I wish I’d seen this information on vegan activism when I was attacked for being a “damned, stupid half-vegan” (see our post Compassion Will Cure More Sins Than Condemnation).
Vegan Outreach has a particular segment on activism entitled, Busting the Vegan Police, in which they say:
It is imperative for us to realize that if our veganism is a statement for animal liberation, veganism cannot be an exclusive, ego-boosting club. Rather, we must become the mainstream. Fostering the impression that “it’s so hard to be vegan–animal products are in everything,” and emphasizing animal products where the connection to animal suffering is tenuous, works against this by allowing most to ignore us and causing others to give up the whole process out of frustration.
The way veganism is presented to a potential vegan is of major importance. The attractive idea behind being a “vegan” is reducing one’s contribution to animal exploitation. Buying meat, eggs, and/or dairy creates animal suffering–animals will be raised and slaughtered specifically for these products. But if the by-products are not sold, they will be thrown out or given away. As more people stop eating animals, the by-products will naturally fade, so there is no real reason to force other people to worry about them in order to call themselves “vegan.”
We want a vegan world, not a vegan club.
Amen.
Obviously, this veganer-than-thou attitude is something that really bothers me. I agree with Vegan Outreach. If the objective of veganism is to reduce the suffering and exploitation of animals, then to criticize and condemn people who drink Guinness, for example, because it’s refined with Isinglass (see this post) isn’t going to accomplish that goal. Instead of demanding that people who don’t concern themselves with the animal by-products in their food label themselves as “strict vegetarians” perhaps we should allow the term vegan to encompass a broader perspective. As Vegan Outreach points out when fewer animals are consumed, fewer by-products are created. In turn, this will result in the cost of animal by-products rising so that cheaper alternatives will be sought out. The basic principles of supply and demand.
The definition of Vegan in Wikipedia states:
Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind.
And as Convenient Vegan says in her post:
…the words “seeks to exclude.” This because it is impossible to assure that everything you eat, everything you wear, every part of how you live is completely free of cruelty to animals. The tires on your car – or your bike – were probably created with the assistance of animal by-products. The organic food you eat might well involve the deaths of many little insects. The materials used to build your home may include some products that involved the use of animal products in their production.
In order to bring veganism, and therefore animal rights, into the mainstream it might behoove us all to rethink where we draw our lines.
RELATED POSTS:
- New Vegan Strips… No Bacon, but Plenty of Silicone
- In Other’s Words — Vegan Quotes
- Lines In The Sand — Revisited
- Arguing for Vegetarianism
- Compassion Will Cure More Sins than Condemnation
Stumble it!
5 responses so far ↓
1 LaTara Ham-Ying // Feb 28, 2008 at
Amen! Amen! And Amen again! You know I have had more junk said to me about my not being an “ethical” vegan and I tell you what, it has made me very unsure when I hear someone say that they are vegan.
I have tried to get few of the naysayers on my podcast, but to no avail. One of them posted a 2 page comment and I deleted it because it was repetitive, irrelevant, and judgmental. She was putting words in my mouth that I never said and told me that post after post (comments is what she meant I believe) on my blog are from people who seem to have no clue that there is a definition of Vegan.
I am still scratching my head behind that one.
I for one am tired of the Vegan Police and all that they spew. I am going to have to check out Vegan Outreach more.
Thanks for sharing!
2 nadir // Feb 29, 2008 at
Fabulous post!
Dissemination of this is a must, far and wide.
Off to post link to it now.
Quick, others do the same!
3 Elaine Vigneault // Feb 29, 2008 at
Vegan Convenient is a she not a he, by the way
I agree that we ought not to chastise someone for eating something they thought was vegan but was not. But I wouldn’t go from there to conclude that ingredients are not important or that it’s perfectly acceptable to eat a little nonvegan here and there.
None of are perfect and we should allow ourselves to recover without much guilt from mistakes and adjustments. Even people who drop animal products cold turkey have a transition period where they likely make a mistake or two.
However, I do not agree that it’s right to use the term ‘vegan’ to describe people who don’t care about animals and/or who simply eat like a vegan. If you wear fur coats or eat eggs, you can’t call yourself a vegan and be truthful about it. I’m not trying to be the vegan police, but words have meanings and most words should be used correctly. If you called yourself kosher and kept eating ham, I’d say you were lying about calling yourself kosher. It’s not about policing the borders or making veganism elitist, it’s about maintaining the integrity of the vegan philosophy: “Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind.”
4 Lane // Feb 29, 2008 at
LaTara and Nadir, I’m glad to be able to provide information my readers find useful and worth sharing.
Elaine, I agree with what you have to say, and disagree at the same time. There is definitely hypocrisy involved in wearing fur and avoiding animal products in your food, since animals are slaughtered for their fur. But I’m not sure we really need to concern ourselves about the animal by-products in the things we consume. Living in this society animal by-products are in a startling number of things you’d never suspect… animal fats and fatty acids in crayons and shaving cream; b0nes, horns, and hooves in bandages, adhesives, paneling and plywood. So the statement that “vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind” is virtually impossible today. Sheetrock may contain hides and skin. So my home is not technically vegan. Does that mean I can’t call myself a vegan? I “keep vegan” as best I can, therefore I am a vegan.
5 Lane // Feb 29, 2008 at
ps - thanks for pointing out that Convenient Vegan is female. I corrected that in my post.
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