-based food. It turned out that their main concern was that it might drive members away. I suggested that they should just do it and not broadcast it. To my delight, not only did they open a plant-based restaurant at RHS Wisley, but they also had a plant-based restaurant at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2023. They took my advice so literally they didn’t even tell me!

Sadly, this year they ditched the idea of a plant-based restaurant at Chelsea because it didn’t make enough money. I started lobbying again but all I’ve had for the last year is radio silence.

On a more positive note, at the Beth Chatto Symposium 2024, I had some fruitful conversations with a lot of sympathetic gardeners. It turns out that there are more vegan gardeners than I thought so I’ve set up a private Instagram account (@veganicgardeners). It’s a comfortable place where like-minded people can discuss vegan issues without the fear of trolling or the anxiety of being identified publicly as vegan. It’s a sad state of affairs as it just shows how conditioned and challenged people are when it comes to changing their eating habits and how insecure some people feel about being identified as vegan.

It therefore feels like one step forward two steps back. It’s very frustrating for an impatient git like me but we keep on keeping on.

Do your clients engage you because of your ethical commitments to the environment and animals? Or despite it?

I’d say that the majority of my clients are non-vegan.

I don’t know whether my advocacy for animals has put anyone off (it wouldn’t surprise me) from engaging my services but I’m pleased to (at last) have a couple of vegan clients. Other, non-vegan, clients have cited my concern for biodiversity as a reason for making contact.

After a conversation with a client about their Canada Goose coat backfired, I tend not to raise any vegan issues at work these days unless specifically asked.

Interestingly, when invited to attend events or give talks some are providing plant-based food which is encouraging. I keep reminding the organisers that plant-based food is more inclusive (in that everyone can eat plants) and this seems to be a better, less confrontational tactic than saying ‘cruelty-free’. Banishing cow’s milk from their beverages, however, seems to be a step too far for some, but at least it’s going in the right direction.

The horticultural sector is all about plants and the environment. Why isn’t it vegan?

That’s the million-dollar question!

I think because of the usual reasons, lack of empathy for animals or lack of education when it comes to the negative effects of animal agriculture on the environment. The latter is where I tend to focus my efforts on advocacy with fellow gardeners. Many are concerned with environmental issues but can’t (or, more likely, won’t) make the connection with animal agriculture.

I fear that the main influencers in the horticultural sector either have a vested interest in perpetuating animal farming or value their tastebuds over the lives and feelings of animals.

Many have fallen for the idea that it’s ok to eat animals from high-welfare farms, often citing farms such as Knepp as the way forward, but without acknowledging the amount of land that would need to be re-wilded to meet the current demand for meat.

The propaganda machine behind the meat, dairy, and egg industries is in overdrive right now. They need to see off competition from plant-based alternatives and keep people clueless by green-washing and humane-washing.

Also, I think that there is a particularly strong nostalgia for the bucolic idyll which ties in nicely with the increasing interest in re-wilding. The romantic notion of animals grazing in the fields and that all is right with the world is hardwired into the history of the landscape, in this country at least. Anyone trying to expose what goes on inside slaughterhouses is seen as an extremist. Interestingly there are ways in which these pastoral scenes can still be preserved (and used to enhance biodiversity) without needlessly taking animals’ lives. It just needs some creative imagination and funding.

Do you see any progress or increased awareness of the climate crisis, for example, in such institutions as the RHS or the National Trust? Shouldn’t they all be advocating veganism?

Yes, I think there is a lot of genuine concern about climate change but only in terms of dealing with it—using plants that will attract more insects or be resilient to weather and seasonal extremes—rather than slowing it. There is more than enough information available for people to understand the connection between animal agriculture and climate change. Anyone expressing concern for climate change while eating animals increasingly comes across as being disingenuous.

The National Trust could play an important part in re-wilding the UK not just as a glorified animal sanctuary but also as a vital resource in terms of education.

Q5 In The Garden of Vegan, you write

While we’re happy taking what gardens can provide to heal us, we’re not so good at reciprocating, and the largest garden of all, planet earth, may soon cease to provide if we don’t change our ways.

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future? What action would you prescribe people to take if you could help them create their Garden of Vegan?

Just talking to some of my family, friends, and colleagues and listening to key influencers around the world doesn’t fill me with a huge amount of optimism. Some of the most intelligent and empathetic (with animals) people I know who seem completely in tune with the environment, will draw the line at being vegan for nothing more than selfish reasons. This is disappointing as such people could have a significant influence on others who might be on the fence.

I fear that the penny will drop far too late for younger generations who will inherit inadequate food systems for an ever-increasing population and an ever-diminishing biodiversity. While the potential of a veganic world is exciting and encouraging, the consequences of continuing with the status quo are disconcerting.

I would encourage people to look at growing food veganically, that is to say organically and without using any animal products. This is a more efficient and sustainable method of gardening. Iain Tolhurst, of Tolhurst Organics, has been growing veganic food for more than thirty years. This was born out of a necessity for food security. Not for compassionate reasons. Production (on medium-grade arable land) has grown exponentially over the years allowing him to provide veganic food for the local community around The Hardwick Estate near Whitchurch, Oxfordshire.

Iain has the template for a veganic revolution in food growing. He is in much demand to help farmers in the UK and abroad to transition away from animal agriculture.

I keep hearing from others in my sector that gardeners are nice people. The implication is pipe down a bit we’re all doing our best but I really don’t feel that we’re doing anywhere near enough. It’s a shame because veganism is fundamentally the foundation stone for a kinder society and a more sustainable planet. It has enriched my life so much and, like many other vegans I know, I wish I had done it sooner.