The phrasing does a disservice to people and animals

I see it

nearly every day - on hashtags, t-shirts, and prints from talented vegan artists. 'Cruelty-free', I would argue, is among the most overused expressions in the

vegan movement.

In fact, it's

my belief that it's time for it to be dropped all together.

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Misnomer

There are a

number of reasons why I feel this way - but they all link back to the fact that

it's usually inaccurate.

We collectively

slap this verbiage onto just about any vegan food which, sadly, emphasizes the

rights of animals while marginalizing exploited peoples.

The fact of

the matter is that, just because a meal or snack is vegan, doesn't mean it's

cruelty-free and to pretend that it is is short-sighted, weakens our arguments,

and leaves us open to criticism.

Fool-proof

phrasing

As was

demonstrated by the uproar that resulted when YouTuber Kalel recently confessed

to regularly eating dairy despite identifying as 'vegan', language is

important.

When we

call something cruelty-free while overlooking the fact that it is the product

of exploitive industries in developing nations we leave ourselves open, as advocates,

to detracting from our own message.

Instead of

having a conversation about animal liberation and reducing harm, we end up having

a conversation about human rights which - while equally important - detracts

from the topic at hand.

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Human rights issues should not be subject to erasure in vegan discourse

Problematic

notions

Using the

term ultimately perpetuates the idea that once a person goes vegan, and stops

investing in industries that are by-nature exploitive, they've ascended to a

higher moral plane and are beyond reproach.

This simply

isn't true. Capitalism is destructive, consumerism is destructive, and animal

agriculture is not the only cruel industry in existence.

We do

ourselves, other people, and animals a disservice by acting like it is.

Veganism is

a great place to start - but it's not the finish line.

We shouldn't

fool ourselves into thinking that it is.