Learning
From Our Mistakes: Five Things We Do Wrong (navigation menu to the right)
“We all know that the number one reason why people don’t go
vegan is that they don’t think it’s convenient enough, and we all know people
whose reason for not going vegan is that they “can’t” give up cheese or ice
cream. But instead of making it easier for them to help animals, we often make
it more difficult. Instead of encouraging them to stop eating all other animal
products besides cheese or ice cream, we preach to them about the oppression of
dairy cows. Then we go on about how we don’t eat sugar or a veggie burger
because of the bun, even though a tiny bit of butter flavor in a bun contributes
to significantly less suffering than any non-organic fruit or vegetable does or
a plastic bottle or about 100 other things that most of us use. Our fanatical
obsession with ingredients not only obscures the animals’ suffering—which was
virtually non-existent for that tiny modicum of ingredient—but also nearly
guarantees that those around us are not going to make any change at all. So,
we’ve preserved our personal purity, but we’ve hurt animals—and that’s
anti-vegan.
Always, always, always remember: Veganism isn’t a dogma.
Veganism is about stopping suffering. Let me say that again, as an 18-year
vegan: Veganism
is not a list of ingredients or a set of rules. Being vegan is about doing our
best to help animals. So it requires thought, not a checklist.”
http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1998----02.htm Ten Ways to Make a Difference
The
Animal Activist’s Handbook
Striking
At The Roots
