I've been doing a lot of thinking recently. Being 100% vegan surrounded by non-vegans is challenging.
I stopped eating meat and buying leather, wool etc for ethical reasons. We don't "need" to kill animals for food and clothes, so doing so is morally negative.
But many vegans on forums are so extreme that even picking up feathers in the forest is deemed non-vegan.
This is insanity.
I have removed "vegan" from my profile, to "other".
Some reasons...
1. 90% + of the bread here in Sweden is vegan-friendly. But if I buy the wrong pack for lunch, make a sandwich and then realise it has traces of milk in that particular bake...I am going to eat it anyway (and make a note of the brand to avoid in the future). Many people suggest passing it on, but that has no positive or negative utilitarian outcome. i.e. It makes no difference. Not eating it (unless allergies) doesn't change a damn thing.
2. A video by one of my favourite Youtubers (Rationality Rules) got me thinking about why some of us went vegan and why others find it more difficult. And he mentions "The circle of altruism". And it makes a lot of sense.
For example, I went totally animal product free a year ago. And have remained that way during this time. But honestly, I feel very little to the plight of insects compared to the plight of pigs. And that feels normal. Sure, I save bees from our pool, and catch and release when possible, but then I also put ant-poison down under the decking and have had to get the exterminators in for a wasps nest. Do I feel guilty or sad about that? Quite frankly, not really.
3. I've been getting sore joints recently. It could be age and it could be something lacking. I don't know. But I do take a multivitamin, then the occaisional B-Complex, Iron and D. As well as Omega 3 from algae. But I decided I am going to start eating mussels. (Oysters maybe too, but they are rare here). They lack a central nervous system and a brain. I have seen conflicting views on this, but rolling back around to the circle of altruism and honestly, I only stopped eating them as a way of logically completing "the rules of veganism" rather than any empathy toward what is essentially a non-sentient lump of gristle.
Not to mention that farmed mussels and oysters have a far smaller effect on other (actually sentient) creatures than, for example, growing wheat does.
My personal moral compass wants to reduce suffering. Following strict guidelines written by others is not following my own moral compass. Ultimately, morality is subjective. There are no absolutes.
4. And lastly, but maybe most "un-vegan", I am not against all exploitation. I agree with responsible breeding. Non-human animals have got humanity to where we are today, and without them we almost certainly wouldn't have flourished as we have. From dogs protecting us from predators to horses providing transport and oxen helping plow our fields.
Also, I strongly believe that without the proximity to animals that we have in daily life, veganism would not have come about. They give us an insight into their intelligence, character and for want of a better word, their soul.
Of course this shouldn't be as it is today with puppy mills and terrible conditions. But if a loving family wants another member, then why not. I don't regard our pooch to be "exploited", at least not in any bad way.
And service dogs, for the disabled, sniffer dogs, police dogs and horses...all have a place in our world...for now. Technology could change that, but right now there is no replacement for a sniffer dog at the airport, or a K9 unit or a seeing-eye dog for a blind person. The idea of banning that is, itself unethical IMO.
Obviously this leads to another problem...what to feed them, but there are already options available, and with time, meat not sourced from living animals will be the norm.
I stopped eating meat and buying leather, wool etc for ethical reasons. We don't "need" to kill animals for food and clothes, so doing so is morally negative.
But many vegans on forums are so extreme that even picking up feathers in the forest is deemed non-vegan.
This is insanity.
I have removed "vegan" from my profile, to "other".
Some reasons...
1. 90% + of the bread here in Sweden is vegan-friendly. But if I buy the wrong pack for lunch, make a sandwich and then realise it has traces of milk in that particular bake...I am going to eat it anyway (and make a note of the brand to avoid in the future). Many people suggest passing it on, but that has no positive or negative utilitarian outcome. i.e. It makes no difference. Not eating it (unless allergies) doesn't change a damn thing.
2. A video by one of my favourite Youtubers (Rationality Rules) got me thinking about why some of us went vegan and why others find it more difficult. And he mentions "The circle of altruism". And it makes a lot of sense.
For example, I went totally animal product free a year ago. And have remained that way during this time. But honestly, I feel very little to the plight of insects compared to the plight of pigs. And that feels normal. Sure, I save bees from our pool, and catch and release when possible, but then I also put ant-poison down under the decking and have had to get the exterminators in for a wasps nest. Do I feel guilty or sad about that? Quite frankly, not really.
3. I've been getting sore joints recently. It could be age and it could be something lacking. I don't know. But I do take a multivitamin, then the occaisional B-Complex, Iron and D. As well as Omega 3 from algae. But I decided I am going to start eating mussels. (Oysters maybe too, but they are rare here). They lack a central nervous system and a brain. I have seen conflicting views on this, but rolling back around to the circle of altruism and honestly, I only stopped eating them as a way of logically completing "the rules of veganism" rather than any empathy toward what is essentially a non-sentient lump of gristle.
Not to mention that farmed mussels and oysters have a far smaller effect on other (actually sentient) creatures than, for example, growing wheat does.
My personal moral compass wants to reduce suffering. Following strict guidelines written by others is not following my own moral compass. Ultimately, morality is subjective. There are no absolutes.
4. And lastly, but maybe most "un-vegan", I am not against all exploitation. I agree with responsible breeding. Non-human animals have got humanity to where we are today, and without them we almost certainly wouldn't have flourished as we have. From dogs protecting us from predators to horses providing transport and oxen helping plow our fields.
Also, I strongly believe that without the proximity to animals that we have in daily life, veganism would not have come about. They give us an insight into their intelligence, character and for want of a better word, their soul.
Of course this shouldn't be as it is today with puppy mills and terrible conditions. But if a loving family wants another member, then why not. I don't regard our pooch to be "exploited", at least not in any bad way.
And service dogs, for the disabled, sniffer dogs, police dogs and horses...all have a place in our world...for now. Technology could change that, but right now there is no replacement for a sniffer dog at the airport, or a K9 unit or a seeing-eye dog for a blind person. The idea of banning that is, itself unethical IMO.
Obviously this leads to another problem...what to feed them, but there are already options available, and with time, meat not sourced from living animals will be the norm.
