Getting ethical

1527: 

Who authorises what we do and how we think and what we eat, when we’re young?  Kids Have to follow adults, who give their children the same advice they were given themselves, as youngsters, which is always based on the principle of ‘Mum knows best’ or ‘Doctor knows best’.

Thankfully youth rebels.  And some break away from the gravitational pull of convention.  But for others, the pleasure instinct is too strong.  Social convention becomes so predominant, that when it comes to our food choices not many changes ever get made.

If certain lines of education are followed, tradition might be rejected on philosophical grounds. If right and wrong becomes an important field of study, then ethics might trump pleasure.  Then there will be a solid basis from which our own more ethical decisions can be made.

         

I think the philosophy behind veganism comes out of a deep enough instinct to place animal-based foods into question.  It won’t tell us what to eat but it will certainly tell us what NOT to.

From a plant-based platform, underscored by a non-violent approach to everything else we do, food choices become more straight forward.  By outlining what NOT to eat, vegans don’t usually become obese or develop ill health, because of the diet they are now following.  Rubbish food and fast food are automatically filtered out.  By avoiding rich snacks, cakes and confections, along with the usual animal secretions and of course meat itself, the body isn’t exposed to the saturated fats, cholesterol, high salt and sugar contents so characteristic of animal foods and foods made with animal ingredients. When health concerns mix with ethical concerns, it's not only food choices but other commodity choices that change.

Although we might miss out on fashion gear such as leather goods, wool, silk and fur, it’s a fact that we are no longer being lured by many items of expensive merchandise.   Our feet might get wet from wearing fabric shoes or in the cold weather we may have to wear a few more layers of cotton or linen, and that might be inconvenient, but when you think of the suffering we save the animals - the loss of the sheep’s own woollen coat or the cow’s own skin, and therefore not being party to their suffering.

         

For omnivores, life is made messy from taking part in the business of the Animal Industry.  If you feel ashamed of abattoirs and cages and barbed wire, you can break free of it all by becoming vegan.  Our own instinctive compassion is the best ethical guide here - if what we buy hurts animals we have no justification for buying it in the first place.