Photo by VISIR / INCOMING

Vegan-búðin in Faxafen in Reykjavik had eggs thrown at it last night, Vísir reports. The store’s owner, Sæunn Ingibjörg Marinósdóttir, took to Facebook to express her disappointment.

Staff at the vegan shop, which opened just three weeks ago, were greeted with an upsetting sight when they arrived at work this morning: presumed vegaphobes had thrown eggs at the shopfront, leaving the empty carton in the street. Sæunn told members of Facebook group Vegan Ísland that egg had solidified onto the window and would take “half a day” to remove. The egg attack culprit(s) are currently unknown and Sæunn has stated that she will not pursue the matter further, but there will be greater levels of surveillance around their store in the future.

Sæunn expressed her dismay in the post, writing, “It’s rather disappointing how people can behave.” She went on to explain that as vegans, “eggs stand for what we are fighting against.” Sæunn also told reporters that her store had received multiple threats in the past, for example individuals telling her they would show up at the shop in fur coats, carrying meat. She now finds such behaviour tedious and “very predictable.”

Iceland is home to a relatively large vegan community – the Vegan Ísland Facebook group boasts over 23,000 members. But, even in 2020, veganism has the potential to cause controversy in Iceland as the members’ frequent Facebook feuds demonstrate.