I sort of agree with this in the sense that "vegan" does tend to get linked to diets a lot. As someone who does a lot of work in the vegan fashion space, I'm constantly still confronted with how little people realise that this is a lifestyle that applies to more than just what we eat. The only exception is perhaps beauty - people tend to understand what vegan beauty products are. But then I also think that "pro-animal" risks people identifying as "pro-animal" and then still eating animals' bodies and derivations. This is why we have people who claim to love animals yet still eat them. So I'm not sure what a good term would be, but for now I'm sticking with vegan. It's finally going mainstream, which can only be good for the movement.
The word "vegan" comes with a lot of baggage. Everyone thinks they know what it means when they clearly do not. DxE had whole effort around not being vegan in the sense that they did not use the word "vegan". As long as the people you are talking to have an action item that reduces the suffering of animals, that is what matters. If avoiding the word vegan accomplishes that goal, then do it.
Thanks for this thoughtful piece. I appreciate how difficult it is to change minds and behaviour. I was recently reading "You are now less dumb" by David McRaney. There is a chapter on how we tend to construct "in" groups and "out" groups of people. Based on the research that you quoted, it's clear that vegans are in the "out" group for most people. It is a powerful psychological tendency to have to overcome. My response is to wear a vegan t-shirt everywhere I go. I can tolerate the disaproving looks.
In the early 2000s when I went vegan, it felt more like a secret club within vegetarian and animal lib groups. The animal lib stalls rarely had vegan literature, or if they did, it was not labelled vegan. Vegans were campaigning for free range eggs, thinking that this was the best use of their time. I guess my point is, the softly-softly approach has been tried before.
Another approach to vegan campaigning could be to choose one industry to target. Some people e.g. Switch4Good have targeted the dairy industry. Some pros to this are:
- dairy industry is highly exploitative in a way that is easy to explain
- once people understand this it may lead to a more general awakening?
- it is financially vulnerable and supported by subsidies, which also assist profitability of the beef industry
- dubious health value, and dietary guidelines are starting the de-emphasize consumption
- is vulnerable to alternatives from precision fermentation technology
I agree; it is about whether humans ought to eat the flesh of non-human animals, sentient beings and companions on our planet. I say this as someone who still eats meat, but I know that it is as wrong as can be, morally, ethically, you name it. I have watched many of the docs, and yes they are hard to watch. I also read Peter Singer's Animal Liberation many years ago. Again, he is right.
I have no doubts that a whole food plant-based diet is not only healthier for me, but also for all non-human animals and for our planet. Keep doing what you are doing. You are on the right side of history. I thank you, and so does my cockatiel companion, Arya.
Natalie, that was a good conversation with the student, particularly because you weren't pushy and you encouraged him to think for himself. But in my opinion the YouTube title, "Student struggles to defend himself to vegan" comes across as rather condescending. I hope you can change that title to something more neutral (especially before he sees it and perhaps takes offence).
I sort of agree with this in the sense that "vegan" does tend to get linked to diets a lot. As someone who does a lot of work in the vegan fashion space, I'm constantly still confronted with how little people realise that this is a lifestyle that applies to more than just what we eat. The only exception is perhaps beauty - people tend to understand what vegan beauty products are. But then I also think that "pro-animal" risks people identifying as "pro-animal" and then still eating animals' bodies and derivations. This is why we have people who claim to love animals yet still eat them. So I'm not sure what a good term would be, but for now I'm sticking with vegan. It's finally going mainstream, which can only be good for the movement.
The word "vegan" comes with a lot of baggage. Everyone thinks they know what it means when they clearly do not. DxE had whole effort around not being vegan in the sense that they did not use the word "vegan". As long as the people you are talking to have an action item that reduces the suffering of animals, that is what matters. If avoiding the word vegan accomplishes that goal, then do it.
Thanks for this thoughtful piece. I appreciate how difficult it is to change minds and behaviour. I was recently reading "You are now less dumb" by David McRaney. There is a chapter on how we tend to construct "in" groups and "out" groups of people. Based on the research that you quoted, it's clear that vegans are in the "out" group for most people. It is a powerful psychological tendency to have to overcome. My response is to wear a vegan t-shirt everywhere I go. I can tolerate the disaproving looks.
In the early 2000s when I went vegan, it felt more like a secret club within vegetarian and animal lib groups. The animal lib stalls rarely had vegan literature, or if they did, it was not labelled vegan. Vegans were campaigning for free range eggs, thinking that this was the best use of their time. I guess my point is, the softly-softly approach has been tried before.
Another approach to vegan campaigning could be to choose one industry to target. Some people e.g. Switch4Good have targeted the dairy industry. Some pros to this are:
- dairy industry is highly exploitative in a way that is easy to explain
- once people understand this it may lead to a more general awakening?
- it is financially vulnerable and supported by subsidies, which also assist profitability of the beef industry
- dubious health value, and dietary guidelines are starting the de-emphasize consumption
- is vulnerable to alternatives from precision fermentation technology
I agree; it is about whether humans ought to eat the flesh of non-human animals, sentient beings and companions on our planet. I say this as someone who still eats meat, but I know that it is as wrong as can be, morally, ethically, you name it. I have watched many of the docs, and yes they are hard to watch. I also read Peter Singer's Animal Liberation many years ago. Again, he is right.
I have no doubts that a whole food plant-based diet is not only healthier for me, but also for all non-human animals and for our planet. Keep doing what you are doing. You are on the right side of history. I thank you, and so does my cockatiel companion, Arya.
Natalie, that was a good conversation with the student, particularly because you weren't pushy and you encouraged him to think for himself. But in my opinion the YouTube title, "Student struggles to defend himself to vegan" comes across as rather condescending. I hope you can change that title to something more neutral (especially before he sees it and perhaps takes offence).