Standing tall

1791: 

All our best arguments for bringing about a non-violent society might be attractive to someone who has taken the food plunge and got rid of the crap and happy to have got rid of it. But is one’s personal example enough to convince others?

Ours is a complaisant society and a self-indulgent one. Most people think they can ignore the values set out by vegan principle, even though it represents the ultimately intelligent and compassionate path.

Is it laughable to think that our as-yet-small number could ever persuade people to so radically change their ways of eating (even if it’s only food that changes)? Our task seems almost impossible. Almost, but not quite. Over the past seventy years many people have changed. In some parts of the world up to 1% of the population has become vegan. The increase has been rapid and recent, mainly amongst the younger twenties generation.

If we are to pull this one off, it’s going to have to be the biggest miracle ever. And yet we may need to simply set off a small trend of fashionability. It will have to be a mixture of reasons for change: for health, for planet, for animals and for spiritual reasons. Each individual reason will hold some appeal, to some more than others.

The social kudos of being vegan cannot be underestimated. One might have all the highest principles in the world but in the end most of us lay great store on being able to say something about ourselves for which we are proud, which makes us seem less superficial. To be able to say that you are a vegan, without even mentioning the reason for it, denotes someone with self-discipline and a determination to be in control of their life. This is something most people would probably want. It’s rather like adopting another dimension to one’s life, by disregarding the temptation-power of so many foods and commodities. By becoming vegan we stand that much taller.

The best thing about it is that we can feel as though we aren’t being manipulated by the vested interests of the food industry and clothing manufacturers. We aren’t condoning what they do, making a profit from the misery of animals. That, in itself, is a freedom which most people would like to have. Apart from anything else, the not-buying of expensive meat and dairy foods, woollens and leather products, makes for a great saving in the budget. If only in that way, for those of us who don’t have much money, it’s good to know we can live happily and ethically, and still be financially better off than the omnivores.