Its funny. A few weeks ago i started writing an essay about the need for vegans to look beyond speciesism at the larger picture of anti-oppression. The argument was simple. If i could boil it down to one sentence, it would be something like this: the compassion and non-violence at the core of veganism is hypocritical and self-serving if not extended and practiced beyond the focus of non-humyn animals. Of course, to explain this, i was writing way too many words and taking way too much time. And as the essay slowly progressed, it seemed like vegans all around were talking about this same concept.

I’m sure this isn’t coincidence. It probably has more to do with the fact that i’m now listening to 3-4 vegan podcasts a week and have been spending a little more time than usual in the vegan bubble. And the fact that we tend to hear and see what it is that we want to hear and see, probably didn’t hurt. But never the less, the conversations are there, and i couldn’t be more excited. I don’t care at this time to argue the finer points of abolition versus welfare/husbandry. Nor am i necessarily interested in taking on the role of the religious zealot, proselytizing everyone in my path to a diet sans animal products. Instead, i want to focus on a conversation about the core principles of veganism and how to go about spreading those principles.

When we look at the core principles of veganism - compassion and non-violence - we can see that even many vegans don’t practice these on a daily basis. Living within a dominant culture defined by violence, compassion and non-violence takes a daily practice of learning and unlearning. That practice is just as much focused inward as it is outward. That is not to say that we can’t share with others what we feel to be compassionate living, but we must also be open to the ways of compassionate living that are not at first glance connected to veganism.

Less hippy-dippy and more examples
“If the animal rights movement can move into a new phase in the coming years it will be to show that “animal rights” does not set up an automatic confrontation between human beings and animals, it enjoins them in the struggle for clarity and justice.”
- from the editorial of Abolitionist-Online #5

Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation, has been on my shit list for some time now. But now this ethics professor and “founding father of modern animal liberation” is officially on my list of people to be forgotten. In a recent interview, Singer argued that “HIV research would be more useful if it were carried out on brain-damaged humans rather than chimps.” If you are familiar with Singer’s academic work, such a statement will come as no surprise. It is not so much because Singer is a misanthrope (as it would seem at first glance), but because he approaches ethics from a utilitarian standpoint (choosing the lesser of two evils). It is the same reason why Singer recently gave his approval on a new research lab that has been targeted by animal rights organizations for its subjection of monkeys to Parkinson’s Disease.

This provides a good example of why veganism must be based on core principles. Otherwise, false notions of utilitarianism allow us to become ethically bankrupt and veganism means nothing. Once again, veganism becomes relegated to the dinner table and self-congratulatory practices of guilt relief. If, however, veganism is based on a notion of compassion, we could no more sentence a persyn with a mental disability to a life of torture than we could a monkey (and vice versa). In fact, if we are to base our veganism on compassion and non-violence, then the causes of disability rights, workers rights, hell, humyn liberation as a whole becomes an extension of veganism.

For the numerous vegans who care to spread veganism, it is vital that we take a good long look at what veganism is and how it is being represented. When ableist arguments are made in the name of animal liberation, we must speak up. But more importantly, we must work on a daily basis to dismantle our own unearned privileges and oppressive behaviors. Not because it compliments our veganism, but because it is the only way that we can truly live compassion in action and, therefore, is the vegan thing to do.

While i didn’t get to everything i wanted to, i must cut this short because i want to get it off in time for the Carnival of Empty Cages (and because i’m getting tired). However, i want to make one last point going back to what i was saying about listening to ways of compassion that aren’t at first glance vegan-based. As Jason Hribal said in his recent interview with Animal Voices, it should not have come as a surprise to PETA when their recent campaign comparing factory farming to slavery was met with protest. I’ve heard many (White) animal liberationists (even those that are often critical of PETA) defend PETA in this case. I don’t care to get into a discussion comparing the similarities between factory farming and slavery. Rather, i just wanted to point out the lack of compassion that was shown on the part of PETA and those defending them when they weren’t even willing to sincerely listen to the protests. Instead, they took the very privileged stance of charging forward without concern. By doing so, PETA further hurt their cause (which means they were also hurting the larger cause of veganism, since they are held to be representatives) because now they were exemplifying the concern that they were merely objectifying slaves in order to further their own mission.

Had PETA stopped to listen to concern, it would have become obvious, as Hribal states, that the protest was rightfully grounded. And from this interaction, not only could PETA have learned a great deal about public relations, but the vegan community as a whole could have had the opportunity to engage in a conversation about extending our ethics of compassion to the very community which was being objectified. In doing so, a much needed discussion on how to integrate veganism and anti-racism could have taken place in a much larger forum than currently exists.

So the point i am getting at is that we need to be careful not to view ourselves, vegans, as standing upon an ethical pedestal. Just because we don’t consume animal products does not give us moral high ground. If we wish veganism as a movement to grow, then veganism must become informed by all movements for justice, compassion, and non-violence. Rather than limiting ourselves to non-humyn animal suffering, we must also critically approach ability, gender, class, race, age, size, sexuality, and other categorizations that have been used to create violent hierarchies. To do this, we must put a great deal of effort on our own persynal growth and awareness.

I firmly believe that if we focus on spreading the principles of veganism rather than on spreading the dietary aspect of veganism, then more and more people will choose veganism. Of course, the best way to spread compassion and non-violence is not to talk the talk, but to walk the walk.