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Whether vegan or omnivore, most of us have a stock of
well-rehearsed responses to the big issues of the day. Up our sleeves we have
our shock-sentences plus our best lines of persuasion. But essentially,
advocating for animals is about being confident and not saying more than is
necessary. This is dense information we’re capable of passing across. We might
choose to say little but we should be sure of what we do say, our facts and
figures, quoting them without resorting to bluff. Background knowledge is
essential. It’s the basis of our arguments. We can show empathy, commitment and
positive attitude all we like, but it’s our hard background evidence that is
most convincing.
But coming back to the omnivore
who might be having to listen uncomfortably to what we’re saying, they’re
probably having terrible time, visualising how it would be, to go vegan, and
have to deal with so many personal challenges. Would vegan-living be a great
opportunity or a big headache? Is going vegan too much to take on?
Crowding in on all these
considerations is another question. Is Animal Rights the biggest, most
important challenge or should other Big Issues be dealt with first? (The
omnivore is slippery here. Sooner be an environmentalist than to give up food.
Anything but that!!)
Well, here you might
fundamentally disagree with me. But for me it’s the need to re-humanise humans
that is most urgent, and all else will follow naturally after that. It’s not as
if change has to be a long slow process, it can be quick, and once made we can
move on to other Big Issues, all of which need attention. Nothing, however, can
substantially change if we’re attempting to reform one thing but refusing to
act humanely over our food choices; for every improvement we make to our lives
we negate it all by eating, three times a day, the corpses of murdered animals.
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