Learning about and teaching Animal Rights

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We can’t necessarily trust what we’ve been taught. It’s not because teachers and parents are liars, it’s just that they don’t necessarily know the truth themselves but don’t want to be seen as fallible or ill-informed.

Every major issue, particularly issues which impact on our private lives, need to reassessed; we need to be run them past our instincts and our conscience, if only to test them. If we ever get to the point where we are sure (as I am, about not exploiting animals), we can apply our new-found ‘truth’ to daily life. And once we’re doing that, then we are in a position where we can pass it on to others; not as ‘truth’ but as a set of precepts which others can then test out for themselves, as we might have done earlier.

I suppose we are all doing it, passing on what we believe in, hoping others will become enthusiastic. And in passing information on, we have to compete with other disciplines, each of which is vying for the public ear.

It’s much easier to pass on a diluted principle (don’t eat animals – it’s bad for your health) than expound fundamental principles (don’t eat animals – it’s unethical).

If we are talking about the more difficult-to-accept principles, we need to be particularly inspiring and informative. And if that needs some technique, some research and some self confidence it also needs us to not be sounding too full of ourselves.

But above all, we can’t afford to have any dodgy habits ourselves, any double standards or any obvious vulnerabilities. We have to be squeaky clean, especially if we are trying to convince people to give up their habits of a lifetime, namely the use of animals to enhance lifestyle.

Since Animal Rights is a rather foreign concept to most people, those of us who aspire to be advocates for animals need to have useful facts at hand, for those who want them, (like how to prepare meals every day without using animal products).

In order not to swamp anyone with too much information we need to know how to hold back. Especially for those who are less willing to listen. We need to let them know what the essentials are without going on too long about it; we aren’t trying to push our way into their private world, after all; we aren’t in the business of making value judgements of those who don’t agree with us. If someone isn’t ready to change their diet or make ethical changes, we need to be able to accept that (NOT doing that is a big turn-off). 

For ‘newcomers’ to animal rights and veganism there’s a lot to find out about, not only about cruelty to animals but the nutritional and environmental consequences of animal farming. All this new learning may seem like a hard slog in front of them. So, we have to emphasise that there are a great many personal rewards to be found - being a true vegetarian, we probably show two main things, that we respect our bodies (by not poisoning them) and that we are prepared to find out about current animal exploitation. If we are getting into better types of food we’ll benefit greatly but even more so by recognizing the great cause to fight. It’s something most people have neglected to address, and by our taking up this cause we enter a world of great satisfaction. Here is something H HHHhHHHHHsubstantial to think about and talk about and feel proud to be part of the early days of becoming conscious of the plight of sentient animals.