Don’t mention the ‘V’ word

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Sadly, no one with any influence in our society will say veganism is right, so as not to dignify it; if it were to be taken seriously or given any attention at all, it could ignite empathy. Then, a craze might start, for people to take on ‘protection of the weak’. This is surely why ‘speciesism’ must always remain a ‘non-subject’ - there must be zero mention of routine animal cruelty in the food industry. And, the health consequences associated with eating animal-based foods is also a no-no. If Animal Rights can remain a non-issue, it will allow food to be discussed only in terms of cuisine and dieting, and then on a fairly superficial level. Without knowing what the word really means beyond the heavy use of animal-based food, the word ‘nutrition’ will be used frequently. Then it’s more likely that the rights of the animals and plant-based foods can be sidelined.

This is the standard side-stepping strategy of the Animal Industries. their aim is always to make a non-issue of animal-based foods and their methods of production. If Animal Rights ever became a serious subject which was regularly written about or discussed on TV and radio, the truth couldn’t be held back. Then, in true counter-attacking style, they’d have to rubbish the subject. And that just might work, since the interests of a misinformed public coincide with the views of the Industry; each want to protect what they value most - the Industry their profits, the people their favourite foods.       

The Animal Industries seek to keep animal rights issues tabooed, by diverting attention away from the ethics of animal treatment and keep it aimed towards other concerns, like the environmental impact of animal farming or even health issues concerning the over-eating of animal products. As bad as that might be, for business, at least it doesn’t open up the Pandora’s Box of ‘animal cruelty’, and all the potentially disastrous empathy it could ignite.

Oh, what a glorious conundrum we have here - as vegans. We are strenuously trying to open up the subject whilst trying not to seem hair-brained revolutionaries. As animal ambassadors, we have to listen to people expressing their opinions (about eating animals) and love them as if they were simply caterwauling children!

If our voices ever do get to be heard, other ‘voices’ will attempt to silence us. But hey, we’ve just moved into the Information Age. Lots of secret things are coming to light. It’s inevitable, the ‘V’ word will eventually gain currency.