What Vegans Aren’t Telling You

And if they are they shouldn’t be

Ego can do powerful things to a person. It can lead one to respect the opinions of others less. It leads those who have accomplished something to emphasize their hard work and acumen, while minimizing the role of privilege and circumstance. Alternatively, it leads those facing failure to blame external circumstances or the fault of others for their hard days. Ego leads us to put ourselves in the spotlight when things are going well and hide ourselves under the sheets when they are not. Ego needs to be fed and protected, so what does it do? It rationalizes. Ego morphs and contorts input information to suit its needs. It infers emotionally rather than logically. Ego is the illuminated cockroach that scampers out of site when placed in harms way, desperately clinging to any dark space under which it can hide.

Concerning Veganism, ego is what leads Carnists to cling to any possible argument, emotional or otherwise, to escape the possibility that their world view is flawed, that it might have to change. The ego drives Carnists to make excuses and arguments that they would never make from an impartial, removed position. It will attack the personhood of Vegans, twist the message that Vegans are communicating, use the vulnerable to rationalize the behavior of the well-off, and spare no opportunity to scamper out of the proverbial spotlight back to the comfortable familiarity of darkness.

With this backdrop, I would like to emphasize a series of points that are often twisted and mutated by the ego of Carnists in a desperate attempt to preserve their moral framework. I am going to tell you some things that Vegans ARE NOT saying to you (though it is commonly inferred that they are), and — if they are — take it from this Vegan that they shouldn’t be.

1)

What Vegans ARE NOT Saying:

Everyone needs to be Vegan. This includes people without access to proper nutrition, people living in poverty, etc.

As I’ve said ad nauseam, the Vegan Society’s definition of Veganism states that “Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.” So what does that mean? Well, it means if you can’t feed yourself on a Vegan diet, don’t worry about it. You’ve got bigger things to worry about. Vegans are not knocking on the doors of impoverished people and harassing them about Veganism. If they are, send me some footage. I run in a lot of Vegan communities and have never seen a Vegan advocate so virulently for those in difficult circumstances to be Vegan. If a Vegan is doing that, they are not a Vegan; they are an asshole.

What Vegans ARE Saying:

If you don’t fit the above description, you should probably be Vegan.

To use the disadvantaged and vulnerable to defend one’s own unethical behavior is to exploit them further. I would never use a lack of recycling receptacles in “some” communities in the United States to justify my not recycling when it’s relatively easy for me. I would never use someone without access to public transportation to justify my excessive driving. You are not them. Their excuses are not yours. Stop using them as a shield for your ego.

2)

What Vegans ARE NOT Saying:

Veganism is the end-all, perfect solution for all problems.

People often state that Veganism is invalid because Vegans are not doing enough to combat other social injustices. Vegans using iPhones means Veganism is invalid, Vegans not actively supporting farm workers’ rights means Veganism is invalid, etc. Beyond the fact that this argument style is a well-known logical fallacy, I’ll say one thing: one can fight for other social causes while eating vegetables.

What Vegans ARE Saying:

Veganism is a practical, easy (in most cases) way to combat a demonstrably evil industry that is not mutually exclusive to worrying about other social causes.

If anything, Veganism has been a “gateway cause” for me. Since my transition to Veganism 5 years ago, I have found myself becoming more liberal, supporting more progressive social causes, voting more, and seeking out more ethical means of living. I’d also say I’ve become less self-righteous on my journey toward attempting to be better, as I constantly question whether I am accomplishing anything at all through my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

In all honesty, Vegans are probably more open-minded toward changing their lifestyle than the average person seeing as they’ve already done it once. The truth is that such arguments about iPhones, volunteering, etc. aren’t actually meant to convince the Vegan to be more ethical; they are intended to discredit the Vegan and therefore Veganism all together. In most cases, the accuser does not even practice the ethical stances for which they are accusing the Vegan of violating. They do not care about the morality of iPhones or helping out in low-income areas. They care about protecting their existing moral framework (their ego!), and they will exploit the unfavorable conditions of others further to maintain it.

3)

What Vegans ARE NOT Saying:

Eating meat is as bad as The Holocaust.

In ethics, comparisons are useful thought experiments to help people work out the logic of certain phenomena; however, they can also be tricky. I bring up the aforementioned historical incident because it is often used to counter arguments against Veganism, most often: eating meat is legal, humans have eaten meat for thousands of years, etc. A Vegan might reply to one of these arguments by saying that the Holocaust too was legal and embedded in the existing culture, but was still demonstrably wrong. The problem is that the Carnist ego hearing these arguments will immediately cling to the emotional impact of them. “Don’t belittle the struggle of Jewish people to justify your hippie agenda!” they might say. The thing is, we aren’t saying that. To compare one aspect of two things is not to compare all aspects of two things. I can compare a lake and a puddle without saying that they’re the same size. I can compare the federal and local government without saying they have comparable levels of power. And trust me, I’m sure Vegans would prefer not to invoke such examples to avoid the very obvious emotional response I’ve just outlined, but it’s difficult, because we are in fact witnessing the very first mechanized, industrial catastrophe of factory farming in the world. It is literally unprecedented, and we have to work with the comparisons we have available.

What Vegans ARE Saying:

Eating meat and The Holocaust are both demonstrably bad things (albeit at different magnitudes of “badness”) normalized into the culture at the time.

And this list could go on and on. Littering is commonplace in some cultures; that’s bad. Unequal restrictions are placed on women in many countries; that’s bad too. No one is saying that women under sharia law not being able to leave the house is comparable in suffering to the holocaust, but, if you told them it’s ok because it’s legal and based in tradition, they then might make that comparison.

4)

What Vegans ARE NOT Saying:

You’re a bad person if you aren’t Vegan.

Most Vegans weren’t always Vegan, or even Vegetarian. Most Vegans started their lives eating meat, because that is the culture in which most of us are raised. My personal transition has been admittedly easier because my mother has always been Vegetarian and I was not indoctrinated into thinking meat is necessary to survive. Not everyone is so lucky. Vegans are not trying to insult you our question your judgement. They are trying to break through the propaganda fueled socialization that has literally been fed to you by animal agriculture (through the filters of television, pop-culture, doctors, and even your family) for your entire life.

What Vegans ARE Saying:

Give Veganism a shot.

Instead of trying to protect your existing moral framework, why not give Veganism a shot for one day a week. A real shot. Take an hour away from watching YouTube videos about cats and do some research. Give it an honest chance. Don’t hide behind the impoverished. Don’t bring up avocados saying that perfect Veganism is impossible. Don’t cite some preachy, “holier than thou Vegans” as “ruining it for you” (this is one of my biggest pet peeves). Just give it a shot. You’re definitely not going to make the world a worse place, and — who knows — you just might like it.

P.S. Climate change is going to kill us all in our lifetime so hurry up.