Quakers

1567: 

If killing animals to eat them is condoned by the majority, then I want to disassociate from that, to say that I don’t condone violence and specifically violently-extracted foods and commodities. I reckon making a 'vegan stand' will encourage others to join our boycott. But what I really want to emphasise here is that it isn't just about food and clothing, but a very different way of seeing our world. For a start, it points the finger at human domination. Vegans prefer an equal footing with other species, otherwise we have to ask why we should regard ourselves as more important. If we are of equal importance, then it implies certain behaviours and rules. And anyone who is part of a particular discipline, whether it’s in sport, religion, academic study or personal relationships, abides by their own self-imposed rules. We adopt these rules not just to be different or to make life more difficult for ourselves, but because they provide a structure for our own life and which could prove of benefit to others. So this sort of ‘discipline’ is a proof that something can be done if it is deemed necessary.

         

Take the Quakers. They avoid war and don’t let themselves be conscripted. They believe disagreements can be better handled by engaging in dialogue rather than confrontation. For many years in the eighteenth century, in Pennsylvania, they maintained friendly relations with the indigenous Americans, and governed a whole state on the basis of non-violence. Their government eventually collapsed, because the use of violence and force was thought to be more effective for 'solving' problems.

But maybe the Quakers were doomed by their own inconsistency. It wasn’t that they’d gone too far but that they hadn’t gone far enough. They didn’t embrace the idea of being non-violent towards animals, since they still farmed, killed and ate them. But they still represent today a precept of acting non-violently and perhaps also non-judgementally, and we can all take something from that and appreciate its value.

It would be a more complete expression of their central principle if they espoused veganism. They've laid some valuable groundwork regarding all humans as being on an equal footing. Vegans and Quakers each offer an important principle to the world. One discipline from one group could perhaps benefit the other group, in a sort of principle-exchange.