But let's pause and think for a moment about what there is to be excited about here. This may normalize plant-based alternatives in a way that helps agribusiness continue to profit, but it also further normalizes speciesism. I thought vegans were against that? I can to go a restaurant chain where the dead are dismembered, deep fried and served on a platter. I can eat my plant-based food that's been cooked a grill with splattered fats from the cooked flesh of the dead. And I can surround myself in the cosy atmosphere of people who believe that nonhuman animals should be our slaves.
We can all smile at one another across the table, our mouths full, knowing that our money is going to further slavery and knowing that someone in someone's marketing department is rubbing his or her hands together with glee. Let's imagine a similar scenario. Would MLK or Malcolm X go to a diner where African Americans were served (as the main course) to eat a plant-based alternative and go on about how exciting this was? Probably not (and by probably, I really mean definitely).
Well, I tried (no, not really). I'm still very underwhelmed about this. I have no doubt that nonvegans (and apparently many vegans for that matter) are deeply confused about what we owe nonhuman animals morally, but the idea that I would line the pockets of industry to enjoy my "plant-based but not properly vegan" crumbs from the master's table doesn't seem all that much to get worked up over. As an advocate, it's my job to reset that table. I'm not blaming anyone. Speciesism is difficult to understand, I've made plenty of mistakes myself, and I have not always been the best advocate that I could.
But if we take nonhuman animals seriously, the least we can do is go vegan, stay vegan, say vegan, and work to end their property status of nonhuman animals. And that's the least we can do. There's actually no penalty for doing more. It's not even a limited time offer. So, a blog on speciesism and some of the things we can do to take nonhuman animals more seriously as persons with rights, to help normalize anti-speciesism, and to stop gleefully kissing the ass of the oppressor at every turn.
A little tough love for vegans, but love nevertheless. I believe in you.
First, let's consider whether or not we have five minutes a day we can devote to animal advocacy, outreach and education. Veganism is wonderful. As Gary L. Francione often writes and says, it's the most important thing any of us can do. It is the unequivocal moral baseline of the animal rights movement, and it is the right thing to do. But it's not the only thing many of us can do. Educate. Teach. Cook. Speak. Write. Read. Blog. Perform a play. Make a video. Write a book. Become the outspoken, passionate, and most of all, educated, sincere and disciplined advocate that nonhuman animals need. If we take justice seriously, we can make five minutes a day that we can spare to advocate for the oppressed, can't we?
Second, let's stop talking about veganism as a matter of compassion, benevolence and other nice-sounding, but ultimately anthropocentric missives. The idea that we are 'being kind', 'acting compassionately', or 'saving lives' just by being vegan is misguided. It's also paternalistic. Veganism is a matter of justice, and it reflects the absolute minimum of justice that I owe other persons (human and non). That doesn't mean we're not compassionate people. It doesn't mean we can't act compassionately toward other animals (human or non). It just means that veganism is what we owe them. It's not an act of charity.
Third, let's all stop eating out at nonvegan restaurants when it's trivial for us to avoid doing so. The moral proposal that we should make agribusinesses and their outlet stores richer so that we can feel more normal as vegans is misguided. I'm not saying we shouldn't promote vegan alternatives. But we can't buy our way to social transformation. That doesn't mean our purchasing power is unimportant. Just the opposite: it's so important that we shouldn't be bending over backwards to line the pockets of industry. I'm not saying vegans should never, ever eat out at nonvegan restaurants under any circumstances. I'm saying that we should be cooking for ourselves, building strong communities, engaging in culinary activism of our own, and sending a strong message that the slavery of nonhuman animals is anything but normal. We should be building abolitionist vegan alternatives. Start a potluck. Make a dish for a neighbour (and let them know that it was made with love � for nonhuman animals). Have a dinner party that celebrates the fact the speciesism is fundamentally wrong and unjust.
Fourth, let's stop imitating and start innovating. There's a whole world of cultural knowledge, history and traditions waiting to be written and explored by vegans. Yet, most of us prefer to watch reruns of Everyone Loves Raymond, eating fake meat and potatoes. I'm not saying that's a terrible thing to do (I like potatoes). I'm pointing out that we're really only at the beginning of writing the history and traditions of our own unique cultural community. Let's re-imagine today the cooking, the fashion, the art, the sport and all of the other important cultural changes that will result from a social transformation that is unmatched in human history and will reshape our lives in even the smallest details.
Fifth, let's all stop fawning over pseudo-veg*n celebrities. I'm not going to write this one out at length. You can read Mylene Ouellet's recent blogs on the matter. Suffice it to say, celebrities rarely get veganism right. What that means is that when they misrepresent veganism, they misrepresent it on a massive scale. That doesn't really help nonhuman animals very much and when we get too starry eyed about it, we take our eyes off the prize.
Sixth, let's all stop normalizing violence and adventurism. Violence is the paradigm and tool of the oppressor. Violence reflects a poverty of philosophy, a lack of imagination, a poverty of will, and an ignorance of social justice history. When vegans (or even more misguided, vegetarians) propose violence as the basis of social change for nonhuman animals, they are proposing to stop a flood by peeing in the river. Let's also stop the adventurism. Maybe it's not directly violent, maybe it's not directly illegal, but let's stop this nonsense about TERRIFYING THE OPPRESSOR! When animal advocates engage in a hypermasculine posturing that would make professional wrestlers wince, they signal to the public that the movement is populated by childish caricatures (no offense to children), not diligent, thoughtful and sincere adults who want to see nonhuman animals get free.
Seventh, let's also stop the antics (and while we're at it, the sexism, classism, racism, heterosexism, sizeism, xenophobia and other expressions of irrational prejudice). Antic-based activism signals to the public that one of the worst enormities in human history is something to laugh at. It's definitively speciesist. Activism that attempts to capitalize on other social prejudices is also deeply morally problematic, insofar as it promotes irrational prejudices against human beings. Not only does it not help nonhuman animals, it turns animal advocacy into a politically reactionary movement.
Eighth, let's stop acting as if more speciesism, more violence and more death were a victory. I smile when people tell me they are taking the rights of animals seriously and going vegan. I may do a jig when the property status of nonhuman animals is finally abolished. But the idea that it is a major victory for a nonhuman animal to have anything other than to have his, her or zir (not all animals are male or female) life back free from use, to have the care s/h/ze needs if needed or a pond back, a forest back, a plain back, sunshine, a dark cave, cool water, warm water, fresh water, salt water -- whatever it is his, hers or zirs as a person to have � is a slap in the face to those who live in slavery.
Ninth, as a corollary, let's try to remember, it's not about whether or not we feel good; it's about whether or not they get free, or in the case of domesticated nonhumans who will not be able to fend for themselves, the care that they need. We can do a little more just by saying no to welfare advocacy, which achieves nothing meaningful for nonhuman animals, and even if it were ever to be successful, would still send the wrong message: that animals are ours to use, so long as we use them �humanely�, which is almost certainly very harmful to their interests.
Tenth, let's adopt a nonhuman animal, volunteer at a shelter or otherwise educate others about nonhumans as persons with rights. My veganism is not just about not using nonhuman animals. It's about understanding them as beings with whom I share my house, my neighbourhood, the city, and the ecosystem. Nonhuman animals are not just things that I don't eat, wear, experiment on, etc., anymore; they're persons to whom I owe moral consideration. If you can't adopt, volunteer, or donate to help nonhuman animals directly, read books about them so that you are an informed and articulate advocate who can at least educate others about animals as persons.
That's a short list. Creative, nonviolent, and mass vegan movement and the abolition of the property status of nonhuman animals are only the first and most important milestones in the fight against speciesism. The most important thing any of us can do is to go vegan, to adopt abolition, and educate others about the morally imperative that abolition and veganism impose upon us. But there's always more to do if you can. If you're not vegan yet, go vegan today. If you're not an abolitionist, feel free to read my other articles or head over to www.abolitionistapproach.com
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