1791:
All our best arguments for
bringing about a non-violent society might be attractive to someone who has
taken the food plunge and got rid of the crap and happy to have got rid of it.
But is one’s personal example enough to convince others?
Ours is a complaisant society
and a self-indulgent one. Most people think they can ignore the values set out by
vegan principle, even though it represents the ultimately intelligent and
compassionate path.
Is it laughable to think that
our as-yet-small number could ever persuade people to so radically change their
ways of eating (even if it’s only food that changes)? Our task seems almost
impossible. Almost, but not quite. Over the past seventy years many people have
changed. In some parts of the world up to 1% of the population has become
vegan. The increase has been rapid and recent, mainly amongst the younger
twenties generation.
If we are to pull this one
off, it’s going to have to be the biggest miracle ever. And yet we may need to
simply set off a small trend of fashionability. It will have to be a mixture of
reasons for change: for health, for planet, for animals and for
spiritual reasons. Each individual reason will hold some appeal, to some more
than others.
The social kudos of being
vegan cannot be underestimated. One might have all the highest principles in
the world but in the end most of us lay great store on being able to say
something about ourselves for which we are proud, which makes us seem less
superficial. To be able to say that you are a vegan, without even mentioning
the reason for it, denotes someone with self-discipline and a determination to
be in control of their life. This is something most people would probably want.
It’s rather like adopting another dimension to one’s life, by disregarding the
temptation-power of so many foods and commodities. By becoming vegan we stand
that much taller.
The best thing about it is
that we can feel as though we aren’t being manipulated by the vested interests
of the food industry and clothing manufacturers. We aren’t condoning what they
do, making a profit from the misery of animals. That, in itself, is a freedom
which most people would like to have. Apart from anything else, the not-buying
of expensive meat and dairy foods, woollens and leather products, makes for a
great saving in the budget. If only in that way, for those of us who don’t have
much money, it’s good to know we can live happily and ethically, and still be
financially better off than the omnivores.
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