The compromise

955: 

The omnivore mightn’t care a fig about animal cruelty. Or they might not necessarily know about it. But it needs to be said that whatever nutritive value there may have been (in animal-based food) is now compromised by its toxic content, and that isn’t taking into account the shame that comes with it. Even if the animal is fed organic food, if it ranges free or is treated with exceptional kindness, the food taken from the animal can never be ‘clean’ since it’s all tainted by imprisonment and a universally nasty, abattoir death; even animals from which by-products are taken (like eggs or milk or wool) are eventually executed. No one could possibly suggest that farm animals aren’t put to death in a state of terror.

Animal foods are unnecessary to healthy survival. They serve no useful purpose, in sharp contrast to the health-giving qualities of plant-based foods. For omnivores, their animal foods provide a corrupted energy, rather like ‘drinking from the poisoned well’. With so much chronic dietary-related illness, you’d think the ‘goodness’ of food would be a high priority. And so it would be, if it weren’t for the consumer’s need to conform (in the spirit of social acceptability) and the Industry’s insatiable thirst for profits. Normality takes precedence over everything else; the normal meal always contains meat or cheese, and the meal is invariably topped off with sweetened dairy products. Social conformity is more important than any show of individuality. We beware stepping outside social norms by not sharing the same foods as others at the dinner table; if, for ethical reasons, we don’t eat the same sorts of foods as other then it’s likely we’ll never be truly accepted by them. And by being shunned socially, as vegans are, there’s the danger of losing social confidence. For the sake of social acceptance, it’s likely that most people will compromise their principles in order to do as others do.

On the big issues of the day, like whether or not to eat meat, we defer attitude-change; it’s easier knowing that we won’t be judged for conforming, because others are conforming in the same way.

Generally, people don’t give something up if they think they can get away with it. If for no other reason, this would be why an omnivore remains an omnivore. But vegans don’t think this way. We might regret the loss of peer acceptance but we can look forward to being free of a heavy conscience. To take vegan theory seriously (enough to boycott everything with animal content) we demand that our food has both nutritional and ethical value. People have thrived on a vegan diet since the early 1940s, so it’s not that experimental!