Someone asked me for a simpler overview of how veganism could relate to them as an everyday person. Cut to the chase they said, make it simple for me. So, here’s my best shot at a simple guide to veganism, my way.
“Veganism recognises the inherent value and dignity of other species and aims to treat them fairly by our choices whenever we can”
Humans have always used and eaten other animals and in a natural setting there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. That is, I suppose, life. However, something drastic happened to the world over the past 10,000 years – human beings have come to own the whole place. In the process, I believe that we humans have become separated from a natural relationship with other species, now regarding many as mere things – resources – to be used however we want. And that seems unfair when we observe that other animals exist for their own ends the same as we do. We really should be fairer to them.
As I see it, veganism is a very simple idea about our modern relationship with other species which seeks to restore some justice to that relationship. Boiled down, we should – whenever possible – treat other species more fairly and behave as though they have three basic rights – the rights to their own lives, to be free and not treated as property, and to not be treated cruelly. In a sense, we could regard them as fellow citizens of a sort and not just “animals”. And that is pretty much all there is to it.
With this in mind, all that one needs do is make choices that best reflect that ethic. For example, farmed animals are not free, often have no control over any part of their own lives, are treated as property and can be (and often are) treated cruelly. So someone who believes we should treat other animals fairly – as though they have those three basic rights – will choose not to buy products made from farmed animals because their dollar then goes to stimulate the animal-using industries to continue. That’s really the main reason why “vegans” don’t eat meat. Eating animals usually involves buying animal parts derived from farming operations. Similarly they would aim to buy products not tested on animals – again because the animals used in testing are not free, are treated as property, and are treated cruelly.
People often point to grazing cattle and say what pleasant lives they have, safe and cared for by the farmer. That might be true, but maybe 90-95% of all the farmed animals in the world are not out in the fields. They are indoors in CAFOs – Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. The very first step someone could take would be to stop buying food produced in those systems. Imagine if we could stop all of these unpleasant ways to farm animals!
There seems to be a million websites out there offering advice and guidance on how to be vegan-friendly. The aim is to act in ways that help to prevent the violation of the rights of other species whenever you can. A simple rule of thumb might be to think whether something would be wrong if done to a human. If so, it is probably wrong when done to another animal. Of course, sometimes we simply cannot help but do wrong by other animals but we can try to do the best we can. In the end, the choices you make are up to you in your circumstances.
By the way, earlier I put the word vegans in quotes. That is because I am not much hung up on labels or special tribes. Anyone can embrace vegan ethics and really, it’s up to you how you do that. I tend to think that if you are genuine about wanting to help restore justice for other species then you will do your best in your circumstances. And you can always learn and do more as time passes. So, you don’t have to “go vegan”, “be” a vegan or whatever, unless that is how you wish to identify. In fact, I tend to reserve the word vegan for those who both support the ethical practice AND advocate for justice for other species. In the same way that suffragettes and abolitionists advocated for justice for people, so too can vegans advocate for justice for all species.
I have written about these ideas in more detail here if you would like to know more:
The Philosophy of Ethical Veganism Explained
Just Us Too 