Ethics starts with Non-Violence

1320: 

Apart from the vegan diet being nutritionally sound, it’s also an ethical diet because it is based on non-violence, meaning that animals don’t ever have to be killed or exploited or violated.  Vegans can therefore live with a clear conscience.  We aren’t involved in the daily violence that all non-vegans are party to.

But if we say this in so many words, it will be seen as an aggressive attack, however true we might think we are being.  If we accuse someone of being violent, because they eat meat or dairy products, that accusation will be construed as a ‘violence’ in itself.  For this reason alone, we should avoid these sorts of accusations.  By pressing our opinion too hard in this way, we hint at aggression, and lose our best chance to discuss things rationally.  Once someone feels they’re being attacked, they’ll counter attack, and then the discussion goes round in circles.  The central arguments will be forgotten and their hostile attitude to Animal Rights will become more deeply entrenched.  And in future they may only see us as wanting to subvert society by liberating all the animals which, put that way, sounds like anarchy.  Which opens the way to some particularly insidious legislation - it being only a matter of time before ‘food-denigrating’ becomes illegal, as it is in some parts of USA.  The animal industry, supported by almost all consumers, already has enough political clout to bring this about.  We face a dilemma here - we stand bravely for what we believe and aren't afraid to say it as we see it. On the other hand, we can alienate everyone with our brave words and end up having communicated nothing at all