Escape

835: 

‘Vegan-ism’ is not only about health concerns or salving the conscience but about escaping conformity to violent social norms.

Those who aren’t yet vegan might well believe they are held locked into certain inescapable behaviours; they can’t believe that by merely changing something as mundane as their food regime, that escape could be possible or that animal-eating could be responsible for a breakdown of moral values in Society. The don’t see the connection between Society’s violence and the food people eat.

In their belief that they can’t do without animal protein, people are unable to imagine life without animal products, and  that means farm animals will always be exploited. Liking the taste of animals, knowing no other way to eat with using animal foods, ties them to the exploitation of animals and all the shame that goes with that.

As advocates of animal rights it’s difficult to get that one across, because most people haven’t yet seriously considered animals’ feelings, as if they mattered. And this leads them to financially support the animal industry and see veganism as nothing more than a church of horrible disciplines. They dig their heels in, and say “No way. Vegan, never!”

If they looked a bit closer they might see the possibility of a major escape route via the non-violent principle on which veganism is based. As vegans  we have a chance to regain some level of innocence, and in the innocence is the escape.