Vegan Monday
It’s Monday.
Meatless Monday?
A Monday without flesh but with dairy, which involves the horrible suffering and death of cows and their babies?
A Monday without flesh but with eggs that involve the killing of all male chicks at birth and the horrible suffering and eventual death of the laying hens (and eggs have a higher rate of animal death per 1000 calories than beef and pork)?
No way.
There is no morally coherent distinction between flesh and other animal foods.
If you regard animals as members of the moral community, today is Vegan Monday.
Every day is vegan.
Life is vegan.
We should encourage and help others to go vegan but we should never present anything short of veganism as morally acceptable. We should always make clear that veganism is the only rational response to the recognition that animals count morally.
Meatless Monday
Meatless Monday?
No way.
Let’s stop reinforcing the idea that there is a morally coherent distinction between meat and other animal foods.
There isn’t.
Today is Vegan Monday.
Tomorrow is Vegan Tuesday.
It’s Vegan Every Day.
It’s Vegan Life.
If animals matter morally, going vegan is the only rational response.
Tell the mother…
We keep hearing welfarists say that most people who go vegan went vegetarian first, so we should promote going vegetarian.
We keep hearing welfarists say that if we promote “happy” meat and other “happy” animal products, that will lead people to go vegan eventually.
This is all nonsense. There is no empirical evidence that establishes a causal link between anynon-vegan situation and veganism.
To the extent that people go vegetarian before they go vegan, or eat “happy” meat or eggs or whatever before they go vegan, is it any surprise?
Animal organizations all promote vegetarianism and “happy” exploitation. Not one promotes veganism as an unequivocal moral baseline.
It is our responsibility to make clear that if animals matter morally, we are obligated to go vegan. If someone cares about animals but wants to do less, that should be their choice and never what we promote.
Telling people that vegetarianism, “happy” meat, “Meatless Monday,” “vegan before 6,” or “flexible veganism” are morally acceptable will just delay progress, and not lead to it.
~ Gary L. Francione
Monday: Your Choice
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/monday-choice/#.VQyVTNLF9JM