With the explosion of veganism in the the last decade, particularly in the last three years, more and more people have become familiar with the terms ‘vegan’ and ‘veganism’. However, how well these terms are actually understood is another matter entirely.
What veganism actually means
The most modern definition of veganism from the Vegan Society describes veganism as “a philosophy and 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.”
Therefore, vegans practice veganism by abstaining from products and practices that exploit animals as much as is practicable and possible. Vegans recognise that boycotting animal-abusing industries, such as the meat, dairy and egg industries, is a moral imperative. This means a vegan believes animals should not be eaten, worn, ridden, tested on, confined to aquariums, circuses and zoos, or otherwise bred into existence for human gain.
A vegan diet
A vegan diet is one which is free from all animal products including meat, fish, dairy, eggs and honey. All animal products require animals to be exploited and/or killed (at least until products of cellular agriculture and precision fermentation hit the shelves). Thus, vegans eat foods produced by plants.
Whilst vegans follow a vegan diet, veganism is not a diet. It just so happens that the predominant way in which humans participate in (or abstain from) animal exploitation is through choosing what they put into their bodies when they sit down to eat every day. Thus, the majority of animal exploitation occurs in the meat, dairy and egg industries.
People who only eat plants follow a vegan diet but this does not necessarily mean they are vegan. For instance, such people might still wear animals (e.g. fur, leather, wool) or use products tested on animals (e.g cleaning products, perfumes, make-up).
Historically, someone who followed a vegan diet but participated in other forms of animal exploitation would be considered to be ‘plant-based‘. However, the term ‘plant-based’ has since become a bit hazy (a rant for another day).
Veganism is often misconstrued
Veganism continues to be mistaken for a diet. It is not hard to see why veganism is misunderstood when you consider the ways in which veganism is portrayed by the mainstream media. When veganism is discussed in the mainstream it is frequently framed as a diet. Discussions typically revolve around the extent to which a vegan diet is healthy or the extent to which a vegan diet is environmental. More recently, amidst concerns about rising living costs, the extent to which a vegan diet is cheaper has also entered the picture.
Whilst there is increased public awareness around how a vegan diet can improve the wellbeing of people and the planet, these are merely incidental benefits that have little to do with veganism in and of itself. Conversations around health and financial savings concern how humans can improve their lives. Even when it comes to climate change, the conversation often revolves around how humankind is impacted or at best, how certain species of animals are affected, such as the blue whale, green turtle, koala bear and giant panda (see more about speciesism below).
Solely focussing on veganism as a means in which human and/or ecological health outcomes can be improved, misses the point of veganism entirely. Veganism is about respecting the basic rights animals should be entitled to (namely, their right to not be considered as property nor commodities). It is not about how humans (animals’ oppressors) can benefit from providing animals a basic level of decency.
Even if animal agriculture wasn’t environmentally catostrophic and animal products weren’t linked to our society’s leading causes of death, breeding animals into existence to exploit and kill them would be no less of a moral issue.
‘Speciesism‘ explained
‘Speciesism’ is a term that was popularised by philosopher, Peter Singer, in his first edition of ‘Animal Liberation’. In 1975 he defined speciesism as “a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of other species.” However, humans also exhibit speciesism when they arbitrarily assign moral worth to one species of animals over another.
Consider the treatment of dogs vs pigs for instance. If you break into a car to save an overheating dog on a hot day, you’d be labelled a hero. However, if you did the same for a pig boiling inside the metal box of a slaughterhouse truck, you’d be labelled a terrorist. In fact, ag-gag laws in a growing number of cities (anti-whistleblower laws that apply within animal agriculture) have made it illegal for activists to even comfort suffering pigs on slaughterhouse trucks with water.
Like racism, sexism, ableism and homophobia, speciesism is rooted in the belief that factors outside of one’s control, such as the body in which one was born into, should determine the value of one’s life. However, when it comes down to it, one’s race, gender, able-bodiedness, sexuality and species membership are all morally irrelevant criteria.
Thus, animal rights is a logical extension of human rights in many ways.
