San Francisco is gearing up for the 2026 Vegan Earth Day March, because apparently regular Earth Day wasn't niche enough and regular veganism wasn't public enough. The event promises to combine two of the city's favorite pastimes: marching and telling you what to eat.

Look, we're all for people exercising their First Amendment rights. March for whatever you want — that's the beauty of living in a free country. And if your cause is plant-based eating and environmental stewardship, fine. There are legitimate conversations to be had about agricultural subsidies, land use, and the government's role (or non-role) in dietary choices.

But here's what always nags us about these kinds of events in SF: they tend to be less about persuasion and more about performance. The city already has more vegan restaurants per capita than practically anywhere in the country. You're not exactly speaking truth to power when you're marching through neighborhoods where the median oat milk consumption could fill the Bay.

The real question we'd love to see this energy directed toward? How about the billions in farm subsidies that flow to massive agricultural operations regardless of their environmental footprint? How about the regulatory barriers that make it harder for small, sustainable farms to compete? If you actually want to change the food system, the fight isn't on the streets of San Francisco — it's in the Farm Bill.

As one local put it about a different SF culture-war skirmish, people tend to bundle "all their impotent rage" into symbolic battles when the things they actually can't control pile up. That cuts both ways. Marching feels good. Policy is harder.

We'd never tell anyone not to march — that's your right, full stop. But if you want to make a real dent in how food systems work in this country, put down the banner and pick up a comment letter to the USDA. It's less Instagrammable, but infinitely more effective.

Happy Earth Day, SF. Eat whatever you want. That's freedom.