Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A guide to nonviolence
Our relationship with animals
Animals are constantly a part of our lives. They share our homes, sleep
in our beds, and may even greet us at the door. We turn to them for
emotional support, consider them members
of the family, and mourn their deaths when
they pass. These animals may not be able to
balance a checkbook or speak our language,
but we love and value them highly. We
believe they enjoy their lives as much as
they enjoy the company of others. For
other animals who are, in many ways, no
different from dogs or cats, we stick forks
and knives into their cooked bodies and
wear their skin as clothing. If we believe
violence just for enjoyment against a dog
or cat is wrong, how do we reconcile
e r s o w in a g e s t ation
what we do to other animals? We
A moth crate. certainly do not need animal products
to be healthy; we consume animals out
of habit and because we enjoy the taste or convenience
of their products. This strange contradiction is our “moral
schizophrenia.” If we want to overcome our social
affliction, we must take the first step in being
nonviolent and become vegan.
Veganism
Veganism is not a diet, but a way of life
which excludes the use of animals for any
reason. This means a vegan does not eat, wear,
or use animals or their products. Instead, vegans thrive on
diverse plant-based foods, animal-
free clothing, and find Over 50 billion animals are killed
a l t e r n a t i v e every year worldwide.
ways to doing In the time it took to read that
anything that sentence, 3,163 chickens, 170
would involve an ducks, 87 pigs, 36 sheep, 40
animal. turkeys, 25 goats, 19 cattle, and 1
buffalo were killed across the globe1
1: Based on the 2007 United Nations Food and Agriculture report. Figures considered for a two second timespan.
?
What about “humanely-Raised”
products?
An increasing number of consumers attempt to
address the devastation we cause to animals
not by going vegan but by purchasing products
advertised as “humane” or as produced
“ethically.” However, as you’ll see, these labels
are practically meaningless. The conditions of
“humanely-raised” animals are no more of an
improvement than putting air fresheners in
a torture chamber. Meanwhile, these products
encourage the public to believe it is okay to
Sentience
“Sentience” describes a feature of animals (humans or otherwise) which separates
us from things like plants and inanimate objects. Animals are sentient because they
can feel, sense their surroundings, and process this in a brain. While some plants
have ways of responding to predators or the changes around them, these are
chemical reactions and biological events which do not
involve thinking. That is, plants and rocks do not
have a brain. They do not feel pain nor have
emotions or thoughts. Plants and lifeless
objects are not sentient. We could break
sentience into further characteristics
like the thinking abilities humans
have that nonhumans do not (or
vice versa) but when it comes
to having a right not to be used,
what more does a being need than
sentience? When sentient beings are
used, they have an understanding about
it. They can have negative or positive
feelings about their situation. However,
our obligation is not to ensure animals
have only supposedly positive feelings
about their being used but not
to use them in the first place.
A Green Lifestyle
Consuming a plant-based diet also has a significant
effect on the environment. For instance, the amount
of potatoes which can be produced on an acre of land is
about 40,000 lbs compared to only 250 lbs of cow flesh
which can be grown from the same acre. When we feed
plants to animals in order to eat the animal, we waste an
enormous amount of food. For only one pound of cow flesh,
16 lbs of plant food and 5,000 gallons of water are required.
Compare that to 25 gallons of water for a pound of wheat.
Animal agriculture is also responsible for most of the food
borne illness epidemics from water runoff. Our use of
animals contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions
as well as the destruction of forests for grazing. More than
250 million acres of forests are cleared every year in the US
alone for this purpose.
Food Choices
While you convert your diet, also convert your kitchen. Keeping your living
space stocked with diverse vegan snacks and meals makes finding good food
at any time a snap.
Fats (2 servings)
Fruits (2 servings)
Vegetables (4 servings)
Calcium rich
Legumes, nuts, and foods
other protein-rich
foods (5 servings)
Grains
(6 servings)
“People are able to do all kinds of horrible things, but the fact that they
can do them should never be accepted as justification for doing them.
The thing we must emphasize is that we can be vegan, and be healthy
and live comfortable lives. That is what is important, so whether meat
is healthy or not is irrelevant. What is relevant is that it is healthy to be
vegan, so we have an alternative to animal exploitation and are therefore
morally obligated to do that.”
-Elizabeth Collins
Recently, more and more foods are being produced without animal products.
For instance, you can find vegan ice creams, yogurts, cheeses, milks, deli
meats, roasts, chicken, burger patties, meatballs, scrambles, egg replacers,
and more. However, a good vegan transition doesn’t mean eating processed
foods. Try these healthy suggestions for planning your first vegan meal.
Plan your meal with ease
Breakfast
& Fried bulgur with agave nectar/maple syrup
& Vegan cereals or oatmeal with nondairy milk
& Fresh fruit
& Pancakes or waffles (using an egg replacer)
& Tempeh bacon
& Tofu scramble
Lunch
Soup, salad, and a sandwich &
Baked potato and chili beans &
Falafel &
Edamame &
3-bean salad &
Rice and veggie stir fry &
Dinner
& Quinoa and mushroom stuffed peppers
& Bean tacos with lettuce and tomatoes
& Masala dosa
& Black bean burger with sweet potato
fries
& Sushi (no fish) and rice
www.abolitionistapproach.com/video
animal rights
Read “Introduction to Animal Rights” by
Gary L. Francione or one of his other works:
Rain Without Thunder; Animals, Property,
and the Law; and Animals as Persons.
Also, see the abolitionist approach blog
at www.AbolitionistApproach.com with
free pamphlets, video, and audio
interviews and podcasts.
Meet Vegans
A transition to veganism is always
easier when surrounded by like-minded
people. Join an animal rights forum at
www.animalemancipation.com/forum
or www.veganfreaks.net/forum to ask
questions, get advice, or just make new
friends.
Revision 1
Adam Kochanowicz