Some misconceptions about veganism

There are many misconceptions about veganism. Although the term vegan was coined in the 1940's there are still people who don’t know what's veganism is about. The general public cannot take all the blame. Some of that blame is divided amongst leaders of big welfarist organizations who purposely mislead general public about what veganism is really about and so called vegans who insert their personal agenda into veganism. 

Let’s begin with something which is considered to be controversial, honey.  But there is nothing controversial about that animal product. One of that definition of veganism specifically names honey as something which vegans don’t eat. Here's that definition: “A way of living which excludes all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and it's derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals.”  Question whatever honey is vegan or not is solved a long time ago. Maybe some think of being vegan as some badge of honor. But it's not; it’s the bare minimum of what we owe to other sentient beings.  I don’t like when someone is attacked for eating honey while calling themselves vegan. But I happy to find out there a vegans who don’t eat honey. It’s crazy, but when I am searching for some recipe on line, often there is honey in it.  People say but there is little bit of honey in that food. So, you admit eating of animal product, intentionally. I don’t care how someone is calling themselves, but if deteriorates the term if you don’t adhere to the definition.  You can call me militant or member of a vegan police if that will make you feel better for putting violence in your mouth.

Now we come to being vegan is being an elitist. What is elitist in veganism? Veganism sees no hierarchy among sentient beings. Being non-vegan is an elitist stand. Non-vegans divide other animals into categories based on the usefulness to them.

How can veganism be a sacrifice, in other words, how can you sacrifice something which you aren’t entitled in the first place. You have no right to use other animals at all. You may find that veganism is a sacrifice, but other animals have a different opinion.

Here's one misconception which isn’t completely baseless: veganism is a cult. I have written about that in my blog but I will repeat. Some continuously say we shouldn’t criticize each other’s or have some discussions about controversial topics, because something bad can happen like learning new things. In a cult there isn’t room for discussions or critique. Those people would like to be in a cult, to let others think for them.  I don’t blame non-vegans entirely for believing that veganism is a cult, those opponents of critical thinking make veganism look like a cult.

End of factory farming

I heard about revolutionary campaign which will "help" nonhuman animal so much. It doesn’t matter that problem isn’t how we treat the other animal that we use, the problem is that we use them at all. And if that campaign is successful it would just change the way how other animals are exploited.

You may ask but other animals will suffer less if factory farming is abolished. That’s questionable. And how do you know that they will suffer less. And any suffering which we inflict on other animals is unnecessary. End result of all farming, small or factory is the same, torture and death.

It’s often asked of animal exploiters to give more room to farm animals or to change how they kill other animals. So many campaigns are asking for something which exploiters will give anyway. But why the resist. You know, why. Because can you imagine large producers of animal products to just accept propositions of welfarist groups. Majority of demands by welfarist organizations are in favor of the industry because they increase the efficiency of exploitation of other sentient beings. Some exploitation is inefficient. Welfarists attack those inefficient practices demanding efficient practices. Crazy, right. That’s so going to help the other animals. 

When they started factory farming they didn’t know that putting large numbers of other animals in one place, not allowing them to move, will lead to stress, diseases. They are treating those diseases with drugs which lead to drug-resistant bacterias. And some of those bacterias can transfer to humans. By giving more room to other animals they can decrease level of stress.

Do you know why they stun other animals before they kill them? Not because they are concern with suffering of that person, rather than it may injury the worker if he works with large other animals, or that poor sentient being will injury herself while experiencing excruciating pain, fighting for the next breath.

In unlikely event that one country bans factory farming, it cannot stop the import of animal products from other country where factory farming isn’t banned due to many free-trade agreements.

I don’t understand why we need to help the industry by asking for more efficient exploitation. Welfarists say we need to do something now. But who those so called victories take years and years to implement. I though we need to do something now. And we can do something now which really helps all sentient beings, it’s called unequivocal vegan advocacy.