On Morality: Why Not Use Speciesist -And Other Kinds Of- Oppressive Language?

 

Our language is a window into the way we think.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

The way we think about nonhumans informs the way we speak about them, and the way we speak about them influences the way others think about them. And finally, that influences how they act towards them. So we can see that our language is vital in taking not just the first but many important steps towards ceasing to harm them.

Carefully choosing the words we use is incredibly important. If you’ve ever had someone make a completely inadvertently insensitive remark in your presence and you’ve been offended, or even if you’ve been blatantly insulted on purpose, you know exactly what I mean. And yet, pretty much every one of us has made a slip like the former at one time or another, and most of us have intentionally done the latter. The hallmark of a truly wise person is how they learn and grow from their mistakes. Criticism -the constructive kind, naturally- is a valuable tool in helping us learn and grow.

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Part 1: The Vocabulary Of Speciesism

Part 1a: Establishing Our Moral Agreement

The first part of this post is about how we refer to nonhuman animals in our daily language. But before I get into examples, I’d like to pose a question: Do you think animals matter morally? I’m going to assume -for the sake of argument- that you’ve already read at least one of my pieces on our moral obligation to live Vegan and stop our “physical” (as opposed to what we would call “verbal”) violence towards nonhumans. If not, please read something here, here or here and then come back to finish this essay. If you merely need a definition for speciesism, the gist is when a human animal places a different moral value on a member or group of members of one species than we do on another species, merely because of the morally irrelevant criteria of their species membership. This includes thinking that the human species is morally superior to any nonhuman species (“anthropo-centrism” aka “human supremacy”), and also that any nonhuman species is morally superior to any other nonhuman species. To understand why this is problematic from a moral perspective, go ahead and read one of the above-linked items.

If you do think that nonhumans have moral status of any kind, then you should want the intentional suffering and death inflicted on them by humans to decrease, shouldn’t you? And if you want that to happen -as a way of effecting that you- should want others to feel that way as well, shouldn’t you? And if you want that, then it only makes sense for you to think and talk as though nonhumans have moral status. Which is why using the correct words in referring to them only makes sense, right? In other words, we don’t want to give other people the wrong impression, and so cause them to get the wrong idea, which they would then logically act on by committing wrongs on sentient beings.

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Part 1b: Pronouns And Other Such Problems

I’ve seen a lot of people in our current speciesist, morally confused societal paradigm use extremely problematic words to refer to nonhumans. And I’m even talking about people who “rescue” animals and claim they have moral concern for animals; even some people who call themselves Vegans. Words like “it,” “that,” “thing,” “where,” etc. As in, “I saw a pig, it was running across the street,” “I saw a cute pig that was running across the street,” or “We should respect the rights of every living thing that feels pain, even pigs that are running across a busy street,” or “Where did this meat come from? Did it come from the pig that was killed while running across the street?” etc.

If we think that nonhumans matter morally (and so we want others to consider them as beings who are morally worthy of not having their rights violated) we should recognize that -in any discussion that refers to others who we consider worthy of moral concern (aka “moral discussion”)- beings who can feel pain (which is what we mean by “sentient beings“) are completely different from insentient objects, that can’t. Words like “it,” “that,” and “thing” are used to refer to insentient objects, such as rocks, metal, plastic, and trees. These are objects –whether they are “living” or not- that cannot be proven to feel pain and therefore are not owed any moral weight by us; as opposed to subjects, to whom we do owe our moral concern. Before anyone reading this is tempted to argue that plants are sentient beings, read this or this, and understand that I’m not interested in that debate at all.

In regards to moral discussions, nonhuman animals are considered sentient beings and so should be referred to as “she,” “he,” “her,” “him,” “they,” “them,” “who,” and “being,” etc. As in “I saw a pig, they were running across the street,” “I saw a cute pig who was running across the street,” “we should respect the rights of every living being who feels pain, even pigs who are running across a busy street” or “who did that oink come from? Did it come from the pig who was running across the street?”

The fact that we use the same pronouns for nonhuman animals as we do for inanimate objects and that we would not use for human animals under the same circumstances shows a profound lack of respect for nonhumans.

Note: Some people have criticized this word choice by claiming that it makes no sense to use the pronoun “they” when the singular subject’s gender is in doubt. Really, it makes all the sense in the world. It may be awkward in our mouths when unpracticed, but it works well enough for us to use it every day for humans who are oppressed -when their gender is in doubt- and so it should work for us. People have criticized this choice of wording by saying that using “they” is confusing because it implies plurality, as in more than one human or nonhuman. This is patently false in any case where it’s already been established how many beings are the subject of a sentence. When we’ve already established that we’re only talking about someone –and not more than one someones- there is no problem there.

Plus, we already do use it in that way. Think about it: If we were referring to humans, we wouldn’t say “I saw a cloaked and hooded person walk down the street, and then I lost sight of it when it turned into an alleyway.” No. We would say “I saw a cloaked and hooded person walk down the street, and then I lost sight of them when they turned into an alleyway” because the being in question is a “person,” but we have no idea which gender that person is.

Humans are sentient beings, so we usually consider it disrespectful to refer to a “human person” as “it.” But when it comes to nonhuman persons, our speciesist society refuses to grant them the same consideration. This is the way we frame things in our minds so we can turn sentient beings into objects, which is the only way we can reconcile what we know, if we really examine them, to be massive atrocities our society commits daily on those innocents.

Some further criticize our anti-speciesist word choice by giving the example that we commonly refer to human babies as “it.” As in “Mary just had a baby, I wonder which sex it is?” I don’t think this proves that the word “it” should also be used for humans, however. Rather it betrays a lack of respect for children on the part of the speaker. It should become common practice for us to say “I wonder which sex they are?” or even better “I wonder what their sex is?” instead (Notwithstanding theories about whether sex even exists or not). Consider the following section of this article (even though I would argue that the author has a wrong view of “the singular they”):

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in the posthumously published Anima Poetae, argued that ‘it’ was the right pronoun for referring to indefinite nouns like ‘everyone’ or ‘the person’, ‘in order to avoid particularising man or woman, or in order to express either sex indifferently’. Thus: ‘Everyone misplaces its keys.’ Uncanniness results, but Coleridge was undeterred, insisting that ‘both the specific intention and general etymon of “Person” in such sentences, fully authorise the use of it and which instead of, he, she, him, her, who, whom.’ (He was not the first on record to promote the virtues of ‘it’. Someone called Molly Dolan wrote to the Ballyshannon Herald in 1843 that ‘ “IT” is the onely propper pronoun to be applied to an unknown correspondent – the name being neither fish, flesh, nor fowl.’)

Fully authorised by the general etymon or not, few have been taken with the idea of allowing ‘it’ to stand in for humans, at least adult ones. ‘It’ was once commonly used for babies, as in George Eliot’s Silas Marner, in which the baby Eppie is sometimes referred to as ‘it’. More recently, ‘it’ was used on Twitter for a newborn child by an Iraqi doctor who was documenting fatal birth defects caused by the allied forces’ use of depleted uranium during the 2003 invasion. The doctor, who was presumably tweeting in their non-native language, was lambasted by English-speaking Twitter users for ‘dehumanising’ the infant. It apparently didn’t occur to them that they were accusing a doctor of ‘dehumanising’ babies harmed in a war perpetrated by their own countries. They were correct, however, in sensing the power of the pronoun ‘it’ to mock, insult and demean, a use to which it has been put since at least the 16th century. For this reason, ‘it’ is no longer considered apt for babies – or, in the view of people with dogs or cats, for dogs or cats.

In 1792 the Scottish philosopher James Anderson noted that ‘it’ indicated ‘a high degree of contempt’, suggesting instead the gender-neutral pronoun ou, then common in Gloucestershire dialect. Kentucky’s 1850 Constitution declared: ‘The right of the owner of a slave to such slave, and its increase, is ... as inviolable as the right of the owner of any property whatever.’ In defence of the Kentucky legislature’s choice of pronoun to refer to slaves, the New York Evening Post wrote that ‘the objectors have forgotten to estimate the effect of colour upon gender’ – which is to say, enslaved women and men were neutered by their blackness. And, genderless, they were mere things.

It may feel strange when we try to retrain ourselves to use non-speciesist terminology in the matter, but that is purely a result of the speciesist conditioning that our society puts us through, not whether it’s “wrong” to use the non-speciesist term.

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Part 1c: The Euphemism, or “A Great Way To Distract You From The Truth”

The second point I’d like to make is about how we talk about the nonhumans who we humans use for our interests. Or more specifically, I’d like to talk about them as well as their flesh and secretions. If we’re going to talk about nonhumans and their rights, let’s be perfectly clear: The term “meat” is really a euphemism meant to divert attention from the real issue, which is that we’re talking about the flesh of a being who is easily provable, using only fact and logic, to be morally equal to any human. An innocent individual being who could feel pain, fear and other sensations, just as much as humans can. An individual who had an interest in their own survival and freedoms just as much as you and I do. The reality is that it’s impossible to obtain the flesh of those beings for us to consume without inflicting unnecessary suffering and death on them. Every land-dwelling nonhuman -as well as many sea-dwelling ones- whose flesh or secretions we consume was forced into existence; all nonhumans we use were exploited, and then slaughtered using violence, and it was completely unnecessary.

Using nonhuman animals for their flesh is also not morally distinguishable from using any sentient being as merely a replaceable resource for any other human purpose either. All forms of exploitation of any animal, nonhuman or human, are equally morally wrong. Furthermore, to distinguish morally between different kinds of exploitation ensures that the people observing our arguments will inflict even more unnecessary suffering and death on nonhumans (and humans) than before.

So we can understand that using the term “meat” to refer to an animal’s flesh is highly problematic from a rights perspective. It creates and reinforces the notion in others that who we’re consuming is merely an inanimate object, completely divorced from the breathing, sentient being who was unnecessarily harmed in order to obtain it. Similarly, words like “pork,” “beef,” “bacon,” “mutton,” “ivory,” “leather,” “wool,” “down,” etc. are equally problematic.

Coats are not made of “leather,” they’re made of the skin of sentient beings who were killed for completely unnecessary reasons. Sweaters are not “wool,” they’re the hair of sentient beings who have immense suffering inflicted on them and are then killed for their flesh when they can’t produce enough hair to be profitable anymore. Pillows aren’t filled with “down,” they’re filled with the feathers of sentient beings who are fully capable of desiring not to be used as resources or killed, and who have been proven to care about their families as much as we human animals care about ours.

When you think about it, the very existence of “cheese” is completely messed up, let alone the word itself. Do we see any other species enslaving other animals so that they can use the milk that rightfully belongs to them and their babies to make “cheese?” Using that word in reference to animal dairy is adding insult (and by extension, further injury) to an already grave injury. These are the lives and secretions of sentient beings; we have a responsibility to the nonhumans who lived and died in humans’ immoral quest for our own palate pleasure to use terms that reflect the truth about what these substances are in actual reality: animal flesh and animal secretions at the very least, products of suffering and death if we want to bring passion to our rhetoric. But never “meat,” “leather,” wool,” “down,” etc.

In addition, Varun Virlan presented this proposition in the Facebook group “Unlearning Speciesism” in the context of addressing the objections by speciesists that “nonhumans don’t care what you call them or what kind of language you use for them, they just want to not be eaten”:

“There are a few problems with this argument, so I will address them:

1. Just because someone does not understand how you are describing or talking about them does not mean you get a free pass to use oppressive language for them. There are humans who do not understand the English language, it does not mean that it is okay to use racist/xenophobic/oppressive language for them (in English).

2. Just focusing on getting humans to stop eating other animals does not end speciesism. Speciesism is taught through our language, our culture, our institutions, and our religions. Unless you do not challenge those oppressive institutions that enable speciesism, other animals won’t be fully liberated.

3. Language creates social norms. For instance, using “it” for other animals normalizes their objectification, and using “meat” for their bodies normalizes the idea that they are consumable.

The point of challenging oppressive & speciesist language is to create a society where objectifying other animals is unacceptable.“

Very wise words.

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Part 1d: Possession Is 9 Points Of The Very Speciesist Law

Also, very similarly to the above point, we should avoid using the term “my,” “mine,” “ours,” etc. when talking about nonhumans. Although they are most certainly our property -in the sense that the laws and conventions of our society render them thus- they are not objects, and thus not our possessions in the moral sense. That distinction is extremely important for us to make in our advocacy. Morally speaking, they are not ours to use; their lives, freedoms, family, and suffering are not ours to exploit; they belong to themselves. So, it’s not “my meat,” – it’s the flesh of an individual who was immorally exploited and caused to suffer and die for unnecessary reasons. To me, the nonhuman animals I rescue and keep in my home are not “my cats” in the sense of me thinking that that belong to me as my mere possessions, they are “my family” in the same way that other humans are my family. They certainly have a relationship to me -as does any human I interact with- and this latter usage is the version of the word “my” that we can use and still observe a sense of justice for them. It’s the only non-speciesist way in which we can refer to nonhumans as being “mine.”

Moreover, we don’t think that it’s necessary to use euphemisms when referring to circumstances where humans have been exploited, oppressed, or otherwise harmed. If a human is intentionally killed by another human merely for selfish reasons, we decry that as “murder.” If a nonhuman suffers the same fate, we call it “putting them down,” or even more divorced from the act, “harvesting.” If a human is used as a replaceable resource to perform unconsenting labor of any kind, we call them “a slave,” but if the victims in question are nonhumans, we call them “livestock,” “units” etc. Discourse about the fact that these terms are intentionally pushed onto the average person as a form of indoctrination -to keep us from thinking about nonhumans as moral persons- could take up an entire essay by itself, but the point is that this is purely speciesism in it’s most obvious form. In fact, these are only a small portion of the instances where speciesist language occurs. Pointing out every instance in just the English language alone could fill an entire book.

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Part 1e: A Little Pejorative Goes A Long Way

Another way in which we use speciesism to reinforce the idea that nonhumans are our moral inferiors is to use terms that pertain to them as pejoratives. To make but one example, we think absolutely nothing of using the terms “bullshit” or “horseshit” to describe something that we find objectionable or a lie. Let me ask the obvious question: why is a male bovine’s excrement morally worse than that of any other being? If it’s not, then why do we need to point out that the thing we find objectionable is like it? This is only the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to this particular form of speciesist language.

We also use the very names for nonhuman species as pejoratives. This not only demonstrates that we think nonhumans -in general- are morally inferior to us, but also that we have some kind of strange, erroneous idea that all the individuals who make up one species are mentally identical parts of some sort of monolith. As if every animal in a species is part of a hive mind; they can’t act any differently than each other, and are not individuals who have different personalities from one another. This is extremely far from the truth.

When someone is disgusting to us, we call them “a pig.” Pigs are only doing what they need to do to be healthy, it’s not their fault that getting mud and other grime on their skin or having a lot of weight on their bodies is something humans find objectionable. Saying that we should judge them in that way would be like judging whether a jellyfish is sexually attractive by the standards of a giraffe.

To make matters worse, when a pig who is in captivity demonstrates a behavior that we may find disgusting, it’s almost always because we put them in the position to have no choice but to do that. For instance, keeping pigs inside an enclosure instead of letting them roam free forces them to wallow in their own excrement, which we then vilify them for. Pigs are morally innocent and trying to use their characteristics to vilify humans for something that pigs not only aren’t capable of changing but are usually our fault demonstrates our lack of respect for nonhumans in general.

Similarly, we say that someone who is shifty or treacherous is “a snake.” Just like all nonhumans, snakes are morally innocent. Humans are not able to prove that snakes are even capable of betrayal. When snakes harm other animals, they do so largely out of fear/self-defense, the need to eat, or other survival-related needs. Their actions have very little to no relation to our human motives to deceive or betray.

We also project many of the same human qualities onto rats that we do onto snakes. Rats are actually quite capable of strong social bonds, with each other but also with humans and even other species of animals. They have been shown to feel all the same emotions that most mammals do; they are quite caring about their own families as well as complete strangers. Rats have even been shown in (completely immoral) experiments to be willing to suffer in order to keep others from the same fate. Saying that someone who betrays us is “a rat” is ignoring the fact that rats are most likely the last animals who would betray anyone.

When we see humans who have a trait we find objectionable -in this case, a lack of awareness or other such reason that makes them refuse to question authority and merely follow the example of a large group- we call those humans “sheep.” Sheep don’t follow along with what other sheep do because they’re stupid: they’re easily tricked because they have immense trust in us, which is something that they have no choice but to do, since we control everything about their lives from their birth to the moment of their deaths; for our part, we betray them at every turn.

We’re the ones who do wrong to them, and then we blame their lack of ability to rebel on our erroneous idea that they’re not as intelligent as we are when the truth is that they’re actually more intelligent than many of the humans who violate their rights. For instance, most sheep would protect other sheep and even humans, even those very same humans who would torture and kill them.

In general, sheep are wonderful people who are morally blameless;  we commit atrocities on them, and then -to pile insult on top of injury- we claim that they’re mentally inferior as well. Sheep are every bit as intelligent as they should be. There are many humans who are not capable of thinking as clearly as sheep can about a number of things. Yet in general, we show more respect for those humans than we do for sheep. That is our failing, not theirs.

When we want to claim that someone is easily frightened, we call them “a chicken.” Chickens are absolutely one of the most abused animals on the planet, right up there with fishes. Their ancestors, the Asian Red Jungle Fowl, are preyed upon by other nonhumans in their wild habitat homes, to begin with. Then, add on everything that we’ve done to them. And we think it’s not normal for them to be afraid of so many beings and things? On the contrary, not only is it perfectly normal from an evolutionary standpoint, but it’s completely understandable due to our own actions towards them as well. They would be well advised to be afraid of everything, most especially us. Talk about blaming others for our own shortcomings. And yet, when we demonstrate to a chicken that we should be trusted, just like most birds or mammals they’re quite capable of letting go of their fear of humans. They’re eminently capable of curiosity, affection and many other traits that we rarely -if ever- give them credit for.

There are a huge number of other examples of this particular kind of disrespect for nonhumans from us, especially when you start delving into the realm of languages other than English. I think you get the gist though.

Some other problematic phrases are “dumb as an ox” (this is both ableist, as it uses a word for not being able to speak as a pejorative, and speciesist, as it implies that all oxen are stupid), “the world is your oyster” (implies that we should own nonhumans and therefore use them as we see fit), “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” (both ableist and speciesist as it implies that all elderly humans or dogs are incapable of something that younger ones are capable of and also that we should be teaching dogs to do tricks for our amusement), “use ____ as a guinea pig” (implies that using nonhumans as unconsenting test subjects is justifiable), “hold your horses” (implies that we should own and use nonhumans as we see fit), “pick of the litter” (implies that we should use nonhumans like dogs and others as we see fit), “like shooting fish in a barrel” (should be obvious), “like a bull in a china shop” (implies that all bulls are clumsy and destructive when the reality is that all nonhumans are individuals who are significantly varying in their demeanors), and these are only a few. I’m adding a bunch of alternatives to phrases that normalize and trivialize violence and exploitation here:

Note: although I am vehemently opposed to using the concept of “compassion” as a behavior to base a rights movement on (and am similarly against promoting “vegetarianism”), this video by Colleen Patrick Boudreau is a good source for the following phrases (and quite a lot of other clear thinking on speciesism in our language as well):

• Instead of “kill two birds with one stone” we can say “cut two carrots with one knife.”
• Instead of “more than one way to skin a cat” we can say “more than one way to squeeze a lemon” or “more than one way to peel a potato.”
• Instead of “no use beating a dead horse” we can say “no use watering a dead flower” or “no use feeding a fed horse.”
• Instead of “take the bull by the horns” we can say “take the bicycle by the handlebars” or “take the rose by the thorns” meaning to “jump in with both feet” or to “take the plunge.”
• Instead of “open a can of worms” we can say “open a can of spaghetti” or “open Pandora’s box.”
• Instead of “don’t put the cart before the horse” we can say “don’t put your shoes on before your socks” or “don’t slice the bread before it’s baked.”

Again, there are quite a few more; some of which are also outlined in this excellent essay:
http://veganvine.blogspot.com/2016/06/speciesist-language-reinforces-animal.html

When we try to liken something we find problematic or objectionable (and it’s often some action that we humans engage in that we can be blamed for, but nonhumans can’t) to nonhuman characteristics or behavior, or just plain present nonhumans as things that are normal for us to own and use, we make obvious both our lack of respect for them and our confused logic.

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Part 1f: A Note On Miscellaneous Problematic Terms And Ideas

I’ve heard many Vegans say that nonhumans “should have rights.” Regarding pre-legal morality as a concept, nonhumans already do have rights. As a society, we’ve merely been violating their rights all along. We can’t give them moral rights nor take them away. Whether we are going to keep violating their rights -by living non-Vegan- or respect their rights by living Vegan does not change whether they have them or not. If we talk coherently about “giving them rights” this is only in regard to their legal status as property or persons. This is an important distinction to make (in those very words) in our speaking and writing.

Other speciesist phrases that our society sees as normal are ones such as “you’re an animal” in the context of vilifying someone for their negative actions. This is probably because most people are under the mistaken impression that any suffering and death inflicted by nonhumans on other nonhumans is somehow morally blame-worthy. So not only do we -often only subconsciously- excoriate ourselves for treating nonhumans in a way we -rightfully- know to be wrong, but we -often simultaneously- excoriate nonhumans for seemingly not being able to live up to some standard that we set for ourselves (confusedly, since most people don’t really understand morality from an academic standpoint and also aren’t following a consistent moral code in the first place). And throughout all of this, not only do we not realize the arbitrary and even contradictory nature of our mindset, we don’t even realize that all of this suffering we’re intentionally inflicting is completely unnecessary in the first place.

It’s only through Veganism (and by that I mean learning what Abolitionist Veganism means and thereafter practicing it) that we begin to untangle this ridiculous Gordian Knot of irrational, confused moral contradictions and myths that we’ve constructed about nonhumans. Only through recognizing what is unnecessary suffering; why sentient beings have rights and what rights those are, and how many different aspects of human and nonhuman behavior have been mythologized can we then fully realize just how deep our societal programming really extends; and thus, begin to reverse that programming. And one of the most effective tools for that reversal is in recognizing our problematic language and striving to choose our words more carefully at every opportunity.

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Part 2: The Vocabulary Of Human Oppressions

Part 2a: Identifying The Underlying Problem

“The vegan movement” is rife with not only speciesism but also racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, cis-sexism. and other oppressive positions of all kinds. The first rule in any human rights social justice movement is that you must listen to the members of a marginalized group and believe them when they tell you what is oppressive and offensive to them. When you are not a member of the group in question, you are not the person who decides what is oppressing them and what is not.

All forms of oppression reinforce and sustain every other form of oppression. This is why people who identify as vegan will never achieve the true end goal of the vegan movement as long as they are engaging in any of these forms of oppression. This is also why people who wish to end the injustice of “racism” or any other form of oppression will never achieve their goal while they are still engaging in speciesism or any other form of oppressive action. How can someone know how to help end oppression when they themselves are engaging in the worst forms of oppression? You can literally never eliminate violence being inflicted on one oppressed group by engaging in ableism, genderism, ethnic bigotry, or *any* other oppressive behavior.

When we engage in any form of oppression we are promoting the idea that it’s morally acceptable to dismiss others from our sphere of moral concern based on some sort of physical characteristic that they have that we don’t, or that we have that they lack. With speciesism, that characteristic is their species membership. It makes no sense to discriminate against others morally based on their species membership because if we do so, then that promotes the idea that others should be able to get away with discriminating against you based on your physical characteristics, such as your sex, gender, ethnic membership, sexual orientation, etc. This also works the opposite way; It makes no sense to say that it’s morally wrong to use nonhumans as mere replaceable resources for our interests but then turn around and show the same lack of moral concern for other humans based on some physical trait that they have and you don’t or that you have and they don’t.

And it isn’t just a case of men discriminating against women, white against black, etc. Promoting the use of animals is just as effective in encouraging P.O.C. to harm each other, white people, etc. and women to discriminate against others, and so on. Promoting violence encourages violence in all its forms.

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Part 2b: Identifying Each Problematic Term And Why It’s Wrong

When we use a word that was created to mean a disability -such as “dumb” means can’t speak, and “lame” means has trouble walking- as a pejorative (a negative connotation towards a thing or person we find morally wrong or objectionable) we cause the person with the disability to feel as if they are being vilified as a person. Even if the thing or person we’re using the term against has nothing to do with the disabled person. Just like saying “that’s gay” makes a gay person feel vilified. Or “that’s retarded” vilifies intellectually underdeveloped persons.

You may think that it’s not ableism to use “innocuous” terms like “dumb,” “lame,” “moron,” “idiot,” etc., but you are not the one with the disability being vilified! You using terms like “dumb” when *you* are not a speech-impaired person is ableism. You are not the oppressed, but you are being the oppressor. You have the privilege of being able to speak. Or being able to walk or get around without inconvenience or pain. Or you have a higher IQ than some people. You are not intellectually impaired.

Problematic terms to use as pejoratives include, but are not limited to: “retard” or “retarded,” “idiot” and “moron” (vilifies the intellectually underdeveloped), “dumb” (vilifies people who can’t speak), “lame” (vilifies those with mobility problems), “gay” (vilifies those who are of a different sexual orientation than “straight” people), “bitch” (this term is both sexist and speciesist, as it not only vilifies women -likening them to female dogs as a negative- but also vilifies female dogs as being somehow objectionable), “dick” (vilifies those who have a penis or who identify as male), and “pussy” or “cunt” (vilifies those who have a vagina or identify as female). It’s also problematic to use sex-negative terms like “cocksucker” as a pejorative because you’re vilifying both women and non-straight men.

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Part 2c: How We Defend Our Problematic Behavior

I constantly see those who are unwilling to consider the problematic nature of their speech making the claim “That term isn’t oppressive because _____ .”

If you’re not the one who is offended by the remarks, then chances are you’re not one of the people who have the trait that’s being vilified. Ergo, you have no standing to make any claim as to whether the remarks constitute oppression or not. Telling people who are being oppressed that they are not experiencing oppression is oppression! It’s marginalization through silencing dissent.

Also, the argument that “most people don’t use that term to mean _____ anymore, but now they use it to mean this non-oppressive thing instead” is not a valid argument. The argument I’m making has nothing to do with whether the person remarking is intentionally trying to hurt the person offended by the remark or “aiming” it at that person, it has to do with whether any observer is offended or not. If you’re unintentionally doing something that’s hurtful, you have the same moral obligation to moderate your behavior that you would if you were intending to hurt that person.

If I, as a “white” person, went up to someone and attempted to insult them by calling them a “nigger” and a P.O.C. was nearby and was offended, would it make sense for me to say to the P.O.C. “I wasn’t using that term to mean you, I was using it to mean this other thing or person I meant?” No. The term was created to mean something offensive. If we use it as a pejorative in regards to something not connected to the original pejorative it was coined to mean, we can’t expect the person who belongs to a group whose members were the target of the original pejorative to not be offended.

“That isn’t as bad as _____ (something someone else is doing) so it’s ok.”

“I’m doing a lot of good for _____ (whatever group) so you should overlook it when I do this much smaller wrong thing.”

Neither one of these arguments is valid when it pertains to any problematic behavior such as slavery, rape, torture or murder, and so it’s not valid in the case of any problematic behavior. For instance, we don’t expect a claim such as “There will always be people who murder other people, so, me beating my spouse or children is morally justifiable” to be taken seriously, likewise with a claim such as “I contribute a lot of money to/support organizations that fight child poverty and hunger, so it’s morally justifiable for me to kill other humans merely for my own interests occasionally.”

In the same way, it’s unreasonable to claim that just because someone else commits moral harms that you perceive as “worse” than merely using speciesist, racist, sexist, ableist, etc. terms, that it morally excuses us to do that. And the same can be said of claiming that just because we engage in some form of morally positive action that this excuses us from any blame for using various forms of problematic language either. In all cases, our moral responsibility is to not only refrain from committing the morally “worse” actions but all morally problematic actions that we can refrain from.

Yet another argument that I see people trying to use to justify their oppressive language is “I have a friend(s) who are ______ (insert characteristic the person just got through using as a pejorative) and they told me that they aren’t offended when I say ______ (insert oppressive term).” In other words, these are people who will claim that they have black friends who give them a pass for using racist terms, gay friends who give them a pass for using the term “that’s gay,” friends who are disabled who don’t care if they use terms like “lame” or “dumb,” etc.

This argument is not valid in this context, however. The argument against using oppressive terms hinges on the people who are offended by those terms, not the people who aren’t. Morality is about causing the least amount of harm, not seeing how much we can get away with before we’re called out on our behavior. In order to cause the least amount of harm, we need to live by the precautionary principle. Which means that if an action is unnecessary (meaning that it’s not something we need to do to thrive) and we know that there is a chance that any others could suffer because of that action, even if we don’t have direct knowledge of who those people are and where they are in relation to us, then we have a moral responsibility to err on the side of caution, which means not engaging in that action.

So if there are 100,000 people of a marginalized group in existence, and you only know 10 of them personally -and those 10 people tell you that it’s ok to use any term you want around them, regardless of what it is- that doesn’t mean that the other 99,990 people of that grouping would agree with that. Which means that you going out into public and openly using those terms is going to oppress someone from those groups, which is the only criterion necessary to make doing so morally wrong.

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Conclusions I’ve drawn from the last few years of Vegan advocacy

If we really want to insult others -although as someone who tries their best to follow a moral stance of non-violence in thought, word, and deed, I think that idea is really problematic (and just about the farthest thing from what we should be sticking to, which is peaceful Vegan education)- there are plenty of much more egalitarian insults we could use. I am not going to teach these to people since -as I stated- I think that insults are one thing we should be decreasing in our society.

In any moral discussion, the best way to react when someone brings up the idea that we’re doing something wrong is to carefully consider their words and ask ourselves if there is any way that we can make positive changes to our behavior. If we want to ask respectful questions to see if the person we’re talking to has any further information for us or suggestions as to how we can do this, that’s a great second step as well. The worst thing we can do is become defensive and angry at the messenger, as this keeps us from thinking clearly and hence, blocks us from any positive change.

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If you’re not already Vegan, and you think animals matter morally, then please go Vegan. It’s easy and great for you, incredible for the animals, and wonderful for the planet. If you’re already Vegan, please educate non-Vegans about why they should go Vegan. Please rescue, volunteer, adopt, foster, spay, and neuter the nonhuman refugees of domestication whenever you can. Please feed your nonhuman family Vegan where you can. These things are the most important, morally responsible things to do and are desperately needed by everyone.

To learn more about Abolitionist Veganism and the issues I’ve outlined in this post, check out The Master List Of Vegan Info:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

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Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against exploitation of nonhuman or human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, ethnic bigotry, genderism, ableism, heterosexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, veg*nism, Meat-Free Mondays, or other forms of reductionism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all of these sites.

Let’s Turn Off The News And Focus On Solving Our Problems

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So now, we’re being told that we need to pay attention to the fight over whether an interpreter should testify about whether the president is lying or not…

Our species is made up of around 99% of individuals who are intentionally committing unnecessary violence against nonhumans on a daily basis. More than half of those people -probably much, much more- are intentionally or unintentionally committing overt acts of sexism/misogyny/cis-sexism and probably around the same number for racism and various kinds of homophobia/other discrimination based on sexual orientation. Those stats probably equal out -or come pretty close to it- for ableism, ageism, and many other less-talked-about forms of discrimination. This is not even taking into account all the people who merely benefit passively from those forms of oppression.

In a just world, our government would be educating us against such discrimination by focusing our attention on what each of us is doing wrong -including the members of our government- and explaining what they are doing to eliminate their own oppressive behaviors and how we could also try to do this ourselves. That is because this is the only way to solve any of the systemic problems that most of us keep wondering about how to solve. They would be doing this for each of us from the moment we entered public school, if not sooner.

In reality, instead of doing this, our government uses our mainstream news media outlets to pull our attention away from those things that are the root problems that we could easily change to stop our systemic problems and puts that focus directly onto the superficial symptoms of those systemic problems. They do this so that we’ll spend all of our precious time thinking that the symptoms *are* the problems and arguing about those symptoms instead of addressing our own complicity in the problems. This has the (intentional) result of actually encouraging many of the forms of oppression that we’re complicit in.

There is a very specific mechanism the mainstream news uses to divert our attention from real solutions:

The vast majority of stories they play are negative, from humans inflicting unnecessary suffering and death on each other to natural disasters that include massive suffering. The stories about humans hurting and killing each other are usually about people of one sex or gender hurting someone of another sex or gender, of people of one ethnicity or color hurting someone of another ethnicity or color, etc., etc. ad nauseam. This is carefully planned because it’s meant to keep you both depressed and people divided along various “political lines,” since as long as everyone is depressed and divided we’re more likely to wish harm on someone else and someone who constantly feels bad about the world is extremely unlikely to attempt to fix any significant problems in our society.

Then, they play the occasional “feel-good story” so that they can’t be accused of  only playing horrific stories. When they do report on a “positive” story, it almost always is something that supports the overall false narrative they’ve concocted about what issues are the main problems that we need to focus on, or at least doesn’t actually contradict that narrative. The “positive” story is always one that contains nothing but a distraction from any idea you might be able to use to actually fix things. In other words, they will always present a problem, but never the solution that you can use to fix it.

To give just a few of many, many examples:

Racism:
We have a huge problem with racism in our world. One of the ways in which this manifests itself is that white police officers sometimes murder black people. Then, an anti-racist group says “black lives matter.” So then cue a group of white people arguing with the first group, saying “blue lives matter.” And then a third group, saying “all lives matter.” People from all 3 groups argue, people from all 3 groups protest, people from Black Lives Matter get arrested, etc. etc. The mainstream news media covers all of this, and the people watching the news argue on and on about whether black lives or blue lives or all lives matter more.

Ever notice the mainstream news media never actually has any programming on about what racism really is and how those of us with white privilege could actually eliminate most of the racism from our world by simply taking the time to identify specific kinds of ideas and actions that are racist and making an effort to repudiate those ideas and actions every single time we encounter them in ourselves and others? All of the leaders in our government actually want us to perpetuate racism, since they stand to benefit most from that, so there’s no way they would let the media report on that.

Gun Violence:
Violence in general is one of the roots of most of the problems in our world. One of the ways in which this manifests itself is that sometimes a person takes guns and shoots a bunch of people in a school. Then one group of people starts saying “we need to ban _____ kind of guns” or “we need to make people wait ____ number of days to get a gun” or “we need to check their background before we allow them to have a gun” and another group says “no, it’s the opposite, we need to give more people more guns” and the mainstream news media covers this, so many groups of people who are watching argue on and on about what kind of guns are acceptable or not acceptable for random people to own and how many days we should have to wait to own those guns. In essence we are arguing about not only whether gun control laws reduce the amount of violence in the world but also whether it’s morally justifiable to enact such laws in the first place.

And the mainstream news media intersperses their stories on this issue with stories on how we need to “support our troops.” Even those people who are anti-standing-military or anti-violence need to support our troops, right? I mean, we should divorce the fact that those troops are being used by the government as a tool to inflict violence on innocent people and support the actual troops, because the actual people who are the troops are “good people,” so we need to support them as troops, right? That isn’t any kind of conflict with our stance against violence, is it?

Ever notice the mainstream news media never actually has any programming on about why violence in and of itself is wrong and how those of us who consume violent programming -and espouse the idea that responding to violence with violence is productive- could actually eliminate most of the violence from our world by resolving to disavow violence in all of it’s forms? Programming about how it’s not our laws about guns that are going to precipitate any truly meaningful change when society itself is saturated with a love of violence that gun violence is only one symptom of? All of the leaders in our government actually want us to perpetuate violence, since they stand to benefit most from that, so there’s no way they would let the media report on that.

Non-Veganism:
Human Supremacy is the root cause of pretty much every problem in the world. One of the ways that this manifests itself is that almost all the humans on the planet are currently enslaving and/or slaughtering over ONE TRILLION (that’s 1,000,000,000,000) nonhuman animals *every year* purely for the interest of human palate pleasure. Almost everyone, including our government, thinks that “cruelty to animals” is a problem, so we argue and argue about which welfare reforms to implement to decrease the amount of  cruelty we engage in regarding our use of animals, cruelty which is inherent to all animal use and wouldn’t even exist if not for the fact that we won’t stop our completely unnecessary use of them.

The news often plays stories about nonhuman animals, but the stories are always about animal welfare, never animal rights. Here is one major way you can tell the difference: an animal welfare story is about humans doing something to help a nonhuman animal or animals who needed help. In other words, they are engaging in an intentional action that helps the animals (which is almost always due to the fact that those animals would not have needed any help if we had not created the problem for them in the first place). Conversely, an Animal Rights story is about humans refraining from doing something that we are already doing wrong to animals, which is the solution to all of the problems that we face regarding how we interact with nonhumans in the first place.

The mainstream news media has numerous segments about welfarism not to mention all of the other shows that touch on or cover it, including fiction, documentaries, you name it. We keep watching and keep arguing about those welfare reforms, and wringing our hands at all the “cruelty,” and meanwhile we take a break from that to sit down and eat “our” bacon and “our” eggs and drink “our” milk while wearing “our” leather and wool and watching a show about which breeds of “our” dogs are the the best.

Ever notice the mainstream news media never actually has any programming on about the fact that just the mere action of using nonhumans against their will is inherently cruel, and that we could easily eliminate the majority of this problem of “cruelty to animals” simply by living Vegan and educating as many people as we can about why they also need to live Vegan? All of the leaders in our government actually wants us to perpetuate human supremacy, since they stand to benefit most from that, so there’s no way they would let the media report on that. In order to perpetuate the human supremacist paradigm they need to perpetuate the paradigm of welfarism, so the benefits of welfarism are the only thing they can allow the media to report on.

Two-Party System False Dichotomy:
We are told in the USA that we need to pick between republican and democrat or nothing will ever get done. Supposedly, the republicans are the conservatives who want to oppress everyone by keeping our world the same as it was in “the olden days” and the democrats are the liberals who want everyone to be sexual deviants and foreigners to come here and take over. So the mainstream news media covers only those 2 parties and the people watching argue about whether it’s better to be a republican conservative or democratic liberal and pretty soon we have a president who is sexist and racist and ableist and the list goes on and on.

And the people who are arguing about which of 2 parties is better are told that now they should argue about whether Russia is hacking us (flash info!: many other countries are also hacking us, Russia is just the target of a new cold-war-mongering campaign) or whether our president wears a toupee and now we have to argue about whether his translator is going to testify or not.

Ever notice the mainstream news media never actually has any programming on about the fact that the people who make up the leadership of both the democratic party and the republican party are just identical sides of the same two-headed coin, all of whom abuse whatever power they acquire as soon as they acquire it, who are all in bed with big oil, pHARMa, the institutional animal exploiters, and all the other corporations that seek to enslave us; programming about how we could ignore all of the stuff about republicans and democrats and actually solve the problems we have with our elected officials by refusing to vote for people from either of those parties; by finding people who belong to other political parties to vote for instead, as well as writing in candidates who belong to no political party at all? All of the leaders in our government want us to keep believing that we have only 2 options, because that is the only way they can keep us voting for someone who belongs to the power elite, so there’s no way they would let the media report on that.

The Point:
So the point to all of this, in case you haven’t noticed yet, is that it’s very easy to grab our attention and redirect it away from the real problems that we’re facing, which are problems of our making. They’re problems that were almost always created by each one of *us* at some point in our lives. Or at the very least, they’re problems that we each need to focus on avoiding participating in at every turn. When our focus is redirected away from the root problem and onto some idea about something trivial like whether the president is lying and why that makes him the real problem we need to address (of course he *always* lies, and he’s not the real problem, he’s just another symptom of the real problem), then it keeps us from looking hard at our own problematic actions and how we can deal with those.

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When we focus on whether black lives matter or blue lives matter; whether guns should be more prevalent or be banned; whether the latest victim who speaks out in the #metoo movement is lying or not (rather than focusing on why sexism and the patriarchy are bad and how to eliminate them) as if those are the root problems, what almost always happens is that we end up creating a false dichotomy where we are the “good person” and the other people are all “bad people” because we think they’re all racists, sexists, homophobes, or some other kind of human supremacist, all the while forgetting that even though we may not overtly engage in some specific racist behavior, if we’re not a direct victim of racism then we most assuredly still benefit from racism in some way. Just like if we’re not a direct victim of the patriarchy, then we most likely benefit from sexism in some way. Even if that is something that we don’t want to happen.

And the same can be said for all other forms of oppression. And this false dichotomy we create makes it very easy to keep all of us -both “conservative straight white male” and “liberal queer black female” alike- grinding along as mere gear-slaves in the giant machine that’s being controlled by a very small percent of people who have no interest at all in the well-being of anyone but themselves. The primary tool used to refocus our attention in this way is what we call the mainstream media. In other words, “The News.”

What Can We Do About All This Though?:
The solution to this (the first step of it anyway) is to turn off The News. It’s full of lies, and watching it has actually been shown to make us less intelligent (The opening remarks about sugar in the preceding link are off the mark, but that is neither here nor there), not to mention less willing to make any positive changes. If we want to be informed, we need to find alternative news outlets, if we’re going to watch any “news” at all. And another step is to learn what critical thinking actually means and why we need to do that and read some actual science or other such facts instead of just believing whatever someone tells us, just because a bunch of other people are telling us that that person is an authority on that subject.

Those are not the only steps we need to take, but just taking those steps would at least put us well on the path to figuring out how to obtain a lot more of the truth than we’re currently getting. Something that we could substitute for watching The Mainstream News is to actually go out in public and find a person who is oppressed by the systemic power structures I’ve mentioned and ask them what they feel may be a solution to the problem.

As always, I’m going to leave you with the idea that another huge step is to think about whether nonhuman animals are mere things for us to use for our trivial interests, or whether we think that they are part of our moral community and should be respected, which means we shouldn’t be using them for our interests as much as we can help it.

If you want to find more information on these issues, here are some sources I would suggest you start with:

https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/are-humans-superior (my piece on why eliminating systemic nonhuman rights violations will also incidentally eliminate most systemic human rights violations).

http://www.vegantrove.com/2016/12/01/vegan-trove-0046 (this blog is filled with great links to alternative news sources that present progressive takes on human rights issues).

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If you’re not already Vegan, and you think animals matter morally, then please go Vegan. It’s incredible for the animals, easy and great for you, and wonderful for the planet. If you’re already Vegan, please educate non-Vegans about why they should go Vegan. Please rescue, volunteer, adopt, foster, spay, and neuter the nonhuman refugees of domestication whenever you can. Please feed your nonhuman family Vegan where you can. These things are the most important, morally responsible things to do and are desperately needed by everyone.

To learn more about Abolitionist Veganism and the issues I’ve outlined in this post, check out The Master List Of Vegan Info:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

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Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against exploitation of nonhuman or human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, ethnic bigotry, genderism, ableism, cis-sexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, veg*nism, Meat-Free Mondays, or other forms of reductionism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all of these sites.

On Morality: The Argument For Abolitionist Veganism

Here is the basic argument for Abolitionist Veganism. I’ve incorporated a couple different major Animal Rights theories into one:

1. Nonhuman animals feel pain, pleasure, fear and other sensations. If they feel these sensations, then they have an interest in not being used merely as a resource for human pleasure, amusement, or convenience.

2. There is no necessity for human animals to intentionally exploit nonhuman animals and cause them to suffer or die except our own enjoyment of the taste of their flesh/secretions and the convenience that animal exploitation affords us. Humans have no dietary need for flesh, dairy, eggs or honey:

Do Doctors And Other Scientists Still Think Animal Substances Are Healthy?

We have no need to use animals for clothing; we have no need to use them for entertainment; not only is it morally unjustifiable to use animals in bio-medical research, but more humans suffer and/or die when we do so than if we didn’t use animals at all:

Vivisection, Part One: The “Necessity” of Vivisection

Vivisection, Part Two: The Moral Justification of Vivisection

3. When something is unnecessary except for our trivial pleasure or convenience and that thing causes some being (for example, a nonhuman or human animal) to experience pain, fear or other kinds of suffering, then the harm being done to that being’s interest in their continued survival, freedoms, or not suffering is more important than our interest in our own mere pleasure, amusement or convenience.

4. We claim to believe in “fairness/ethical/moral consistency” as a “moral good”, which means we believe in treating similar cases similarly when it comes to ethics/morality. In other words, if we believe it’s wrong to beat a human child for no good reason because they will suffer from a beating, then we should also believe that it’s wrong to beat a dog, cow, or chicken for no good reason because the nonhuman will also suffer.

So, if we value moral consistency at all, which means we treat similar cases similarly, the minimum and only criteria needed to include nonhuman animals in our moral sphere (meaning we believe we should not harm them at all for no good reason) is that they feel pain, fear, and other sensations, since that is the minimum criteria we use to include humans in our moral sphere.

5. Any characteristic that humans claim to have that we claim makes us morally superior to nonhuman animals cannot be factually proven to be a humans-only trait. Unless we can prove that we are morally superior to nonhuman animals, any argument that we claim justifies intentionally harming and exploiting nonhumans can also be used to justify humans intentionally exploiting other humans:

On Morality: Are Human Animals Superior To Nonhuman Animals?

This means that if we personally are in favor of violating nonhumans’ right to be safe from being enslaved, raped, tortured or killed by humans then we have no claim that we ourselves should be safe from having those same things done to us by other humans. Any argument we try to use to justify harm to nonhumans can also be used successfully by other humans to justify harming us in those same ways.

6. If we accept premises 1 through 4, our ethical/moral obligation is to either a) cease any actions that intentionally cause unnecessary suffering and death to other beings such as nonhuman and human animals, in which case we can claim that our interests in avoiding the same harms should not be dismissed without due consideration -and we can point to the fact that this is because we are morally consistent– or b) admit that we are not morally consistent and that any human who wishes to dismiss our interests in avoiding the same harms without due consideration is also morally justified in doing so.

Conclusion: If we don’t stop intentionally exploiting nonhumans to the best of our ability, all the systemic violations we consider atrocities and major problems in the world will never end. We also will not be able to consider ourselves truly morally consistent people. To stop intentionally exploiting nonhumans completely means Abolitionist Veganism.

Abolitionist Veganism also means we do our best to eliminate speciesism (which is the intentional, harmful discrimination by humans against individuals and groups of other species based solely on the morally irrelevant criteria of species membership) within each of us. Speciesism is the tree from which springs all intentional, harmful discrimination against any individual (nonhuman or human) on the basis of any morally irrelevant criteria. Speciesism is rooted in the myth that human animals are morally superior to nonhuman animals.

Ergo, if everyone becomes an Abolitionist Vegan and exclusively advocates a 100% clear moral baseline of Abolitionist Veganism, all of the atrocities we abhor such as world hunger, poverty, ecological destruction by humans, systemic human rights violations, and discrimination against any individual beings based on any morally irrelevant criteria, will either be severely decreased or eliminated. Every living being on the planet, from nonhuman animals to human animals, will be much happier and healthier.

The crucial point here is that if you have moral concern at all for nonhuman animals or human animals and so you want these problems to be decreased or eliminated, it makes no sense for you to participate in actions that will increase or foster those problems. It is your moral responsibility to stop engaging in actions that increase those harms, which means going Vegan (and, if you want to help everyone further, educating others about Veganism).

Final thoughts: If you’re not already Vegan, and you think animals matter morally, then please go Vegan. It’s incredible for the animals, great for you, and wonderful for the planet. If you’re already Vegan, please educate non-Vegans about why they should go Vegan. Please rescue/volunteer/adopt/foster/spay/neuter the nonhuman refugees of domestication whenever you can. Please feed your nonhuman family Vegan where and when you can. These things are the most important, morally responsible things to do and are desperately needed by everyone.

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Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against exploitation of nonhuman or human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, ethnic bigotry, genderism, ableism, heterosexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, veg*nism, Meat-Free Mondays, or other forms of reductionism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all of these sites.

On Morality: Are Human Animals Superior To Nonhuman Animals?

The most fundamental problem in AR debates right now is the fact that we are not continuously addressing the myth that humans are morally superior to nonhumans. This idea needs to be eradicated before any truly revolutionary thinking about Animal Rights can begin on the part of morally confused and inconsistent humans. This idea is so ingrained in our societal mindset that it’s completely invisible to almost everyone, and it’s the underlying structure for all irrational, harmful moral double-standards regarding human-nonhuman interaction. There is no speciesism without Human Supremacy.

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The single most foundational -and at the same time the most overlooked- error in logic whenever anyone tries to justify human animals exploiting nonhuman animals is the irrational idea that human animals, in general, are morally superior to nonhuman animals. This idea can be easily disproved, and yet most people do not even question it. It is assumed to be indisputable when it isn’t even based on objective fact (contrary to what some would have us believe).

Unless we can explain how human animals are morally superior to nonhuman animals, whenever we try to justify humans exploiting nonhumans in the ways that we do, we can’t rule out arguments that would otherwise justify humans exploiting other humans in the exact same ways and for the exact same reasons (our mere pleasure or convenience).

All other forms of moral supremacy -from ethnic, to religious, to gender-based, etc.- stem from this one basic idea: that it’s acceptable to refuse the same moral consideration to another being that we accord ourselves, merely because of morally irrelevant criteria like the color of their skin, which genitalia they have, or their species membership.

The belief that humans are morally superior to nonhumans is not based on instinct. If it was, then why would anyone even question it, and therefore, why would you even be reading this? And yet, it’s the reason why we believe it’s just fine to torture a nonhuman -who is fully capable of desiring to not suffer or die as much as a human- in ways that we wouldn’t torture the worst human criminals.

The myth of human moral supremacy is almost never even examined. But when it is, it’s obvious: just like the arguments we use to try to justify racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance, or any other irrational form of oppression, it’s based on nothing more than arbitrary personal opinion (and biased, self-serving opinion at that).

The idea that humans are superior to nonhumans is based on the misconception that all humans have some characteristic or set of characteristics that all nonhumans lack. These criteria are commonly believed to include: “intelligence;” “mind;” “consciousness;” abstract thought; the capability of understanding and following moral codes; creativity; the ability to invent tools, technology, or art; some sort of physical ability or physical adaptation; proliferation; a “soul” or some other form of divine endowment; the capability of surviving in conditions or environments that others can’t; or some other unspecified faculty.

All of these criteria are obviously as arbitrary and as subject to bias as gender, ethnic membership, or religious belief when it comes to moral superiority since we can prove neither that they are possessed by all humans, nor that they are lacked by all nonhumans. Not only that, but whichever faculty is being proclaimed as superior is always one which is possessed by the person arguing on behalf of Human Supremacy.

When most humans talk about how much moral value that they think a nonhuman animal has relative to a human animal, what they talk about is essentially how much value the nonhuman animal has to the human who is making the claim. In other words, Johnny talks about how much moral value Bessie the cow has only due to Bessie’s utility to Johnny. But if we went by that valuation, then any human could claim the same about other humans as well, which would justify every harmful action from human slavery to rape to murder. Every being who can feel pain has moral value not because of their utility value to someone else, but because their life and freedom from suffering has value to the being whose life it is.

Johnny’s life and freedom from suffering has value to Johnny, but Bessie’s life and freedom from suffering have a value -to Bessie- that is not less of a value to Bessie than Johnny’s is to Johnny, which means that the value of Johnny’s life is not higher than the value of Bessie’s. That is the only way to calculate moral value that doesn’t allow for excuses for massive human rights violations and suffering as well as the same for nonhumans. Seen from that perspective, all arguments that try to claim that one sentient being’s life and freedoms have a higher moral value than any other sentient being’s life and freedoms based on species-membership are obviously self-serving, weak and irrational.

Although human animals created a human concept of morality, many humans commonly break the moral codes imposed by our society. This is why we have human slavery, sexual violation, torture, murder, and all the other atrocities that ethical humans abhor. Nonhuman animals, who cannot be proven to understand the concept of human moral codes, almost always follow our moral codes better than we do. They do not enslave us, create concentration camps, weapons of mass destruction, torture chambers, or pollute or otherwise destroy our habitats. Nor do they wage war on humans, or any of the other atrocities that humans are guilty of. They merely wish to be left alone to live and die on their own terms. To claim that they should have to follow our moral codes to benefit from them would be like claiming that we should punish a severely intellectually underdeveloped human for failing to pass the S.A.T.s.

Human animals created individual moral codes for ourselves because most of us believe that enslaving, sexually violating, torturing and unnecessarily killing other humans is wrong. Most adult human animals are moral agents, while nonhuman animals, infant humans, and severely intellectually underdeveloped humans (among others) are moral patients.

In order to be a moral agent, one must be capable of abstract thought in order to have a specific minimum understanding of the meaning of morality. That is to say, moral agents can understand the concept of morality and can, therefore, make moral decisions; meaning that they can make decisions that affect the interests of both moral agents and moral patients. Furthermore, moral agents have moral responsibilities to both other moral agents and moral patients. This means that they are capable of being assigned blame if they intentionally make a moral choice that they know will cause a being who is capable of feeling pain and other sensations to suffer unnecessarily.

A moral agent must be capable of giving informed consent, which means that an explicit meeting of the minds takes place -via spoken or written human language, and no less- where both parties are capable of abstract thought, understand what the nature of the social contract is, and what the general future ramifications of the agreement are.

Moral patients, on the other hand, cannot understand the human concept of morality and are thus incapable of giving informed consent. Moral patients cannot make moral decisions that affect either moral agents nor moral patients. They do not have moral responsibilities; however, in order for there to be moral consistency, moral patients must benefit from our individual moral codes without being able to have moral responsibilities themselves. Moral patients, therefore, cannot be morally blamed for their actions.

This is why, for instance, it’s morally wrong for an adult human to murder a severely intellectually underdeveloped human, and also why it’s wrong for an adult human to have sex with a human child. Because those entities, being moral patients, cannot give consent to being killed nor to sexual activity. This is also why morally conscious people believe that human animals having sex with nonhuman animals -who also cannot give consent to be used for sexual activity- is also wrong. We don’t hold nonhuman animals morally culpable to this code simply because we understand that -like severely intellectually underdeveloped humans and human children- nonhumans are incapable of understanding and abiding by human moral codes (or at least, any truly rational human understands that they are not capable of this) plus the fact that -regarding their interactions with us- they almost always, by default, follow our moral codes better than we do regarding our interactions with other humans (and even more so regarding our interactions with nonhumans).

On the other side of the coin, humans enslave, sexually violate, torture or unnecessarily slaughter nonhumans by the hundreds of billions each year, merely because we enjoy the taste of their dead bodies and secretions and the conveniences that it affords us. And we also are intentionally destroying every wild habitat that we can. We regularly treat nonhumans worse than we would treat the worst human criminals. So who is morally superior to whom again?

The idea that we should be able to do these things because say, a lion eats a zebra is ridiculous in the extreme. A male lion often will kill a rival male and their offspring before copulating -in public no less- with the mother. If a mother lioness gives birth to a severely ill or deformed baby, she will usually cannibalize them. When applied to human contexts, do we think these are morally justifiable ways to behave?

This is where the Human Supremacist says “Either we are morally superior to animals, in which case exploiting them is fine, or we aren’t morally superior to them, in which case we can kill them merely because we want to consume them, just like any other animal does.”

However, this completely fails to recognize that claiming one is “morally superior” means that one adheres to a code of fairness and justice more than the other does, not that one can merely understand human concepts of morality. If a human can understand the concept of the injustice of slavery, sexual violation, torture or unnecessary killing of others -but does not refuse to engage in such behaviors- where is the moral superiority in that?

As I mentioned, we very rarely hold completely to our optimal code of conduct. We claim as a society to believe in The Golden Rule, but we routinely inflict massive unnecessary suffering and death on innocent beings merely for our pleasure, amusement, or convenience. We enslave, sexually violate, torture and unnecessarily slaughter upwards of 1,000,000,000,000 nonhuman animals each year merely so we can unnecessarily consume their flesh and secretions and use their body parts for clothing (among other things), which not only causes massive suffering for them, but massive amounts of chronic disease for us and massive ecological devastation as well.

We should realize that if we don’t follow a 100% egalitarian system of justice regarding every innocent animal, human or nonhuman, then the same arguments we use to attempt to justify inflicting unnecessary suffering and death on them: “that animal isn’t as smart as I am;” “they don’t have souls;” “it’s how I make a living;” “meat/fish/dairy/eggs/honey tastes good” etc., can also be used by other humans to justify inflicting unnecessary suffering and death on us: “that person isn’t as smart as I am;” “I’m one of the chosen people and that person isn’t;” “I wanted their property;” “rape feels good” etc.

There is no way to morally justify the intentional, unnecessary exploitation of nonhumans by humans without also morally justifying the intentional, unnecessary exploitation of humans by other humans. This means that if we are personally in favor of violating nonhumans’ right to be completely safe from being forced into existence against their will, enslaved, slaughtered -or in any way used merely as replaceable resources for unnecessary human interests- then we have no rationally consistent claim that we ourselves should be safe from having those same things done to us by other humans. Any argument we try to use to justify harming nonhumans can also be used successfully by other humans to justify harming us in those same ways. This also means that until we as a species evolve past our irrational belief that intentionally exploiting nonhumans merely for our trivial interests is morally justifiable, we will continue to endure racism, sexism, cissexism, homophobia, ableism, tyranny, mass murder, and all the other human systemic rights atrocities we commonly abhor.

Furthermore, claiming that because we can’t be perfect -and not cause harm to any living being whatsoever- is a valid reason to intentionally cause easily avoidable harms to the nonhumans we exploit for our pleasure or convenience is like saying that just because we know that some humans will die in traffic accidents it justifies us murdering them by intentionally running them over with our cars. The fact that we can’t prevent all homicides does not justify us intentionally committing mass-murder, just as the fact that we can’t survive without unintentionally killing a lesser number of animals or plants does not justify intentionally breeding nonhuman animals and feeding them a much larger number of plants, merely to slaughter and consume them or their secretions, when we can thrive perfectly well on a plants-only diet. Nor does it justify exploiting nonhumans for clothing, research, or entertainment. The only reasonable, morally justifiable thing would be to work to decrease the number of all living beings we harm in all cases, not to try to justify intentionally harming them in some cases while claiming to decrease harm in others.

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If you’re not already Vegan, and you think animals matter morally, then please go Vegan. It’s easy and great for you, incredible for the animals, and wonderful for the planet. If you’re already Vegan, please educate non-Vegans about why they should go Vegan. Please rescue, volunteer, adopt, foster, spay, and neuter the nonhuman refugees of domestication whenever you can. Please feed your nonhuman family Vegan where you can. These things are the most important, morally responsible things to do and are desperately needed by everyone.

To learn more about Abolitionist Veganism and the issues I’ve outlined in this post, check out The Master List Of Vegan Info:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

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Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against exploitation of nonhuman or human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, ethnic bigotry, genderism, ableism, heterosexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, veg*nism, Meat-Free Mondays, or other forms of reductionism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all of these sites.

How The Morally Bankrupt Triumvirate Perpetuates Our Enslavement

The pharmaceutical companies make a lot of money off of the public being ill.

They make huge donations to politicians with the understanding that when the politicians get into office, they’ll keep the subsidies (and other support) to animal agriculture flowing. These subsidies are in the billions of dollars every year. They are paid for primarily with your tax money.

Most of the people involved don’t want to talk about this in public, for obvious reasons.

The U.S. government gives huge subsidies to animal agriculture because without them, exploiting nonhuman animals for their flesh, secretions or any other reasons would not be profitable. It takes more money to produce 1 pound of animal flesh, eggs or animal dairy than the maximum that the average person will pay for those substances. Without government subsidies, a hamburger, for instance, would cost around $30.

The politicians keep the subsidies flowing, and the companies that violate the rights of nonhuman animals so that they can sell their flesh and secretions to us make sure to create outrageous lies in the form of advertising that ensures that the public buys the substances they market as food, ensuring that the public never stops being ill. As long as the citizens are rife with chronic disease, the pharmaceutical companies are assured of making those hundreds of billions of dollars that they make every year.

The pharmaceutical companies and the institutional exploiters of animals spend a bunch of money on advertising their respective products -while the government passes laws that ensure that those 2 industries can keep profiting off the misery of all sentient beings without challenge- and the cycle of death, despair and destruction is complete.

Fortunately, there is a way to completely circumvent this system of enslavement of all sentient beings. This way is Abolitionist Veganism. If we eat a 100% whole foods, plants-only diet and also eliminate all other animal substances and animal exploitative behaviors from our lives -however, wherever and whenever possible and practicable- we can thwart this system. This is the only rational and morally justifiable decision we can make, for the nonhuman victims, for ourselves, and for all the other human victims of this ongoing atrocity.

To learn more about Abolitionist Veganism and the issues I’ve outlined in this post, check out The Master List Of Vegan Info:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

 

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If you’re not already Vegan, and you think animals matter morally, then please go Vegan. It’s easy and great for you, incredible for the animals, and wonderful for the planet. If you’re already Vegan, please educate non-Vegans about why they should go Vegan. Please rescue, volunteer, adopt, foster, spay, and neuter the nonhuman refugees of domestication whenever you can. Please feed your nonhuman family Vegan where you can. These things are the most important, morally responsible things to do and are desperately needed by everyone.

–

Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against exploitation of nonhuman or human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, ethnic bigotry, genderism, ableism, heterosexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, veg*nism, Meat-Free Mondays, or other forms of reductionism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all of these sites.

On Morality: Veganism Is Anti-Speciesism

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Veganism should be, above and beyond anything else, a categorical rejection of speciesism and the myth of human moral supremacy.

Humans are sentient beings; we are beings who possess sentience as a trait. Sentience is “the ability to feel, perceive, or to experience subjective perceptual experiences.” Sentience is not “the ability to think similarly to a human” nor is it some trait dealing with “intelligence” at all. It’s simply the ability to feel anything. Pain, pleasure, fear, or any other sensation. If you can feel any of these things, you’re sentient; you don’t need to fulfill any other criteria.

There are 2 main reasons why many people think that other humans should not unnecessarily be made to suffer or be killed: one is that almost all humans possess the ability to feel empathy. When we feel empathy, it’s because we think that we understand the way another sentient being feels, as we imagine we would feel the same way if we were in their situation. Because of this, we think that we should observe the inherent “rights” of other humans. A “right” is merely a term we use to mean a rule we abide by in order to protect a commonly shared interest. Some of these rights are affirmative rights -rights to perform some favorable actions- like the right to drive a car; the right to vote; the right to go to school, etc.

However, there is another kind of rights that humans have that we think we should observe: negative rights. These are the rights to not have some type of unfavorable action performed on us, which in this case deals with not being made to experience an undue amount of suffering. Chief among these rights is the right to not be used by other humans exclusively as a resource for their pleasure, amusement, or convenience.

Now, assuming we believe in these basic rights for other humans, a combination of empathy and logic dictates that observing their rights is what we consider “moral justice.” This means that -all other things being equal- we believe in treating similar cases similarly when morality is concerned. If one human isn’t as cognitively aware as another human -for instance, an infant or a severely intellectually underdeveloped adult- that doesn’t mean that it would be morally justifiable for us to then exploit or kill that human for our own interests; for example, to use them for forced organ donation or involuntary bio-medical experimentation.

Our sense of empathy tells us that because they feel the same pain and other sensations we do, that it would be immoral to exploit them simply because they are vulnerable and we are powerful, and we possess some non-sentience trait that they don’t. We understand that if our roles were reversed, and we were in the position that they are and they possessed some physical or mental trait that we lacked, that we would not want them to exploit or kill us in the same way.

The second main reason why we think we should observe the rights of other humans is that we recognize that the moral value of a human doesn’t come from what utility that human may have to another human, but the moral value that the human has for themselves. In other words -as a human- the moral value of you who are reading this does not come from how much value some other human has for you, but from the value that your own life has to you.

Because each human values their own life, we understand that if each of us were to disregard the rights of another human to be safe from being enslaved, raped, tortured or murdered by us, then it would be only fair that other humans could ignore those very same rights in regard to us. This is what is meant by “the social contract.” In order to ensure that our rights are protected, we have to observe the rights of others.

When speaking about humans, it’s understood that severely cognitively underdeveloped adults, as well as infants, cannot agree to this social contract; however, because it would not be fair otherwise, all of those humans must be protected by the adult humans who can agree to the social contract by default.

Morally speaking, it follows logically again -if we believe in treating similar cases similarly- that when we talk about nonhuman animals and the rights which they may have, the characteristic which is relevant in deciding which beings we’re morally justified in harming -or not justified in this case- is sentience and only sentience. If we believe in moral justice because we have empathy, and we believe that because humans are sentient beings that they have the right to not be used exclusively as a resource for other humans pleasure, amusement or convenience, then -because both human and nonhuman animals are sentient beings, at the very least– by our own sense of moral justice we should observe that very same code for any other sentient being, regardless of species membership.

The fact that we don’t observe the injustice and hypocrisy in our lack of matching our actions in regards to nonhumans to our beliefs about human rights in this way is due to a phenomenon called speciesism. Speciesism is best defined as “An unjust double standard by humans that places higher moral value on individual members of one species over those of some other species, based solely on the morally irrelevant criteria of species membership.”

Speciesism is based on the myth of human superiority. The idea that human animals are superior to other species of animals is based on arbitrary irrational criteria or biased personal opinion, and not objective fact. The Myth Of Human Moral Supremacy is the root of the tree from which all human and nonhuman rights issues sprang; speciesism is akin to the trunk of that tree, with each individual human and nonhuman rights issue acting as the branches of the tree. This means that all human rights problems originated from and cannot be extricated from the problem of speciesism.

The idea that we can treat individual members of another species differently because of moral distinctions that are based solely on a trait that we possess and that they lack (them being of a different species than we are) is exactly what has led to the idea that we can do the same thing to people of other ethnicities, people of other genders, people with different sexual orientations, etc.; all of which are merely morally irrelevant traits that they possess that we may not.

Even though some people claim that the trait they are using as moral criteria is not species but some other characteristic which only humans possess (such as “intelligence”), invariably those traits cannot be proven to belong only to all members of our species and no members of another. The true basis for the irrational belief in this supremacy complex can always be ultimately traced back to the criteria of species. And just like species membership, the possession of – or lack of – none of those traits morally justifies using other sentient beings solely as a means to our ends.

Furthermore, being able to dismiss another sentient being as an “other” or a thing to be exploited or otherwise harmed -rather than another sentient being who is similar to us in their interest in not being exploited or harmed- is what leads to 100% of “crime,” poverty, war, and any other systemic problems associated with human rights violations.

Logically, it follows that if we don’t observe nonhuman animals’ rights in this respect, we have no basis to expect our own moral interests to be taken seriously by other humans. No matter from which angle you view it, you can’t really justify intentionally exploiting nonhuman animals unless you’re ready to accede to not believing in the rights of human animals either, which means your own claim to any moral recourse if you are harmed by another human is effectively nullified. In other words, your argument not only eliminates any argument that someone who violates your rights is wrong in doing so to begin with, but also that anyone who violates your rights should be punished for it.

There is only one way to align our actions with our moral values if we think it’s wrong to harm others for unnecessary reasons, and that is to live Vegan. If we think we have a moral opportunity to then do something for the billions of nonhuman animals who we enslave and otherwise cause to suffer unnecessarily every year then the only morally justifiable and effective way to do that is to educate others about Veganism.

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If you’re not already Vegan, and you think animals matter morally, then please go Vegan. It’s incredible for the animals, easy and great for you, and wonderful for the planet. If you’re already Vegan, please educate non-Vegans about why they should go Vegan. Please rescue, volunteer, adopt, foster, spay, and neuter the nonhuman refugees of domestication whenever you can. Please feed your nonhuman family Vegan where you can. These things are the most important, morally responsible things to do and are desperately needed by everyone.

To learn more about Abolitionist Veganism and the issues I’ve outlined in this post, check out The Master List Of Vegan Info:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

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Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against exploitation of nonhuman or human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, ethnic bigotry, genderism, ableism, heterosexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, veg*nism, Meat-Free Mondays, or other forms of reductionism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all of these sites.

 

 

 

On Morality: Ridicule In The Vegan Movement

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Some Vegans will tell you that ridicule can be a valuable tool in educating non-Vegans about the merits of Veganism.

I vehemently disagree. Ridicule and humiliation are the tools of “superiority”, oppression and speciesism. In short, ridicule is the tool of bullies and tyrants… humbleness, kindness, patience, and compassion are the tools of the enlightened.

To use ridicule in Vegan education makes no sense, for more than one reason. One reason being that ridicule can only lead to the idea that belittling another sentient being is a good thing, making it that much easier for you -or the people observing you- to act without compassion in any other matter. Ridicule, while it may feel good in the short term, harms the person using it as much, if not more than the person being ridiculed.

Another point is that ridicule just does not work since the vast majority of humans react negatively to the ridicule of themselves versus the tiny number who react positively. The idea that many people learn something from being ridiculed is false and perpetuated by people who enjoy watching others suffer.

There are many people who react negatively even if someone else is the one being ridiculed, some just on general principle if nothing else. If you can convert more people to Veganism through kindness than ridicule, it’s not only illogical to ridicule non-Vegans but harmful to nonhumans, which means you are not acting in line with your beliefs in any case.

Plus, who are you ridiculing? Are you ok with ridiculing your loved ones if they are not already Vegan? Is that really what love means? If not them and only strangers or people you dislike, then you’re using a meaningless double-standard, as they are all committing the exact same moral wrongs.

It eventually all comes down to who you are going to believe. Do you trust that someone who is comfortable using humiliation as a tactic is doing what they do for the best interests of the animals? Or does it feel more like they are enjoying the discomfort of another sentient being? How is that any different morally than a non-Vegan enjoying the taste of the flesh or secretions of an exploited and slaughtered animal?

This doesn’t mean that Vegans seeking to educate should be meek. A strong, clear moral message -delivered in language that is kind but firm- is needed if this movement is going to progress. That message contains the idea that under no circumstances is any intentional exploitation of sentient nonhumans a morally justifiable matter. But there is a difference between kind and meek, just as there is a difference between firm and cruel.

The Abolitionist Vegan movement -as a certain Professor has been known to remark- is a continuation of the peace movement. Nothing positive is to be gained by using tactics like ridicule or violence against the exploiters of nonhumans. Everything is to be gained by using tactics like kindness and compassion when it comes to how we treat other humans.

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If you’re not already Vegan, and you think animals matter morally, then please go Vegan. It’s incredible for the animals, easy and great for you, and wonderful for the planet. If you’re already Vegan, please educate non-Vegans about why they should go Vegan. Please rescue, volunteer, adopt, foster, spay, and neuter the nonhuman refugees of domestication whenever you can. Please feed your nonhuman family Vegan where you can. These things are the most important, morally responsible things to do and are desperately needed by everyone.

To learn more about Abolitionist Veganism and the issues I’ve outlined in this post, check out The Master List Of Vegan Info:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

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Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against exploitation of nonhuman or human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, ethnic bigotry, genderism, ableism, heterosexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, veg*nism, Meat-Free Mondays, or other forms of reductionism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all of these sites.

Master List Of Vegan Info

Disclaimer: My only goal with this list is to produce as comprehensive a resource for Vegan information as possible. I am 100% Abolitionist Vegan and 100% against the exploitation of nonhuman and human animals, any type of violence against human or nonhuman persons or property, welfare regulation, any form of speciesism, sexism, ethnic bigotry, heterosexism, ableism, cis-sexism, etc., any of the large governmental or non-governmental nonhuman animal organizations, “happy meat,” vegetarianism, “veg*nism,” Meat-Out Mondays, or other forms of reductionism/gradualism and anything else that makes it seem like any form of violence or exploitation of animals is ok. If any of those positions are endorsed on any site in this list, or any language is used to imply that, it’s not that I included that link because I agree, but simply because I don’t control every bit of information on all these sites.

Note: This list now has a permanent home (as permanent as anything online, anyway) here:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

It’s the only location I’ll be updating regularly. Please use that link if you want the latest additions to the list.

If you live in the UK, please take this survey to help use the law to promote Veganism and Animal Rights:
https://goveganworld.com/please-complete-our-survey-to-help-use-law-to-promote-veganism-and-animal-rights

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On Veganism:
Section 1:
Morals/Ethics (primarily):

Sub-Section 1A:
The Most Important Stuff:

Sub-Section 1A1:
Important Videos (primarily):

“Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home”:
http://www.peaceablekingdomfilm.org
http://www.tribeofheart.org/sr/pkj_english.htm

The Truth About Human Supremacy:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/are-humans-superior

“The Superior Human”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqT82oGeax0

“Vegan Series: Eat Like You Care featuring Gary L. Francione & Anna Charlton”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1nyibU_kRA

Gary L. Francione 2013 Keynote Speech, “Animals as Food: The Legal Treatment of Animals in Contemporary Agribusiness and Factory Farming”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YO1_1CaaGI

“I’m Vegan: Gary Francione”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5pDU1yMWMw

“Gary Francione at Brock U. Part 1/5”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj36ZTIHrb0

Professor Gary Francione’s site:
http://abolitionistapproach.com
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/about/the-six-principles-of-the-abolitionist-approach-to-animal-rights

“Rant On Gradualism”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVtPpWk6lVE

Biocentrism at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biocentrism_(ethics)

“What veganism is and is not”:
http://weotheranimals.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/those-who-know-me-know-that-i-tend.html

“On Cruelty Videos”:
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/category/cruelty-videos

“Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger? by Sherry F. Colb”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amaG7h_tgRU

“Why Vegan?”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKr4HZ7ukSE

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Sub-Section 1A2:
Music:

“split 7” by Captive Bolt/Gary Francione:
https://deadtankrecords.bandcamp.com/album/split-7-2

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Sub-Section 1A3:
Family-Friendly:

“Going Vegan as a Teenager”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ONfX6DyXI

“Cow Cries All Night Over Loss Of Her Calf – Then They Reunite”:
http://www.godvine.com/Cow-Cries-All-Night-Over-Loss-of-her-Calf-Then-They-Reunite-1903.html

“Happy Cows”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUZ1YLhIAg8

“Why Must We Eat The Animals? (Oh Why Oh Why?)”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8LnxSjWWD8

“A Calf’s Story”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg3Yfdbs24I

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Sub-Section 1B:
Text-Based Info (primarily):

Sub-Section 1B1:
Becoming Vegan:

Sub-Section 1B1a:
Miscellaneous:

“BECOMING VEGAN: RESOURCES – Good resources to assist in becoming vegan”:
http://www.vegantrove.com/BecomingVegan
http://howtogovegan.org

“ETHICAL VEGAN EDUCATION”:
https://ethicalveganeducation.com

“What Is Veganism?”:
http://www.vegsource.com/jo/vegan.htm

The IVA’s Vegan kit:
http://www.internationalvegan.org/vsk

Vegan Starter Kit:
http://www.vegankit.com

“How Do I Go Vegan?”
http://www.howdoigovegan.com

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Sub-Section 1B1b:
Vegan Resources:

“Some resources for people who’ve been told they “can’t go vegan”:
http://soycrates.tumblr.com/post/85918368428/some-resources-for-people-whove-been-told-they-cant

“Vegan on a Shoestring: 15 Tips for Eating Plant-Based Affordably”:
https://medium.com/@marla_rose/vegan-on-a-shoestring-15-tips-for-eating-plant-based-affordably-e30446b5378b

Vegan Chat Room:
http://www.veganchatroom.co.uk/veganguides.html

“Is It Vegan?”:
http://isitvegan.net

“Vegan Apps”:
http://vegannomnoms.net/2014/06/10-great-apps-for-the-vegan-traveler.html

“Vegan Easy Challenge Menu”:
http://veganeasy.org/day-1

“PAN: The Vegan Pledge!”:
http://panveganpledge.org

Info about Vegan products by Nik Anti-Speciesist:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=801109299901282&id=100000066596384
https://www.facebook.com/notes/nik-anti-speciesist/useful-information-for-new-vegansvegans/10151895864781663

Alternative medication by Gary Francione:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/pharmaceutical-products-and-animal-ingredients
_

Sub-Section 1B1c:
About Your Rights As A Vegan:

“Using the Law to Promote Veganism and Animal Rights”:
https://goveganworld.com/vegan-rights

“Right to Education That is Respectful of Veganism/Animal Rights”:
https://goveganworld.com/right-to-education-that-is-respectful-of-veganism-animal-rights

“Tribunal Rules Vegetarianism Not Covered by Equality Law, but Distinguishes Veganism”:
https://goveganworld.com/tribunal-rules-vegetarianism-not-covered-by-equality-law-but-distinguishes-veganism

“Vegan Rights (UK) Sample Letters”:
https://goveganworld.com/vegan-rights-template-letters-uk

” ‘Oxtail Soup Is Vegan’ The Nurse Said: Campaigners In UK-Wide Push For Vegan Rights”:
https://rightsinfo.org/vegan-rights-uk-legislation

_

Sub-Section 1B2:
Facebook Pages And Groups:

Sub-Section 1B2a:
Facebook Pages:

“International Vegan Association”:
https://www.facebook.com/internationalvegan

“Let’s Make a Vegan World”:
https://www.facebook.com/letsmakeaveganworld

“Vegan Information Project – VIP”:
https://www.facebook.com/theveganinformationproject
_

Sub-Section 1B2b:
Facebook Groups:

“South Florida Vegan Education Group”:
https://www.facebook.com/VeganEducationGroup

“Vegan Philosophy Forum”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/219573241562192

“Vegan Influence & Persuasion”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Vegan.Influence.and.Persuasion

“Vegan Scientific Facts”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vegan.scientificfacts

“The Human Vegan”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/168804706659566

“Veganic Organic Network”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/veganorganicnetwork

“Nonviolent self-sustained vegan permaculture-community”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/688426811196469

“VEGAN RECYCLING IDEAS TO SHARE”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1578679075691678

“Vegan Cats”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/669599113104942

“Healthy Vegan Cats”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/669599113104942

“Vegan Dogs Thriving”:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vegan-Dogs-Thriving/544580732238947

“Vegan Cats & Dogs”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/138238569638651

“Vegan Cats and Dogs”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vegancatsanddogs

_

Sub-Section 1B3:
Main Vegan Blogs And Sites:

My own AR blog:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com

“Vegan Education Group”:
http://veganeducationgroup.com
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com

“Anti-Speciesist Action”:
https://antispeciesistaction.com

“How To Go Vegan”:
http://www.howtogovegan.org

“Evolve For Animals”:
http://www.evolveforanimals.com

“There’s An Elephant In The Room”:
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com

“Go Vegan Scotland”:
https://www.goveganscotland.com

“Vegan Ethos”:
http://veganethos.wordpress.com

“Vegan Empowerment”:
http://thevegancommunicator.wordpress.com

“Unpopular Vegan Essays”:
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com

“Metaevolutionary: Reason For A Change”:
https://metaevolutionary.wordpress.com

“My Face Is On Fire”:
http://my-face-is-on-fire.blogspot.co.uk

“The Thinking Vegan”:
http://thethinkingvegan.com

“The Candid Hominid”:
http://www.candidhominid.com

“Veganism Is Nonviolence”:
http://veganismisnonviolence.com

“Gentle World”:
http://gentleworld.org

_

Sub-Section 1B4:
Miscellaneous Text-Based Pages And Essays:

“A Moral Argument For Veganism”:
https://www.academia.edu/4509523/An_Argument_for_Veganism

“Fear, Ignorance, and Collusion: The Real Reasons Why Experts Dis’ Veganism”:
http://www.wedonteatanimals.com/2012/04/05/fear-ignorance-and-collusion-the-real-reasons-why-experts-dis-veganism

Action For Animals – “What is Veganism?”:
http://www.afa-online.org/veganinfo.html

“The Trauma of Knowing: A Cracked Vessel Will Eventually Run Dry”:
http://veganfeministagitator.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-trauma-of-knowing-cracked-vessel.html

On this page, the answers by Kalvin Lyle and Ariel Garlow are worth reading:
http://www.quora.com/Veganism-1/Why-is-veganism-so-controversial-but-meat-eating-and-dairy-not

“A Giraffe’s Death and the Meaning of Our Outrage”:
http://verdict.justia.com/2014/02/19/giraffes-death-meaning-outrage

“On Alice Walker and History as Destiny”:
http://veganfeministagitator.blogspot.com/2014/03/on-alice-walker-and-history-as-destiny.html

“If Your Tears Were Human” – Poems By Heather Leughmyer:
http://poemsbyheather.tripod.com/index1.htm

“The Busy Vegan”:
http://humanrightsareanimalrights.com/2014/01/04/the-busy-vegan

Interview With Gary Smith:
http://newveganage.blogspot.com/2012/09/interview-gary-smith-thinking-vegan.html

“The weight of animal interests”:
http://www.animal-ethics.org/weight-animal-interests

“All Forms of Life Are Sacred” by Chris Hedges:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/all_forms_of_life_are_sacred_20150104

“Donald Watson Article – Spring 1948 – The Vegan Magazine”:
http://www.happycow.net/blog/donald-watson-article-spring-1948-the-vegan-magazine

Archive Of Issues Of “The Vegan”:
(Warning – The new bent to The Vegan Society is “baby steps”):
http://issuu.com/vegan_society/stacks
_

Sub-Section 1B5:
The Meaning Of Speciesism:

What Is Speciesism?:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-009-9205-2

“Speciesism”:
http://www.vegankit.com/learn

“English and Speciesism”:
http://aliberation.vegaplanet.org/joan.dunayer.php

“Understanding Prejudice And Discrimination”:
http://www.understandingprejudice.org/pdf/animals.pdf

“Lessons In Applied Speciesism”:
https://strivingwithsystems.com/2015/10/20/lessons-in-applied-speciesism
_

Sub-Section 1B6:
Intersectionality And Alliance Politics:

“Essentialism, Intersectionality, and Veganism as a Moral Baseline: Black Vegans Rock and the Humane Society of the United States”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/essentialism-intersectionality-and-veganism-as-a-moral-baseline-black-vegans-rock-and-the-humane-society-of-the-united-states

“The Myth Of Vegan Progress In Israel”:
http://dylanxpowell.com/2015/02/15/the-myth-of-vegan-progress-in-israel

“Vegan Killers: Israeli Vegan-Washing and the Manipulation of Morality”:
http://www.turkeyagenda.com/vegan-killers-israeli-vegan-washing-and-the-manipulation-of-morality-1656.html

“Intersectionality and Abolitionist Veganism: Part I”:
http://veganethos.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/intersectionality-and-abolitionist-veganism-part-i

“Abolitionist veganism is not a “white” practice”:
http://veganethos.wordpress.com/abolitionist-veganism-is-not-a-white-practice

“Workshop on Intersectionality and Alliance Politics”:
http://veganinformationproject.org/audio-workshop-on-intersectionality-and-alliance-politics

“Project Muse – Volume 65, Number 3, September 2013”:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_quarterly/toc/aq.65.3.html

“Animal Rights, Multiculturalism, and the Left” by Will Kymlicka and Sue Donaldson:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josp.12047/full
_

Sub-Section 1B7:
Animal Rights History:

“A History of Veganism”:
http://www.candidhominid.com/p/vegan-history.html
http://www.candidhominid.com/2011/01/eva-batt.html

http://www.animalrightshistory.org

“World History Of Vegetarianism”:
https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=830#

Percy Bysshe Shelley:
http://www.animal-rights-library.com/texts-c/shelley01.htm

Al-Ma’arri on Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ma%CA%BFarri

“On Veganism From a Medieval Arab Poet”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/on-veganism-from-a-medieval-arab-poet

“Ancient Vegans: Porphyry”:
http://www.towardsfreedom.com/297.html

“A Vegan Booklet of 1655 – ……don’t think about ‘almost five o’clock’!”:
http://www.happycow.net/blog/a-vegan-booklet-of-1655-dont-think-about-almost-five-oclock
–
Sub-Section 1B8:
On Speciesist Language:

“Animals Who Aren’t Human: ‘Nonhuman’ or ‘Other’ “:
http://www.candidhominid.com/2011/10/animals-who-arent-human.html

My post on speciesist language:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2018/08/16/speciesist-oppressive-language
–
Sub-Section 1B9:
Religious Arguments For Veganism:

“Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were Vegetarians”:
https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/evidence-that-jesus-and-the-original-aramaic-christians-were-vegetarians-b8784ac42506

One religious argument for Veganism:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/does-god-want-us-to-exploit-animals

“Why Animals Matter: A Religious and Philosophical Perspective”
http://www.think-differently-about-sheep.com/Why_Animals_Matter_A%20Religious_Philosophical_Perspective_Philosophy_Quotations.htm

“Would Jesus Eat Meat Today?”:
http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/WJEMT-Jan10.pdf

Francis Of Paola on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Paola
_

Sub-Section 1B10:
Issues With Various Kinds Of Animal Use:

Sub-Section 1B10a:
Milk:

“But cows need to be milked”:
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/10/faq-but-cows-need-to-be-milked-or-it-causes-them-pain

“Happy Cows; Behind The Myth”:
http://www.humanemyth.org/happycows.htm

“Cheese consumption is the largest enemy of cows & calves”:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=346258155480729

An article written by a former small-scale goat dairy farmer from the US:
http://www.humanemyth.org/cheriezell.htm

“Learn about the Goat Dairy Industry (including organic) here”:
http://www.milkmyths.org.uk/animal-welfare/nanny-state-truth-about-goats-milk

Meet the Woodstock Sanctuary goats:
http://www.woodstocksanctuary.org/meet-the-animals/goats
http://woodstocksanctuary.org/meet-the-animals/goats/albie

“Humane Animal Farming?”:
http://www.peacefulprairie.org/humane-myth.html
_

Sub-Section 1B10b:
Eggs:

“What’s Wrong With Backyard Eggs”:
https://befairbevegan.com/why-vegan/the-animals-we-use/backyard-eggs

“A Handy Guide for Vegan Advocates Discussing Chickens and Eggs”:
https://strivingwithsystems.com/2017/04/26/a-handy-guide-for-vegan-advocates-discussing-chickens-and-eggs

Posts about eggs on TAEITR blog:
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2019/06/28/what-are-eggs-for
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/in-a-nutshell-why-all-egg-use-is-inhumane
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/chickens-and-eggs-what-about-the-males
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/hens-and-puppy-mills-an-analogy

“No Such Thing as a Harmless Egg: Battling Reproductive Disease in Domestic Hens”:
http://chickenrunrescue.org/No-Such-Thing-as-a-Harmless-Egg

“What’s Wrong with Backyard Eggs?”:
http://gentleworld.org/whats-wrong-with-backyard-eggs

“Backyard Chicken Farming Leads to Abandoned Hens”:
http://gentleworld.org/backyard-chicken-farming-leads-to-abandoned-hens

“A Hen’s Relationship with her Eggs”:
http://gentleworld.org/a-chickens-relationship-with-her-eggs

“What’s Wrong with Backyard Eggs?”:
http://peacefulprairie.org/backyard-eggs.html

_

Sub-Section 1B10c:
Honey:

“Why Honey Is Not Vegan”:
http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm

“3 Reasons Not To Eat Honey”:
http://gentleworld.org/3-reasons-not-to-eat-honey

Crops Pollinated By Bees on Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees
_

Sub-Section 1B10d:
Riding Horses:

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH RIDING HORSES?”:
http://www.vegantrove.com/2016/09/06/vegan-trove-0042

_

Sub-Section 1B10e:
Sugar:

“Is Sugar Vegan?”:
http://www.vegsource.com/jo/qa/qasugar.htm

“Alright, so what on earth is wrong with sugar?”:
http://www.veganproducts.org/sugar.html

“If You’re Going to Sweeten, Use One of These Natural Vegan Sugars”:
http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/vegan-sugars.html

“The Best Natural Sugar Substitutes”:
http://www.busy-vegan.com/natural-sugar-substitute.html
_

Sub-Section 1B10f:
Miscellaneous Problems With Food Ingredients:

“Is Your Bread Vegan?”:
http://gentleworld.org/is-your-bread-vegan

“L-Cysteine in Bread Products Still Mostly Sourced from Human Hair, Duck Feathers, Hog Hair”:
http://www.vrg.org/blog/2011/03/09/l-cysteine-in-bread-products-still-mostly-sourced-from-human-hair-duck-feathers-hog-hair

“11 Disturbing Ingredients in Food that will Make You Rethink Your Diet”:
http://www.theyogablog.com/11-disturbing-ingredients-in-food

“Delicious food, disgusting ingredients”:
http://shehasgotitall.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/delicious-food-disgusting-ingredients

“Golden Circle juice maker reveals secret ingredients: beef and alcohol”:
http://fatgayvegan.com/2014/07/27/beef-juice

“10 Frightening Fast Food Additives”:
http://www.siegestalt.com/zges/29

Vegan Chocolate:
http://www.vegan.com/chocolate
_

Sub-Section 1B11:
Animals Feel:

Sub-Section 1B11a:
Miscellaneous Articles:

“Scientists Finally Conclude Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious Beings”:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201208/scientists-finally-conclude-nonhuman-animals-are-conscious-beings

“Why cockroaches need their friends”:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17839642

“When Animals Mourn: Seeing That Grief Is Not Uniquely Human”:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/04/11/176620943/when-animals-mourn-seeing-that-grief-is-not-uniquely-human
_

Sub-Section 1B11b:
The Animals Who Are Used By Us For “Food”:

Mulesing:
http://gentleworld.org/whats-wrong-with-wool

“Fish May Actually Feel Pain And React To It Much Like Humans Do”:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430161242.htm

“What is Pain to a Fish?”:
http://gentleworld.org/what-is-pain-to-a-fish

http://www.fishpain.com

“Evidence Mounts That Shellfish Feel Pain”:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/pets/evidence-mounts-that-shellfish-feel-pain-130116.htm

“Consciousness Is Everywhere”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christof-koch/consciousness-is-everywhere_b_1784047.html
_

Sub-Section 1B11c:
The Animals We Use For Entertainment:

“Recently Spotted 103-Year-Old Orca Is Bad News For SeaWorld — Here’s Why”:
https://www.thedodo.com/recently-spotted-103-year-old–547381307.html
_

Sub-Section 1B12:
Vivisection:

Sub-Section 1B12a:
Morality (primarily):

“Vivisection, Part Two: The Moral Justification Of Vivisection”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/vivisection-part-two-the-moral-justification-of-vivisection
_

Sub-Section 1B12b:
Necessity (primarily):

“Animals in Biomedical Research: A Moral Justification? (debate)”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8OMtRiD3oI

“Vivisection, Part One: The “Necessity” of Vivisection”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/vivisection-part-one-the-necessity-of-vivisection

“Vivisection”:
https://goveganworld.com/why-vegan/the-animals-we-use/research

“The Commonsense Case Against Animal Experimentation – Mylan Engel Jr. (you may have to print this one to read it or set your tablet to not rotate and hold it sideways!)”:
http://www.niu.edu/phil/people/_pdf/Engel%20–%20The%20Commonsense%20Case%20Against%20Animal%20Experimentation.pdf

“Does animal testing help human medicine?”:
http://www.vivisectioninformation.com/index.php?p=1_8_all-you-need-to-know-in-33-facts

“50 DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF LAB ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS “:
http://www.vivisectioninformation.com/index.php?p=1_10

“An Examination of Animal Experiments”:
http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=2271

“Americans For Medical Advancement”:
http://www.afma-curedisease.org

“Dario Ringach… Wrong Again on Animal Research”:
http://aphilosophersblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/dario-ringach-wrong-again-on-animal-research-2

“Hypocrisy in the Animal Liberation Movement or Bad Arguments from the Speaking of Research Community?”:
http://aphilosophersblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/hypocrisy-in-the-animal-liberation-movement-or-bad-arguments-from-the-speaking-of-research-community

“What’s Wrong with the Animal Welfare Act and Other Systems of Lab Animal “Protection”?”:
http://aphilosophersblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/22/whats-wrong-with-the-animal-welfare-act

“Why Learn about Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR)?”:
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/DevelopmentResources/DrugInteractionsLabeling/ucm114848.htm

“Problems with Animal Research”:
http://www.aavs.org/site/c.bkLTKfOSLhK6E/b.6456997/k.3D74/Problems_with_Animal_Research.htm

“Limitations and Dangers”:
http://www.neavs.org/research/limitations

“FAQs About Animal Testing”:
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/faqs-about-animal-testing

“How reliable is animal testing?; Podium”:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-reliable-is-animal-testing-podium-1079311.html

“Advancing Science Without Harming Animals”:
http://www.navs.org/science/failure-of-the-animal-mode

“Maximum Tolerated Dose”:
http://maximumtolerateddose.org/about

“Why Animal Experimentation Doesn’t Work — Reason 1: Stressed Animals Yield Poor Data”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aysha-akhtar/animal-experimentation_b_3676678.html

“Why Animal Experimentation Doesn’t Work — Reason 2: Animals Don’t Get Human Diseases”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aysha-akhtar/animal-testing-diseases_b_3813856.html?

“Why Animal Experimentation Doesn’t Work. Reason 3: Animals Aren’t Little Humans”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aysha-akhtar/why-animal-experimentatio_b_3997568.html

“History of Maternal Deprivation at UW-Madison”:
http://www.uwnotinourname.org/history-of-maternal-deprivation-at-uw-madison.html

“Vivisection Information Network”:
http://vivisectioninformation.com

“Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty”:
http://shac.net

“Safer Medicines”:
http://www.safermedicines.org/index.php

“Andrew Knight”:
http://andrewknight.info

“White Coat Waste Movement”:
http://www.whitecoatwaste.com

“How predictive and productive is animal research?”:
http://www.bmj.com/%5Bfield_highwire_a_cpath-raw%5D-15
_

Sub-Section 1B12c:
Alternatives To Vivisection:

Companies That DO Test On Animals:
http://veganrabbit.com/list-of-companies-that-do-test-on-animals

Companies That DON’T Test On Animals:
http://veganrabbit.com/list-of-companies-that-do-not-test-on-animals

“Dr. Hadwen Trust”:
http://www.drhadwentrust.org
https://www.facebook.com/DHT.Hitchin?ref=stream

“HEALTH CHARITIES AND ANIMAL TESTING”:
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/experiments/ALL/281

“Developing Safety Tests without the Use of Animals”:
http://www.kao.com/jp/en/corp_rd/skills_01_04.html

“Insulin from flowers instead of pigs”:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-02/first-pigs-then-bacteria-now-insulin-flowers

“Non-animal alternative that is safer”:
http://japandailypress.com/new-method-to-culture-ips-cells-with-lower-risk-of-infection-discovered-0942155

“The Syndaver”:
http://syndaver.com/
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202048258442004&set=a.2500438724301.131034.1652924202&type=1&theater

“Animal Testing Could Be Replaced by Human Skin Grown From Stem Cells”:
http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/animal-testing-could-be-replaced-by-human-skin-grown-from-stem-cells

“The Fetishization of “Animal-Friendly” Animal Products: The Body Shop Example”:
http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.be/2014/08/the-fetishization-of-animal-friendly.html

Posts about alternative products by Nik Anti-Speciesist:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=801109299901282&id=100000066596384
https://www.facebook.com/notes/nik-anti-speciesist/do-you-buy-ecover-think-its-vegan-think-again/10152368194501663
https://www.facebook.com/notes/nik-anti-speciesist/which-logo-can-we-trust-does-it-mean-vegan-why-are-there-so-many/10152441988936663

“THE VEGAN BODY CARE GUIDE”:
http://thevegantruth.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/the-vegan-body-care-guide.html
_

Sub-Section 1B12d:
Books On Vivisection:

“Sacred Cows and Golden Geese: The Human Cost of Experiments on Animals” – by C. Ray Greek M. D. & Jean Swingle Greek D.V.M.:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0826414028/qid=1035236103/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-3780354-0501606?v=glance

“Specious Science: How Genetics and Evolution Reveal Why Medical Research on Animals Harms Humans” – by C. Ray Greek M. D. & Jean Swingle Greek D.V.M.:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0826413986/qid=1016483161/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-1027070-7228961
_

Sub-Section 1B13:
Hunting:

“How are Deer Managed by State Wildlife Agencies?”:
http://animalrights.about.com/od/wildlife/a/DeerManagement.htm

“The wild horses of Letea: First success for the FOUR PAWS birth control project”:
http://www.four-paws.org.uk/projects/horses-2/the-wild-horses-of-letea-first-success-for-the-four-paws-birth-control-project-
_

Sub-Section 1B14:
Our Nonhuman Family Members:

Sub-Section 1B14a:
Moral Theory (primarily):

” ‘Pets’: The Inherent Problems of Domestication”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/pets-the-inherent-problems-of-domestication

“Commentary #2: ‘Pets’ ” On The Abolitionist Approach:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/pets
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/podcast/20090812-araa-commentary-2.mp3

“Commentary #4: Follow-Up to “Pets” Commentary: Non-Vegan Cats” On The Abolitionist Approach:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/follow-up-to-pets-commentary-non-vegan-cats
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/podcast/20090817-araa-commentary-4.mp3

“Should We Keep Pets?” On The Abolitionist Approach:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/links/p163/the-institution.pdf

“Animal Rights and Domesticated Nonhumans”:
https://www.abolitionistapproach.com/animal-rights-and-domesticated-nonhumans

“The case against pets”:
https://aeon.co/essays/why-keeping-a-pet-is-fundamentally-unethical

“Animal Care and Control: The Sad Failure of New York City’s Municipal Shelter System” On The Abolitionist Approach:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/animal-care-and-control-the-sad-failure-of-new-york-citys-municipal-shelter-system

“Evaluation of cats fed vegetarian diets and attitudes of their caregivers”:
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.229.1.70

“Obligate Carnivore: Cats, Dogs, and What it Really Means to be Vegan”:
http://www.amazon.com/Obligate-Carnivore-Really-Means-Vegan/dp/0974218006

“Vegan Diets for Dogs and Cats” by Armaiti May, DVM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIMBX3jdYM0

“Dr. Andrew Knight introduces himself and his work with cats and dogs”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9m_liQppxQ

“Vegan Cat Ethics”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYA1kTJCl1Y

“Quack Veterinarians Who Feed Cats a Vegan Diet”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt9_hEbvlqM

“Metabolic Misconceptions”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4UZUrc-248

_

Sub-Section 1B14b:
How To Feed Our Nonhuman Family Members Vegan (primarily):

“What’s Really in Pet Food”:
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

Something I posted about feeding our nonhuman family Vegan:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/the-truth-about-pet-food

“Is it ‘unnatural’ to feed dogs a vegan diet?”:
http://thevegantruth.blogspot.co.nz/2011/11/is-it-unnatural-to-feed-dogs-vegan-diet.html
http://thevegantruth.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/v-dog-100-vegan-dog-food-owned-and.html

“Vegetarian Diets Can Be Healthy for Dogs”:
http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vegan_dogs

“Making Your Own Vegan Dog Food”:
http://www.vegan-heartland.com/2012/06/making-your-own-vegan-dog-food.html

“Dog Health Survey”:
http://www.pkdiet.com/pdf/diet/Dog_Health_Survey.pdf

“The Vegan Feline: Can my feline companion be a vegan?” by Laurie Jeffreys DVM:
http://www.farmedanimalfriends.org/1/post/2013/05/the-vegan-feline-can-my-feline-companion-be-a-vegan-by-laurie-jeffreys-dvm.html

Sub-Section 1B14c:
Vegan Cat Food Companies and Distributors:
“VeganCats.com”:
http://vegancats.com

“Evolution”:
https://www.evolutiondietstore.com

“Harbingers of a New Age” (US, most other countries):
http://www.vegepet.com
(They provide homemade recipes to use with the VegeCat supplement; they also provide the Vegecat Phi supplement that is pH adjusted for cats that are prone to urinary stones)
http://www.vegepet.com/international_distribution.html

“Ami Cat” (Italy, also available in the US and other countries):
http://www.v-pets.com
http://www.amipetfood.com
http://www.amipetfood.com/en/our-partners (Some distributors)
http://www.greenleafvegandist.com/where-to-buy.html (Distributes Ami in Canada)

“VeganPet” (Australia & New Zealand):
http://www.veganpet.com.au
http://veganpet.com.au/articles/?page_id=12 (distributors)

“Benevo” (Europe, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan):
http://www.benevo.com
http://www.benevo.com/distributors
http://www.tiendanimal.es/ (Spain, distributor of Benevo and possibly others)

“VegePet” (Taiwan, not the same as the American company):
http://www.vegepet.com.tw

“FeliGourmet” (Germany):
http://www.veganversand.at/vegetarischetiernahrung/katzennahrung/index.php
(Also sells Benevo and Ami Cat)

“VeganCats.com”:
http://www.vegancats.com
Distributor of Ami, VegeCat in USA. They do ship internationally, but your country’s customs may reject the shipment.

“The Mail Order Catalog for Healthy Eating”:
http://www.healthy-eating.com
(I believe this company sells TVP that is made from non-GMO soy. You can use this for the VegePet recipes that require TVP if you are making those.)

Update 6/5/19:
Canada supplier of many brands including Evolution are Vecado Canada:
https://vecado.ca

Vegan Cat foods and Manufacturer Supplier Website links:
Adult Cats:
Ami Italy:
http://www.amipetfood.com/en

Evolution USA:
http://www.petfoodshop.com/where-to-buy

Benevo Britain:
http://www.benevo.com

Veggieanimals Spain:
https://www.veggieanimals.com

Compassion Circle USA:
https://compassioncircle.com

Veganpet Australia:
https://veganpet.com.au

Kittens:
Evolution USA:
http://www.petfoodshop.com/where-to-buy

Compassion Circle USA:
https://compassioncircle.com

Veganpet Australia:
https://veganpet.com.au

Wet tinned is done by Evolution, Benevo, Vegusto, Vitaveg, Hermann’s and Compassion Circle.
Dry is done by Evolution, Benevo, Ami, Veggieanimals, Veganpet and Compassion Circle.
Recipes for homemade is using their supplement powders.

Extras: Adults:
Vegusto Switzerland:
https://www.vegusto.ch/product_details/103 WET SNACKS

Vitaveg Italy:
https://vitaveg.pet/product/wet-pet-food-cat-big-can/ WET and DRY

Herrmann Germany:
https://www.futterservice-fulda.de/hunde/feuchtnahrung/443/herrmann-s-fleischlos-12x400g

For EUROPE Compassion Circle suppliers of VEGEYEAST VEGECAT/VEGEDOG and VEGEKIT/VEGEPUP etc are in the Netherlands Vegavriend who sell ready made vegan pet foods also. EVOLUTION, Ami and Benevo:
https://www.vegavriend.nl/c-4674916/compleet

Germany distributor Fulda also supplies various brands in Europe, Fulda. extra brands like Greta, Bubeck, Vegdog, Green, Fitness, Herrmann, V-dog etc:
https://www.futterservice-fulda.de/schnellbestellung

UK Manufacturer and Distributor of various brands but not vegeyeast or vegecat etc supplements or Evolution and manufacturer of British Brand sold world wide “Benevo” is www.veggiepets.com

CANADA supplier of many brands including EVOLUTION are Vecado Canada:
https://vecado.ca

Kitty Litter that tests urinary pH (check it a few months after transitioning, then once every few months thereafter. If pH becomes too alkaline, you should use the VegePet.com recipes with the “Vegecat Phi” supplement that is adjusted for cats that are prone to urinary stones.):

“Health Meter Cat Litter”:
http://healthmeter.blogspot.com

“Ultra Monthly Monitor” (Ultra Pet):
http://ultrapetcatlitter.com/products/ultra-monthly-monitor

“Perfect Litter”:
http://www.perfectlitter.com

“Pet Ecology PerfectLitter”:
http://www.perfectlitteralert.com

“Veggie Cats: Why should you test urinary pH?”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6waDDYO8J18

“Cats with Allergies on a Plant-based Diet”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHFT1B0_H_Y

Sub-Section 1B14b:
Vegan Dog Food Companies And Distributors:
“V-Dog”:
https://v-dog.com

“Vegan Dog Food Products – Europe, U.S., Australia, N.Z.”:
http://thevegantruth.blogspot.com/2013/09/vegan-dog-food-products-europe-us.html

Update 6/5/19:
Vegan Dog foods and Manufacturer Supplier Website links:
Adult Dogs:

Ami Italy:
http://www.amipetfood.com/en

V-Dog USA:
https://v-dog.com

Evolution USA:
http://www.petfoodshop.com/where-to-buy

Benevo Britain:
http://www.benevo.com

Ketun USA:
http://ketunpet.com

Veggieanimals Spain:
https://www.veggieanimals.com

Compassion Circle USA:
https://compassioncircle.com

Veganpet Australia:
https://veganpet.com.au

Puppies:
Ami Italy:
http://www.amipetfood.com/en

Evolution USA:
http://www.petfoodshop.com/where-to-buy

Benevo Britain:
http://www.benevo.com

Ketun USA:
http://ketunpet.com

Compassion Circle USA:
https://compassioncircle.com

Veganpet Australia:
https://veganpet.com.au

Extras: for adults:
Vegusto Switzerland:
https://www.vegusto.ch/product_details/103 WET snacks

Vitaveg Italy:
https://vitaveg.pet/product/dog-croquettes/?lang=en WET and DRY

Herrmann Germany:
https://www.futterservice-fulda.de/hunde/feuchtnahrung/443/herrmann-s-fleischlos-12x400g

For EUROPE Compassion Circle suppliers of VEGEYEAST VEGECAT/VEGEDOG and VEGEKIT/VEGEPUP etc are in the Netherlands Vegavriend who sell ready made vegan pet foods also. EVOLUTION, Ami and Benevo:
https://www.vegavriend.nl/c-4674916/compleet

Germany distributor Fulda also supplies various brands in Europe, Fulda. extra brands like Greta, Bubeck, Vegdog, Green, Fitness, Herrmann, V-dog etc:
https://www.futterservice-fulda.de/schnellbestellung

UK Manufacturer and Distributor of various brands but not vegeyeast or vegecat etc supplements or Evolution and manufacturer of British Brand sold world wide “Benevo” is www.veggiepets.com

CANADA supplier of many brands including EVOLUTION are Vecado Canada:
https://vecado.ca

_

Sub-Section 1B14c:
Animal Rescue:

“Animal Shelter Statistics”:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/animal-shelter-statistics

“No Kill Advocacy Center”:
http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/shelter-reform/no-kill-equation

Nathan Winograd’s blog:
http://www.nathanwinograd.com

“Humane Fix”:
https://sites.google.com/site/humanefix

“HSUS Expo 2014: Demand Exceeds Supply” (Welfarist):
http://vimeo.com/100050415
_

Sub-Section 1B15:
Veganism And Human Rights Issues:

“Vegan Diet Impacts Recidivism”:
http://prisonlawblog.com/blog/vegan-diet-impacts-recidivism

“Slaughterhouses and Increased Crime Rates”:
http://www.animalstudies.msu.edu/Slaughterhouses_and_Increased_Crime_Rates.pdf
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1086026609338164

“Food Not Bombs” organization:
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/contacts.html

“North Country Food Alliance”:
http://northcountryfoodalliance.org

“Food Empowerment Project”:
http://www.foodispower.org

“Food for Life Global”:
http://www.ffl.org/en

“Agriculture and Health Policies in Conflict How Subsidies Tax our Health”:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/agriculture-and-health-policies-unhealthful-foods

“Taxpayers Fund Animal Cruelty and Environmental Devastation”:
http://gentleworld.org/taxpayers-fund-animal-cruelty-and-environmental-devastation

“Farming subsidies: this is the most blatant transfer of cash to the rich”:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/01/farm-subsidies-blatant-transfer-of-cash-to-rich
_

Sub-Section 1B16:
Welfare-Watch (observing the moral confusion in Animal Welfare and Single-Issue Campaigns):

Sub-Section 1B16a:
Video Section:

“Happy Meatopia: How Conflict of Interest is Damaging Animal Advocacy”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC3o0AfQtCI&sns=em

“Rant On Gradualism”:
http://evolveconsciousness.org/rant-gradualism
_

Sub-Section 1B16b:
Text-Based Info (primarily):

Sub-Section 1B16b1:
Animal Welfare:

“Why ‘Every Little Bit Helps’ Isn’t Helping A Bit”:
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/why-every-little-bit-helps-isnt-helping-a-bit

“Language Matters Vol. 2 – Animals Aren’t ‘Voiceless’, We’re Just Not Listening”:
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/language-matters-vol-2-animals-arent-voiceless-were-just-not-listening

More on welfarism and single-issue campaigns by Keith Berger:
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/my-thoughts-on-single-issue-animal-rights-campaigns
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/until-cages-are-only-a-memory
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/on-honesty-and-consistency-in-vegan-advocacy
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/why-meatless-monday-is-meaningless
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/briefly-meatless-monday-addendum-the-speciesist-comment-of-the-day
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/vegan-outreach-proudly-creating-vegetarians
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/multi-level-manipulation-welfare-wednesday
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/compassion-over-killing-and-their-timeshare-approach-to-animal-rights

“How Co-option of Grass-Roots Activism Played Out in Kansas City’s First VegFest”:
http://joannfarb.weebly.com/blog/vfa

“So What’s the Matter with Mercy for Animals?”:
http://my-face-is-on-fire.blogspot.com/2012/12/so-whats-matter-with-mercy-for-animals.html

“Some Thoughts on Why Vegans Criticise Vegans for Promoting Veganism”:
http://veganismisnonviolence.com/2014/02/11/criticisingvegans

“On Speciesism And Token Gestures”:
http://my-face-is-on-fire.blogspot.com/2014/06/on-speciesism-and-token-gestures.html?showComment=1404382988030

“Animal Advocacy and The Scientific Method: The Humane Research Council Study”:
http://veganpublishers.com/animal-advocacy-and-the-scientific-method-the-humane-research-council-study

My writings on Welfarism:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/why-animal-welfare-doesnt-work
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/yet-another-reason-why-sics-dont-work

“Is Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) anti-vegan?”:
http://www.vegantrove.com/podcasts/VeganTrove-2015-08-25-0019.mp3
http://www.vegantrove.com/2015/08/26/vegan-trove-podcast-0019

” ‘Vegan’ Outreach has blood on their hands”:
http://www.examiner.com/article/vegan-outreach-has-blood-on-their-hands

“The Humane Society of the United States: The Public Relations Branch of Animal Industry”:
http://veganismisnonviolence.com/2014/09/07/hsusindustrypartners

“Why ‘Happy Meat’ Is Always Wrong”:
https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/435640/1/why-happy-meat-is-always-wrong

“Advanced Advocacy”:
http://www.humanemyth.org/advancedadvocacy.htm

Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary:
http://www.peacefulprairie.org/freerange1.html

“Invasion of the Movement Snatchers: A Social Justice Cause Falls Prey to the Doctrine of “Necessary Evil” By James LaVeck – October, 2006:
http://www.humanemyth.org/invasion.htm

“Activists have no business promoting the agenda of corporate lobbyists”:
http://aella.org/2012/04/activists-have-no-business-promoting-the-agenda-of-corporate-lobbyists

“The HSUS Missouri Agriculture Council”:
https://donotlink.it/mX1E

“Greenpeace Supports Killing Whales — But Do Detractors Support Something Similar?”
http://challengeoppression.com/2010/06/21/greenpeace-supports-killing-whales-but-do-detractors-support-something-similar

“A critique of Vegan Outreach literature”:
http://www.examiner.com/article/a-critique-of-vegan-outreach-literature

Anders Branderud’s archive of answers to Welfarism (among other things):
http://bloganders.blogspot.no/2014/05/abolitionist-veganism-articles.html

“Legal Protections for Farm Animals”:
http://www.aspca.org/fight-cruelty/farm-animal-cruelty/legal-protections-farm-animals

Professor Gary Francione on Welfarism:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/animal-welfare-regulation-happy-exploitation-and-speciesism
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-four-problems-of-animal-welfare-in-a-nutshell
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/animal-welfare-militant-direct-action-mantras-and-faith
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/veganism-just-another-way-of-reducing-suffering-or-a-fundamental-principle-of-justice-nonviolence

“Incremental Reform in the Human Context Is Not Analogous to Welfare Reform and Single-Issue Campaigns in the Nonhuman Context”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/incremental-reform-human-nonhuman-contexts

Sea Shepherd is not an AR org.:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/sea-shepherd-weighs-in-on-cecil-the-lion-insisting-on-veganism-is-purism-and-elitist

_

Sub-Section 1B16b2:
Single Issue Campaigns:

“My Thoughts on Single-Issue Animal “Rights” Campaigns”:
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/my-thoughts-on-single-issue-animal-rights-campaigns

“”Vague-an” Outreach (the organization)? Never. Abolitionism? Always”:
http://blog.veganeducationgroup.com/vague-an-outreach-never-abolitionism-always

“Commentary #16: Responding to Questions: Single-Issue Campaigns and MDA Opposition to the Abolitionist Approach”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/commentary-16-responding-to-questions

“Abolition and Incremental Reform”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/abolition-and-incremental-reform

“A Good Example of What’s Wrong with Single-Issue Campaigns”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/good-example-whats-wrong-single-issue-campaigns

“Why Welfare Reform Campaigns and Single-Issue Campaigns Necessarily Promote Animal Exploitation”:
https://www.abolitionistapproach.com/14542-2

“A Short Note on Abolitionist Veganism as a Single Issue Campaign”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/a-short-note-on-abolitionist-veganism-as-a-single-issue-campaign

“Hey, Is That Milk on Your Balaclava?”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/hey-is-that-milk-on-your-balaclava

“Important Announcement: No Factory-Farmed Small Fish Friday”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/important-announcement-no-factory-farmed-small-fish-friday

“Is Every Campaign a Single-Issue Campaign?”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/is-every-campaign-a-single-issue-campaign

“Multiple Choice Test”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/multiple-choice-test

“New York Times Debate on Carriage Horses”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/new-york-times-debate-carriage-horses

“On Johnny Weir, Single-Issue Campaigns, Treatment, and Abolitionist Veganism”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/on-johnny-weir-single-issue-campaigns-treatment-and-abolitionist-veganism

“Save a Seal; Eat Non-Canadian Seafood”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/save-a-seal-eat-non-canadian-seafood

“Single-Issue Campaigns and the Adoption/Fostering of Homeless Nonhuman Animals”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/single-issue-campaigns-and-the-adoptionfostering-of-homeless-nonhuman-animals

“Single-Issue Campaigns in Human & Nonhuman Contexts”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/single-issue-campaigns-and-in-human-nonhuman-contexts

“The Great Ape Project: Not so Great”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-great-ape-project-not-so-great

“The Kapparos Campaign: A Good Example of What’s Wrong with Single-Issue Campaigns”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-kapparos-campaign-a-good-example-whats-wrong-single-issue-campaigns

“The Ringling Circus Elephants: Another “Victory” That Isn’t”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/ringling-circus-elephants-another-victory-isnt

“Why Not Single Issue Campaigns And Petitions”:
http://elated.co.za/why-not-single-issue-campaigns-and-petitions

“Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit: What Is Wrong with Single Issue Campaigns?”:
http://www.howtogovegan.org/singleissuecampaigns

“Why Protests Are For The Most Part Useless”:
http://thevegancommunicator.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/why-protests-are-for-the-most-part-useless-2

Palm Oil Is Vegan:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/palm-oil-is-vegan
https://scentofavegan.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/a-vegan-perspective-on-palm-oil
http://www.theswitchreport.com.au/top-stories/boycotting-palm-oil-not-way-save-orangutans

_

Sub-Section 1B16b3:
Defining Abolitionism In Regards To Welfarism And SICs:

“Factionalism in the Nonhuman Animal Rights Movement”:
http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/07/factionalism-in-nonhuman-animal-rights.html

“Ten Myths of New Welfarism”:
https://uvearchives.wordpress.com/category/ten-myths-of-new-welfarism

“Reclaiming Abolitionism: It’s Time For Us To Take A Stand For Animals”:
https://our-compass.org/2013/07/24/reclaiming-abolitionism-its-time-for-us-to-take-a-stand-for-animals

My explanation of the various “animal movement” factions in a nutshell:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/what-is-animal-rights
_

Sub-Section 1B16b4:
Evidence Of The Ineffectiveness Of S.I.C.s:

“Reining in the Elephants: Thinking Critically about Single-Issue Campaigns”:
http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2015/03/reining-in-elephants-thinking.html
_

Sub-Section 1B16b5:
PETA:

http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/links/p2900/newsweek-magazine.pdf
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=710775368978700&id=162378977151678

“Deconstructing PETA’s Thinking”:
http://thevegancommunicator.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/deconstructing-petas-thinking

“PETA: A Corporate Tangle Of Contradictions”:
http://veganismisnonviolence.com/2012/04/02/peta-a-corporate-tangle-of-contradictions

“When Sex Doesn’t Sell: Using Sexualized Images of Women Reduces Support for Ethical Campaigns”:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi/10.1371/journal.pone.0083311

“PETA fat-shames in ‘Save the Whales’ campaign”:
http://feministing.com/2009/08/17/peta-fat-shames-in-save-the-whales-campaign

“PETA cool with lobster death – if at the White House”:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/peta-cool-with-lobster-death-if-at-the-white-house/article/2530980

“PETA employees’ prosecution exposed a shocking (and deadly) practice”:
http://www.examiner.com/article/peta-employees-prosecution-exposed-a-shocking-and-deadly-practice

“PETA’s Death Cult, Part 1: Celebrities Getting Naked in the Name of Euthanasia”:
http://dysarm.com/petas-death-cult-2

“PETA’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad History of Killing Animals”:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/petas-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-history-of-killing-animals/254130

“Controlling an animal as deadly as a weapon” or how PETA advocates killing all pitbulls:
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Controlling-an-animal-as-deadly-as-a-weapon-2629558.php

“Don’t turn your back on feral cats” or how PETA advocates killing all feral cats:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Don-t-turn-your-back-on-fe-by-People-for-the-Eth-101022-19.html

“Strange but True… PETA’s stance on Feral Cats…”:
http://www.feralchange.org/#!petas-policy-on-ferals–seriously/c10cq

My blog post on PETA:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/is-peta-justified
_

Sub-Section 1B16b6:
Animals Harmed In Entertainment:

“What Does “No Animals Were Harmed” Mean?”:
http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsinentertainment/a/What-Does-No-Animals-Were-Harmed-Mean.htm
http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsinentertainment/a/What-Does-No-Animals-Were-Harmed-Mean_2.htm

“Shocking truth behind the ‘no animals were harmed’ certificate in movies”:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513407/How-Hollywood-animals-repeatedly-harmed-movie-TV-production.html
_

Sub-Section 1B17:
On Violence In The ARM:

Gary Francione Commentary #5: On Violence:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/a-commentary-on-violence

“A Comment on Violence”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/a-comment-on-violence

“Gandhi: On the 62nd Anniversary of His Death”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/gandhi-on-the-62nd-anniversary-of-his-death

“Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Dream and Our Reality”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/martin-luther-king-jr-his-dream-and-our-reality

“More on Violence and Animal Rights”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/more-on-violence-and-animal-rights

“On Violence”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/on-violence

“On Violence as ‘Entertainment’ “:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/violence-entertainment

“On Vivisection and Violence”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/on-vivisection-and-violence

“Opposing Views: On Violence”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/opposing-views-on-violence

“Peter Singer and I Agree on One Thing: Nonviolence”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/peter-singer-and-i-agree-on-one-thing-nonviolence

“The Religion of Non-Violence”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-religion-of-non-violence

“Veganism and Nonviolence”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/veganism-and-nonviolence

My blog post on violence:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/violence-will-never-advance

“On Militant Direct Action”:
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/on-militant-direct-action

“On ‘Fur-Hags’ And ‘Fucking Bitches’ “:
http://www.easyvegan.info/2009/01/25/on-fur-hags-and-fucking-bitches
_

Sub-Section 1B18:
On Graphic Imagery:
“On Cruelty Videos”:
https://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/on-cruelty-videos

“Every Picture Tells A Story”:
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/every-picture-tells-a-story
_

Sub-Section 1B19:
Logic And Myth Regarding Animal Rights:

Sub-Section 1B19a:
Video Section:

“Speciesism. A Debate”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLmnt63VGgc

“Colleen Patrick-Goudreau: Debunking the Myths of Veganism”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od_cqvr-ueY

“Meat Creates Jobs That People Would Lose in a Vegan World”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_tRaMpmFJ8

“Should “Anti-Science” Views Be Given a Platform?”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PidPd1sUE-I

“How Wolves Change Rivers”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

“Stop Social Conditioning Now”:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVuHFfX1DmTNnWiVEqIpCA

“VERSUS: The Amazing Atheist | Video Response [Part 1]”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIacX8rPoKw

“VERSUS: MrRepzion | Video Response [Part 1]”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQP8KyWPWJs
_

Sub-Section 1B19b:
Text-Based Links:

Sub-Section 1B16b1:
Effective Argumentation:

“Think Again: How to Reason and Argue”:
https://www.coursera.org/course/thinkagain

“How To Not Lose An Argument”:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/3k/how_to_not_lose_an_argument

The Continuum Fallacy at Wikipedia:
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Continuum_fallacy
http://lesswrong.com/lw/mm/the_fallacy_of_gray

“To change Attitudes, Don’t Argue — Agree, Extremely”:
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-paradoxical-thinking-20140715-story.html
_

Sub-Section 1B19b2:
Lists Of Fallacies In Regards To Veganism:

“FAQs”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/faqs

“Frequently Asked Questions”:
https://ethicalveganeducation.com/FAQ

Catalog Of Logical Fallacies:
http://cruelty-free.org/science/part-1-catalog-of-logical-fallacies-used-to-justify-inhumanity

Animal Rights and Vegan Discussion Fallacies:
http://www.yourcybercourt.info/fallacies/list.html

“Frequently Asked Questions about Veganism”:
http://www.idausa.org/vegandays/faq.html

“Guide to justifications for harming and exploiting animals”:
http://www.vegansidekick.com/guide

“Your Vegan Fallacy Is”:
http://yourveganfallacyis.com/en

“Master List Of Logical Fallacies”:
http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/ENGL1311/fallacies.htm

_

Sub-Section 1B19b3:
The Myth Of Human Superiority:

“What scientific idea is ready for retirement?” (of note is the answer by Irene Pepperberg):
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jan/12/what-scientific-idea-is-ready-for-retirement-edge-org
_

Sub-Section 1B19b4:
The “What Would Happen To All The Animals” argument:

“What Will Happen to the Animals When The World Goes Vegan?”:
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/04/what-will-happen-to-the-animals-when-the-world-goes-vegan

“HOW TO RESPOND TO… ‘IF EVERYONE WENT VEGAN, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO ALL THE FARM ANIMALS?’ “:
http://www.veganmainstream.com/2013/06/21/how-to-respond-to-if-everyone-went-vegan-what-would-happen-to-all-the-farm-animals

“What Will Happen to the Animals if Everyone Goes Vegan?”:
http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalrights101/a/What-Will-Happen-To-The-Animals-If-Everyone-Goes-Vegan.htm

“10 Reasons You Should NOT Go Vegan”:
http://www.theveganwoman.com/10-reasons-you-should-not-go-vegan

“What Would Happen To The Animals?”:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/what-would-happen-to-the-animals
_

Sub-Section 1B19b5:
Logical Errors About Vivisection:

http://speakingofresearch.com/2013/10/29/some-animal-rights-philosophers-say-the-darndest-things
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/animal-rights/why-debate-when-you-can-publish-unopposed-nonsense
http://www.afma-curedisease.org/pdf/ringach.pdf
_

Sub-Section 1B19b6:
Anti-“Former Vegan” Arguments:

“On Ex-Vegans”:
https://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/on-ex-vegans

“Facing Failing Health On A Vegan Diet”:
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2013/01/facing-failing-health-on-a-vegan-diet

“What The Blonde Vegan & Carrie On Vegan Can Teach Us About Eating Healthfully”:
http://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/2014/07/17/what-the-blonde-vegan-carrie-on-vegan-can-teach-us-about-eating-healthfully

“How to Gain Fame and Fortune as an Ex-Vegan in Roughly Five Easy Steps?…”:
http://veganfeministagitator.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-gain-fame-and-fortune-as-ex.html

“Our Vegan Diet Almost Killed Us – No, Really”:
http://www.eatplantsdrinkbeer.com/readup/2015/11/12/our-vegan-diet-almost-killed-us
_

Sub-Section 1B19b7:
“Blood Type” Arguments:

“It’s not about your blood type, research shows”:
http://news.utoronto.ca/popular-diet-theory-debunked

“Cusack Leila, et al, Blood type diets lack supporting evidence: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr, July 2013; ajcn.058693.”
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2013/05/22/ajcn.113.058693

“Moen T., Blood Type Diet—science or fantasy. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2001 Jan 30;121(3):355-8”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11242883
http://nutritionfacts.org/questions/the-blood-type-diet-fact-or-fiction
http://pcrm.org/health/diets/ffl/newsletter/eat-right-for-your-blood-type

“blood type diet”:
http://www.skepdic.com/bloodtypediet.html

“Blood Type Diet Debunked”:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/blood-type-diet-debunked

–

Sub-Section 1B19b8:
The “Veganism Kills Babies” Argument:

Sub-Section 1B19b8a:
Veganism Does Not Kill Babies:

Vegan child death misrepresented:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/baby-breastfed-by-vegan-mother-dies

Non-vegan child death (18-month-old, Vermilion, OH, USA):
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/356695/28/Toddler-dies-of-starvation-parents-arrested

Non-vegan child death (1-year-old, village of Makho in Black Sea region of Adjara, Georgia): http://www.rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=48443&pg=1&im=main

Non-vegan child death (2-month-old, Thibodaux, LA, USA):
http://www.wdsu.com/Investigators-Baby-Died-From-Severe-Malnutrition-Mother-Arrested/13388494

Non-vegan child death (Phoenix, AZ, USA):
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/22810569/2013/07/10/phoenix-police-investigate-child-death

Non-vegan child death (14-month-old, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.):
http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20130701/NEWS06/307010037/Baby-N-C-airman-died-from-severe-malnutrition-autopsy-says

Vegan child death (11-month-old, parents: Joel and Sergine Le Moaligou, France): http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/01/joel-sergine-le-moaligou-convicted

Vegan child death (6-month-old, parents: Deborah and Roby Jan Moorhead, Auckland, New Zealand, 2002):

Vegan child death (6-weeks-old, child: Crown Shakur, parents: Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31, Atlanta, Georgia, USA 2004):

Vegan child deaths:
http://naturalhygienesociety.org/diet-veganbaby.html

Vegan child death (6-months-old, child: Woyah, parents: Joseph Andressohn, 36, and Lamoy Andressohn, 30, Florida, USA):

Vegan child death (15-months-old, Joseph and Silva Swinton, Queens, NY, USA, 2003):
“6.9 million children under the age of five died in 2011.” “About one third of all child deaths are linked to malnutrition.”

That equals 2.3 MILLION babies that died in 2011 from malnutrition around the world. Almost all were not on a vegan diet:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs178/en

“Deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc result in deaths”
“deficiencies of iodine and iron, together with stunting, can contribute to children not reaching their developmental potential”:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/malnutrition-causes-45-per-cent-of-deaths-of-underfive-children-report/article4788613.ece

The main causes of death in malnutrition:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6433943

The Lancet: Nearly half of all child deaths caused by malnutrition:
“malnutrition is now responsible for around 3·1 million deaths in children under five annually.”: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/2013-06/lancet-nearly-half-all-child-deaths-caused-malnutrition

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies affect up to two billion people:
http://www.gainhealth.org/about-malnutrition/vitamin-and-mineral-deficiencies#footnoteref2_co9jpm3

Examples of elements added to fortify non-vegan foods: Iodized Salt, Folic Acid, Niacin, Vitamin D, Calcium:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortified_food#Examples_of_fortified_foods
_

Sub-Section 1B19b8b:
How To Raise Healthy Vegan Children:

“Baby-Led Weaning for the Mini Vegan”:
http://www.theveganwoman.com/baby-led-weaning-for-the-mini-vegan

“Natural Weaning And Healthy Vegan Kids”:
http://www.vegsource.com/jess-parsons/natural-weaning-and-healthy-vegan-kids.html

“Baby’s First Vegan Foods”:
http://stayingvegan.com/2010/05/babys-first-vegan-foods

“Vegan Breastmilk Weaning Age?”:
http://www.circleofmoms.com/moms-who-are-raising-vegan-or-vegetarian-children-and-babies/vegan-breastmilk-weaning-age-531011
_

Sub-Section 1B19b9:
The “Meat Made Us Smarter” Argument:

“Meat made us smarter”:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=576017022506358&id=575976675843726

“WHY “MEAT MADE US SMART” IS A DUMB IDEA”:
http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/2013/03/20/why-meat-made-us-smart-is-a-dumb-idea

“Why you can all stop saying meat eating fueled evolution of larger brains right now”:
http://evolvinghealthscience.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/why-you-can-all-stop-saying-meat-eating.html?m=1

“Brain frontal lobes not sole centre of human intelligence”:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/du-bfl051013.php

“It’s Curtains For The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis”:
http://paleovegan.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/its-curtains-for-expensive-tissue.html

“Energetics and the evolution of human brain size”:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7375/full/nature10629.html

“Speciesist Science: Animal Flesh & Human Brain Evolution: Dispelling Myths”:
http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a17b6bb876e4ee5e67084608d&id=c643f3a690&e=f5094e8bf2

“Our Brains Need Cholesterol”:
http://plantpositive.com/22-cholesterol-confusion-5-cho
_

Sub-Section 1B19b10:
The “Plants Are Sentient” Argument:

“Debunking a myth: plant consciousness”:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8052213

“The Ad Plantarum Fallacy: Because Plants Don’t Have Feelings”:
http://veganhedonists.com/blogs/ad-plantarum-fallacy-because-plants-dont-have-feelings

“People For the Ethical Treatment of Plants: 4 Reasons Why the “Plant Sentience” Argument Doesn’t Work”:
http://veganrabbit.com/2013/03/18/plant-sentience-and-pain

“Broccoli vs. Animals?”:
http://www.vegetus.org/essay/plants.htm

“But Plants Have Feelings, Too!”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mikko-alanne/plant-feelings_b_932305.html
_

Sub-Section 1B19b11:
What’s Wrong With Vegetarianism?:

“Commentary #1: Vegetarianism as a “Gateway” to Veganism?”
http://media.blubrry.com/garylfrancione/p/www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/podcast/20090809-araa-commentary-1.mp3
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/vegetarianism-as-a-gateway-to-veganism

Some Comments on Vegetarianism as a “Gateway” to Veganism:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/some-comments-on-vegetarianism-as-a-gateway-to-veganism
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/pdf/the-vegan-2010spring.pdf

“What Is Wrong with Vegetarianism?”:
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/what-is-wrong-with-vegetarianism

“Vegan and vegetarian: Why they are not similar”:
https://theresanelephantintheroomblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/vegan-and-vegetarian-why-they-are-not-similar

I Wonder What Donald Watson, Founder of the Vegan Society, Would Think:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/i-wonder-what-donald-watson-founder-of-the-vegan-society-would-think

It’s Not 1946:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/its-not-1946

The Need for a Vegan Society:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-need-for-a-vegan-society

Vegetarianism First?:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/vegetarianism-first

_

Sub-Section 1B19b12:
The “Veganism Kills More Animals In Crop Production” Argument:

“LEAST HARM: A DEFENSE OF VEGETARIANISM FROM STEVEN DAVIS’S OMNIVOROUS PROPOSAL” by GAVERICK MATHENY:
http://fewd.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/inst_ethik_wiss_dialog/Matheny__G._2003_Defense_of_Veg__in_J._Agric_Ethics.pdf

“Veganism: less grain for cattle, fewer animals killed in grain fields”:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/vegetariansim3a–less-grains-for-animals2c-less-animals-kille/4679802

“Contrasting Harms: Vegan Agriculture versus Animal Agriculture”:
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/contrasting-harms-vegan-agriculture-versus-animal-agriculture

“DEBUNKING: DOES CULTIVATION KILL MORE ANIMALS THAN LIVESTOCK FARMING?”:
https://anupamkatkar.com/2015/10/08/debunking-cultivating-crops-for-vegans-kills-more-animals-than-pasture-grazing-livestock
_

Sub-Section 1B19b13:
The “Using Animals Is Natural” Argument:

_

Sub-Section 1B19b14:
The ” ‘In Vitro Meat’ Is A Boon To Animal Rights” Argument:

“Cultured Meat Club (Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?)”:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/keith-berger/cultured-meat-club-do-you-really-want-to-hurt-me/1356094557753973

“Vegan Trove Ep 35: “ ‘Clean Meat’ Part 1: Some Ethical Considerations” “:
http://www.vegantrove.com/podcasts/VeganTrove-2016-07-05-0035Pt1.mp3
http://www.vegantrove.com/2016/07/05/vegan-trove-0035pt1

“Vegan Trove Ep 35: “ ‘Clean Meat’ Part 2: Some Practical Implications and Unforeseen Outcomes” “:
http://www.vegantrove.com/podcasts/VeganTrove-2016-07-05-0035-Pt2.mp3
http://www.vegantrove.com/2016/07/04/vegan-trove-0035-pt2

“The ‘Clean Meat’ Hoax”:
https://www.cleanmeat-hoax.com

“Trading Patronage for Power in the Animal Right’s Movement”:
http://joannfarb.weebly.com/blog/trading-patronage-for-power-in-the-animal-rights-movement

“What’s Wrong With In Vitro Meat?”:
https://verdict.justia.com/2013/10/02/whats-wrong-with-in-vitro-meat

_

Sub-Section 1B19b15:
The “Savory Approach” Argument:

Grass-Fed Beef Is Not Better For The Environment:
http://www.examiner.com/article/environmental-experts-grass-fed-beef-not-more-eco-friendly-than-grain-fed-beef

“Alan Savory: Eat Meat and Save the World?”:
http://www.monbiot.com/2014/08/04/eat-meat-and-save-the-world

“Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems”:
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/163431

“Cows Against Climate Change: The Dodgy Science Behind the TED Talk”:
http://www.inexactchange.org/blog/2013/03/11/cows-against-climate-change

“A Call To Counter The False Solution Of Regenerative Grazing”:
https://seedthecommons.org/a-call-to-counter-the-false-solution-of-regenerative-grazing

_

Sub-Section 1B19b16:
The Atkins Diet:

“Atkins Exposed”:
http://www.atkinsexposed.org

_

Sub-Section 1B19b17:
Info On Vaccinations:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VmDit1Bn2jQ/T7115vXWkgI/AAAAAAAAARc/hQGvS6uG4bw/s640/us-deaths-1900-1965.jpg

“My CRYSTAL Clear Stance on Vaccines (which aren’t immunizations)”:
http://www.drkurtperkins.com/2012/05/my-crystal-clear-stance-on-vaccines.html

“Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)”:
http://www.nvic.org/injury-compensation.aspx
_

Sub-Section 1B19b18:
Responses To Specific Single Fallacies:

“Moral Concern, Moral Impulse, and Logical Argument in Animal Rights Advocacy”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/moral-concern-moral-impulse-and-logical-argument-in-animal-rights-advocacy

“Veganism: Morality, Health, and the Environment”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/veganism-morality-health-and-the-environment

“Single-Issue Campaigns and the Adoption/Fostering of Homeless Nonhuman Animals”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/single-issue-campaigns-and-the-adoptionfostering-of-homeless-nonhuman-animals

“Human Rights And Animal Rights: Perfect Together”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/human-rights-and-animal-rights-perfect-together

Answers to fallacies by “Veganator”:
“It is all about calories in versus calories burned”:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=578641618910565&id=575976675843726

“But dairy builds strong bones”:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=576533429121384&id=575976675843726

“Humans can eat meat, so that means we are omnivores”:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=576018982506162&id=575976675843726

“I have a slow metabolism which is why I am overweight”:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=576010179173709&id=575976675843726

“Why Hitler Was Not a Vegetarian” by Rynn Berry:
http://www.vegsource.com/berry/hitler.html

“An Open Letter to the Facebook Commenter Who Said that Vegans Are Hippie Fascists”:
http://veganfeministagitator.blogspot.com/2014/02/an-open-letter-to-facebook-commenter.html

“People Are Not Vegan Because Of You” by Gary Smith:
http://thethinkingvegan.com/articles/people-are-not-vegan-because-of-you

“Animal Suffering Isn’t An Enigma So Let’s Get Over It”:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201408/animal-suffering-isnt-enigma-so-lets-get-over-it

“Are Vegetarians Less Healthy than Meat-Eaters?”:
http://www.theveganrd.com/2014/04/are-vegetarians-less-healthy-than-meat-eaters.html

“Top 10 Retorts to Hunter Fallacies”:
http://exposingthebiggame.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/top-10-retorts-to-hunters-fallacies

“Where Do Humans Really Rank on the Food Chain?”:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/where-do-humans-really-rank-on-the-food-chain-180948053

“Members of the Maasai Tribe of Kenya Request IFA’s Help”:
http://www.ifundafrica.org/md/news/260-members-of-the-maasai-tribe-of-kenya-request-ifas-help.html

“If You Were Alone on a Deserted Island With a Pig, Would You Eat the Pig?”:
http://kirschnerskorner.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/if-you-were-alone-on-a-deserted-island-with-a-pig-would-you-eat-the-pig

http://www.vegcomic.com/2013/01/ask-a-stupid-question

“Don’t Tell Me What To Do”:
http://gentleworld.org/dont-tell-me-what-to-do

“The Abolitionist Zombie: Am I A Mindless Follower Of Gary Francione?”:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/the-abolitionist-zombie

“Veganism as a Minimum Standard of Decency”:
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/veganism-as-a-minimum-standard-of-decency

“Your Love Of Quinoa Is Good News For Andean Farmers”:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/07/16/202737139/is-our-love-of-quinoa-hurting-or-helping-farmers-who-grow-it

“Kids (and Animals) Who Fail Classic Mirror Tests May Still Have Sense of Self”:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kids-and-animals-who-fail-classic-mirror
_

Sub-Section 1B19b19:
Miscellaneous Links:

Rbutr App.:
http://blog.rbutr.com/2014/02/introducing-the-rbutr-iframe-rbutr-anywhere-anytime-any-platform-link-to-misinformation-safely

Tom Billings and beyondveg.com:
http://www.ecologos.org/tb.htm

“Rhys Southan’s attempt to discredit veganism”:
http://www.veggieboards.com/t/141776/rhys-southans-attempt-to-discredit-veganism

“Harriet Hall’s ‘Critique’ of Greger’s “Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death” by Don Matesz:
http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2013/02/harriet-halls-critique-of-gregers.html

“Calling Out Sam Harris”:
http://magnusvinding.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/calling-out-sam-harris.html

“Ethical Arguments Against Ethical Veganism”:
http://www.ourhenhouse.org/2014/07/the-ethical-arguments-against-ethical-veganism-2

“Science Reveals How The Brains Of Social Justice Activists Are Different From Everyone Else’s”:
http://mic.com/articles/92253/science-reveals-how-the-brains-of-social-justice-activists-are-different-from-everyone-else-s
_

Sub-Section 1B20:
Kill Count/Statistics On Exploitation:

“Global Meat Production and Consumption Continue to Rise” (Welfarist):
https://donotlink.it/bxYQ

“Meat Atlas – Facts and figures about the animals we eat” (Welfarist):
https://donotlink.it/wYnp

“Around 3 trillion sea creatures are killed each year by humans”:
http://theveganmothership.tumblr.com/post/75026616244/around-3-trillion-sea-creatures-are-killed-each

Numbers of sea animals killed each year (Welfarist):
https://donotlink.it/GgkP

“World Agriculture: Towards 2015/2030. An FAO perspective” (Welfarist):
https://donotlink.it/Qvkx

“40 Maps That Explain Food In America”:
http://www.vox.com/a/explain-food-america

“USDA’s Wildlife Services killed 4 million animals in 2013; seen as an overstep by some”:
https://donotlink.it/Veln

_

Sub-Section 1B21:
The Growth Of Veganism:

Sub-Section 1B21a:
“How-To” on Creative Non-Oppressive Vegan Advocacy:

Sub-Section 1B21a1:
Miscellaneous:

“Creative, Non-Violent Vegan Education — Easy and Effective”:
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/creative-non-violent-vegan-education-easy-and-effective

“Vegan Education: A Background”:
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/vegan-education-a-background-part-1-of-2
http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/vegan-education-an-incremental-abolitionist-approach-part-2-of-2

“Ten Crucial Tips for Public Outreach Work”:
http://www.internationalvegan.org/ten-crucial-tips-for-public-outreach-work

“VegFest London, October 2019”:
https://goveganworld.com/vegfest-london-october-2019

“Defending Go Vegan World’s Educational Adverts from Challenge – Vegfest 2019“ – Barbara Bolton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WXgaIwioX0

“Defending Go Vegan World’s Educational Adverts from Challenge – Q&A – Vegfest 2019“ – Barbara Bolton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU90zrawlbU

“ASA Rules in favour of Go Vegan World ad”:
https://goveganworld.com/landmark-judgement-animal-rights

“Go Vegan World has accused the National Farmers’ Union of “entirely missing the point”:
https://goveganworld.com/go-vegan-world-hits-back-national-farmers-union-entirely-missing-point-vegan-campaign

“Dairy takes babies from their mothers”:
https://goveganworld.com/why-vegan/the-animals-we-use/dairy-take-babies-mothers

“Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) upholds Go Vegan World’s claim that animals are tortured for research”:
https://goveganworld.com/landmark-ruling-for-tortured-laboratory-animals
_

Sub-Section 1B21a2:
CNOVA (Creative, Non-Oppressive Vegan Advocacy):

How I get non-Vegans to  consider Veganism in a positive manner:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/how-to-create-vegans

My CNOVA Archives:
May 6th, 2014:
https://www.facebook.com/squeezeplay/posts/10202549120142443

Friday, May 30th, 2014:
https://www.facebook.com/squeezeplay/posts/10202952542227743

Saturday, May 31st, 2014:
https://www.facebook.com/squeezeplay/posts/10202960520347191

Sunday, June 1st, 2014:
https://www.facebook.com/squeezeplay/posts/10202966947067855

Tuesday, June 16th 2014:
https://www.facebook.com/squeezeplay/posts/10202978442155225

Friday, September 12th, 2014:
https://www.facebook.com/squeezeplay/posts/10203393018039363

My first time being interviewed on a live webcast!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1SB9AxrW8
–
Sub-Section 1B21a3:
Vegan Education Pamphlets & Flyers:

Flyers by me (click thumbnails and then choose “full-sized versions” at the bottom):
Tearoffs with various animals:

Or right click on the links below and choose “save link as”:

https://s16.postimg.org/j7bdd8jqp/Tearoff_poster_bee_01.jpg

https://s16.postimg.org/525kbfapd/Tearoff_poster_chickens_01.jpg

https://s16.postimg.org/jze1cfnxt/Tearoff_poster_cow_01.jpg

https://s16.postimg.org/nk9wvnshd/Tearoff_poster_fish_01.jpg

https://s16.postimg.org/p0lfdsve9/Tearoff_poster_goat_01.jpg

https://s16.postimg.org/w538mu2nl/Tearoff_poster_pig_01.jpg

https://s16.postimg.org/8s574bmk1/Tearoff_poster_sloth_01.jpg

https://s16.postimg.org/6c3dqh4hd/Tearoff_poster_turkey_01.jpg
–
Various wonderful pamphlets by others:

“Embracing Veganism” by South Florida Vegan Education Group:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0zLVN2DeKCHTkg1OE9lQXdBUjQ

http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/text

http://www.internationalvegan.org/pamphlet

http://www.howdoigovegan.com/abolitionist-veganism/outreach-materials
–
Pamphlets by Vegan Musings:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw3cXrKFRr62ZF81WFM0NFhVVjA/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw3cXrKFRr62TlVvTEx2bV80ek0/view
–
“Reject Speciesism”:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw3cXrKFRr62dHV1MnpmN0hVdE0/view
–
Sub-Section 1B21a4:
Strategy And Tactics In Vegan Advocacy:

“Dog Analogies And Speciesism”:
https://antispeciesistaction.com/animality-blog/dog-analogies-and-speciesism
–
Sub-Section 1B21a5:
Some Sites We Could Use To Educate Pre-Vegans (especially by choosing areas where the highest number of non-Vegans will see our Abolitionist Vegan messages):
https://academia.edu
https://instagram.com
https://ello.co
https://facebook.com
https://vk.com
https://linkedin.com
https://medium.com
https://meetup.com
https://petpav.com
https://pinterest.com
https://plus.google.com
https://quora.com
https://tumblr.com
https://twitter.com
https://vine.co
https://youtube.com
_

Sub-Section 1B21b:
Examples Of The Paradigm Shifting:

Sub-Section 1B21b1:
Former Institutional Exploiters Turned Vegan:

“From Goat Farmer to Sanctuary Founder” (Note: I do not endorse PETA as they are a horribly welfarist organization):
http://www.maplefarmsanctuary.org/item/Our_Story/225/c33

” ‘Animals feel pain’: why a farmer’s son turned vegan”:
http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/animals-feel-pain-why-a-farmer-s-son-turned-vegan-1.1953889

_

Sub-Section 1B21b2:
Miscellaneous:

“Q&A: Hellenic Vincent de Paul, the guy who’s trying to make ‘Vegandale’ a thing”:
https://torontolife.com/food/qa-hellenic-vincent-de-paul-guy-whos-trying-make-vegandale-thing

“The First Vegan Accommodation in NYC!”:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3456576

“Taiwan Is Cooler Than Your Town!”:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/taiwan-opens-first-ever-all-vegan-grocery-store

Read these 2 in order:
http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/allmenareliars/archives/2007/04/red_meat_the_oldest_aphrodisia.html
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/confessions-of-a-vegan-20140730-zx84p.html

“Tal’s Freeze – Big Brother Israel | Channel 2”:
http://vimeo.com/102833111

“Fashion & Veg: You Can Dress Vegan!”:
http://fashionandveg1.blogspot.it/p/chi-sono.html
_

Sub-Section 1B21c:
Science And Statistics:

“How Sweden And The World Will Go Vegan”:
http://bliveganer.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/how-vegan-education-will-make-sweden-and-the-world-go-vegan

“Minority Rules: Scientists Discover Tipping Point for the Spread of Ideas”:
http://news.rpi.edu/luwakkey/2902

“Interest In Vegan Diets On The Rise: Google Trends Notes Public’s Increased Curiosity In Veganism”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/interest-in-vegan-diets-on-the-rise_n_3003221.html
_

Sub-Section 1C:
Books:

Sub-Section 1C1:
Adult-Oriented Books:

“Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation” by Gary L. Francione:
http://www.amazon.com/Animals-Persons-Essays-Abolition-Exploitation/dp/0231139519/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387358845&sr=1-3

“Animals Property & The Law (Ethics And Action)” by Gary L. Francione:
http://www.amazon.com/Animals-Property-The-Ethics-Action/dp/1566392845/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_4

“Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals” by Gary L. Francione & Anna Charlton:
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Like-You-Care-Examination/dp/1492386510/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387358713&sr=8-1&keywords=eat+like+you+care

“Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?” by Gary L. Francione and Alan Watson:
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Animal-Rights-Your-Child/dp/1566396921/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387358845&sr=1-2

“Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement” by Gary L. Francione:
http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Without-Thunder-Ideology-Movement-ebook/dp/B006SVRMN8/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387358845&sr=1-6

“The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation? (Critical Perspectives on Animals: Theory, Culture, Science and Law)” by Gary L. Francione:
http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Rights-Debate-Regulation-Perspectives/dp/0231149557/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387358845&sr=1-4

“Vivisection and Dissection in the Classroom: A Guide to Conscientious Objection” by Gary L. Francione:
http://www.amazon.com/Vivisection-Dissection-Classroom-Conscientious-Objection/dp/1881699005/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387358845&sr=1-5

“Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger?: And Other Questions People Ask Vegans” by Sherry F. Colb:
http://www.amazon.com/Mind-If-Order-Cheeseburger-Questions-ebook/dp/B00DMDT70Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1423095999

“Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict”:
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-15188-7/animal-oppression-and-human-violence
http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Oppression-Human-Violence-Domesecration-ebook/dp/B00CP7EXP4

“Animal Rights/Human Rights: Entanglements of Oppression and Liberation (Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture)”:
http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Rights-Human-Entanglements-Institutions-ebook/dp/B00EGJAVRS

“Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights” by Bob Torres:
http://www.akpress.org/makingakillingebook.html

“Animal Equality” – by Joan Dunayer:
http://www.rootsofcompassion.org/en/literature/animal-rights-animal-liberation/animal-equality-joan-dunayer

“Speciesism” – by Joan Dunayer:
http://www.amazon.com/Speciesism-Joan-Dunayer/dp/0970647565

Sub-Section 1C2:
Children’s Books:

“We’re Vegan!” by Anna Bean:
https://www.createspace.com/4546891

“I Am Not Food” – by Abioseh Joseph Cole:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-am-not-food-vegan-children-s-board-book/x/21928712#
_

These links and tons more:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info

–

Section 2:
Science/Medical/Health/Nutrition:
It has come to my attention that some people are reading this list merely for info on a Plants-Only Diet and refusing to read any of Section 1. Therefore, I’ve decided to include only the following items in Section 2 – I’ve also relegated the section on environment to another, separate post. Please do not ignore the moral arguments for Veganism. Thank you:

–

1) The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly The American Dietetic Association): the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.

“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19562864

2) The Mayo Clinic: the first and largest integrated not-for-profit medical group practice in the world, employing more than 3,800 physicians and scientists and 50,900 allied health staff. It spends $500 million dollars on research a year.

“However, with a little planning a vegetarian diet can meet the needs of people of all ages, including children, teenagers, and pregnant or breast-feeding women. The key is to be aware of your nutritional needs so that you plan a diet that meets them.”

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/vegetarian-diet/art-20046446

3) Kaiser Permanente: the largest managed care organization in the United States, published an article supporting the adoption of a plant-based diet earlier this spring.

“Healthy eating may be best achieved with a plant-based diet, which we define as a regimen that encourages whole, plant-based foods and discourages meats, dairy products, and eggs as well as all refined and processed foods. We present a case study as an example of the potential health benefits of such a diet. Research shows that plant-based diets are cost-effective, low-risk interventions that may lower body mass index, blood pressure, HbA1C, and cholesterol levels. They may also reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases and lower ischemic heart disease mortality rates. Physicians should consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients, especially those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity.”

http://www.thepermanentejournal.org/issues/2013/spring/5117-nutrition.html

***A follow up written by Dr. John McDougall and his son, Dr. Craig McDougall concerning Kaiser Permanente’s warning about potential nutrient deficiencies:

“In our experience of treating more than 5000 patients with a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based (vegan) diet, with follow-up lasting as long as 28 years, we have not seen any deficiencies of protein, iron, calcium, or essential fatty acids.”

https://www.thepermanentejournal.org/issues/2013/fall/5552-diet.html

4) The British National Health Service (NHS): is the largest and the oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It provides the majority of healthcare in England.

“With good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs.”

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-vegan-diet

5) Cleveland Clinic: is regarded as one of the top hospital in the United States. With around 1,700 staff physicians representing 120 medical specialties, this hospital helps patients not only from all 50 states, but from more than 100 other nations.

“There really are no disadvantages to a vegetarian or vegan diet. A vegetarian diet offers many potential health benefits. Choosing vegetarian foods, rather than animal-based ones, for the nutrients you need eliminates much of the saturated fat and cholesterol found in a meat-based diet. A vegetarian diet can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels and help cut calories. These changes can reduce your risk of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and possibly cancer.”

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17593-vegetarianism–heart-health

6) University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC): with 4,200 licensed beds and 400 outpatient sites, UPMC is one of the largest medical centers in the world.

“If properly planned, a vegan diet can provide all the nutrients you need. In general, people who don’t eat meat: Weigh less than people who eat meat. Are less likely to die of heart disease. Have lower cholesterol levels. Are less likely to get: High blood pressure; Prostate cancer; Colon cancer; Type 2 diabetes.”

https://www.upmc.com/health-library/article?hwid=abq2485

7) The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (UCLA): having research centers covering nearly all major specialties of medicine, UCLA is considered on of the top three hospitals in the US. This hospital has been ranked in the top twenty in 15 of the 16 medical specialties ranked in the US News ranking.

“Some of the health benefits of a vegetarian diet may include: [d]ecreased blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure; [l]ower incidence of heart disease, some forms of cancer, and digestive disorders like constipation and diverticula disease; [l]ower incidence of obesity and some forms of diabetes.”

http://www.dining.ucla.edu/housing_site/dining/SNAC_pdf/Vegetarianism.pdf

8) Dr Michael Greger, MD: a physician, author, and internationally recognized speaker on a number of important public health issues. All proceeds from his speaking engagements and the sale of his books and DVDs are donated to his 501(c)3 nonprofit NutritionFacts.org, the first science-based, non-commercial website to provide free daily videos and articles on the latest discoveries in nutrition.

“These are the top 15 causes of death, and a plant based diet can prevent nearly all of them, can help treat more than half of them, and in some cases even reverse the progression of disease, including our top three killers.”

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death

—

Special thanks to Anders Branderud:
http://bloganders.blogspot.no/2013/08/humans-can-live-and-thrive-on-healthy.html

–

Section 3:
Plant-Based Recipes/Vegan Food Guides:

Sub-Section 3A:
Videos:

“You Have Been Opening A Banana Wrong Your Entire Life!”:
http://www.newsiosity.com/videos/entertainment/you-have-been-opening-banana-wrong-your-entire-life-blew-my-mind

How to make Vegan yogurt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvj3u8-7PmU

“Learn How to Make These 5 Easy Raw Vegan Favorites (VIDEOS)”:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/easy-raw-vegan-favorites-videos

“8 Videos of Vegan Recipes You Can Make in Less Than 5 Minutes (VIDEOS)”:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/vegan-recipes-you-can-make-in-less-than-5-minutes-videos
_

Sub-Section 3B:
Text-based:

Sub-Section 3B1:
Food Guides:

Vegan food pyramid:
http://postimg.org/image/ejdv00zj5

Vegan liquor guide:
http://www.barnivore.com

A two-time Cupcake Wars winner on the chemistry of vegan baking:
http://www.splendidtable.org/story/a-two-time-cupcake-wars-winner-on-the-chemistry-of-vegan-baking

“Fits Me”:
http://www.fitsmeapp.com

“The Great Vegan Search Engine”:
https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=007857372892095548138:j_cudozhaew

“Stop Pouring Your Chickpea Liquid Down the Drain. It’s a Magical Ingredient”:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/06/10/aquafaba_baking_with_chickpea_liquid_for_vegan_meringues.html

“Vegan Chocolate Mousse Made With Aquafaba”:
http://www.mywifemakes.com/2015/06/10/vegan-chocolate-mousse-made-with-aquafaba-chickpea-brine

“17 Cooking Hacks Every Vegan Should Know”:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/hacks-every-vegan-should-know?sub=3191089_2839111

Vibrance!: What Vegans Eat”:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.534160356645011.1073741827.452441044816943&type=3

“25 Frugal Items for Your Organic Vegan Grocery List”:
http://www.wisebread.com/25-frugal-items-for-your-organic-vegan-grocery-list

“21 Comfort Snacks That Are Vegan”:
http://inourishgently.com/21-comfort-snacks-that-are-vegan

“Plant-Based On A Budget”:
http://www.plantplate.com/Guide/Detail?GuideID=1006

“Plant-Based On A Budget”:
https://plantbasedonabudget.com
_

Sub-Section 3B2:
Businesses/Companies That Sell Vegan Products:

Sub-Section 3B2a:
Vegan Misc.:

“Shopping Vegan”:
http://shoppingvegan.online

“Vegan Cleaning Products”:
http://thevegantruth.blogspot.com/search/label/Cleaning%20Products%20-Vegan

“Vegan As Printing”:
https://www.facebook.com/veganasprinting1

“ONE OF A KIND VEGAN CERAMIC DISHES”:
http://www.ecodogsandcats.com/blog/one-kind-vegan-ceramic-dishes.html
_

Sub-Section 3B2b:
Vegan Food:

Vegan cheese:
http://www.buteisland.com

Daiya Cheese:
http://us.daiyafoods.com

“So Delicious Dairy Free”:
https://www.facebook.com/sodeliciousdairyfree

“Midas Fine Art Cheeses”:
https://www.facebook.com/midasfineartcheeses

“Freja’s Foods” – They make seitan, a delicious plants-only food which can replicate and replace almost any animal flesh:
http://www.frejasfoods.com

“Replicated Meat – Coming Soon to Major Supermarkets Near You”:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/innovation-dominates-communication-79965946822.html

“Scientists developing cow-free milk that tastes like the real thing”:
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/08/13/this-dairy-milk-is-cow-free

“Lazy Day Foods”:
http://www.lazydayfoods.com/engine/shop/index.html

“Food Fight”:
http://www.foodfightgrocery.com

“Unicorn Grocery”:
https://www.facebook.com/unicorngrocery

“Rescue Chocolate”:
https://www.facebook.com/rescuechocolate

“Natural Candy Store”:
http://www.naturalcandystore.com
_

Sub-Section 3B2c:
Vegan Clothing:

“Vegan Athletic Shoes 2013”:
http://vegan8.me/vegan-athletic-shoes/vegan-athletic-shoes-2013

“Olsenhaus”:
http://www.olsenhaus.com

“MuSkin: A Vegan “Leather” Made Entirely From Mushrooms”:
http://www.ecouterre.com/muskin-a-vegan-leather-made-entirely-from-mushrooms
_

Sub-Section 3B2d:
Vegan Cosmetics:

“Vegan Lip Balms”:
http://thevegantruth.blogspot.com/2014/09/vegan-lip-balms.html

“6 Amazing and Truly Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Brands”:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/cruelty-free-cosmetic-brands

“Tropic Skin Care”:
https://www.tropicskincare.co.uk/shop/caroleellingham
http://www.facebook.com/TropicNorfolk
_

Sub-Section 3B3:
My Favorite Vegan Substitutes:

Tofurky Italian sausage:
http://www.veganstore.com/product/tofurky-italian-sausage/vegan-meat-alternatives

Morningstar Farms BBQ riblets:
https://www.morningstarfarms.com/products/meal-starters/hickory-bbq-riblets
(not sure the above is still being made as I can’t find it around here anymore)

Gardein Sizzling Szechuan beefless strips:
http://gardein.com/products/beefless-strips

Vegenaise:
http://followyourheart.com/products/original-3
_

Sub-Section 3B4:
Recipe Sites:

“VegWeb”:
http://vegweb.com

“Live Vegan”:
http://livevegan.org

“Oh She Glows”:
http://ohsheglows.com

“Post Punk Kitchen”:
http://www.theppk.com

“Vegan Richa”:
http://www.veganricha.com

“VegKitchen with Nava Atlas”:
http://www.vegkitchen.com

“Simply Vegan”:
http://www.simply-vegan.org

“Finding Vegan”:
http://www.findingvegan.com

“Hell Yeah, It’s Vegan!”:
http://hellyeahitsvegan.com

“VeganEasy”:
http://veganeasy.org/30-Day-Menu

“Skip The Bacon: 20 Vegan Breakfast Ideas”:
http://www.brit.co/vegan-breakfast

“Hippie Vegan”:
http://Hippievegan.com
https://www.facebook.com/hippievegan

“Forks Over Knives”:
http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes

“Holy Cow!”:
http://holycowvegan.net/indian-vegan-recipes

“The Buddhist Chef: recipe/seitan”:
http://www.thebuddhistchef.com/recipe/seitan

“Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes Galore 2015!”:
http://www.peacefuldumpling.com/vegan-thanksgiving-recipes-galore-2015

“I Can’t Believe It’s Vegan Gravy”:
http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/i-cant-believe-its-vegan-gravy

“My Vegan Burger King”:
http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/04/07/my-vegan-burger-king

“17 Very Cherry Recipes (All Vegan!)”:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/very-cherry-recipes

“Veggieful.com: Vegan Sausage Roll Recipe”:
http://www.veggieful.com/2013/09/vegan-sausage-roll-recipe.html

“What Fat Vegans Eat”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/194567900666819/254864584637150

“The Vegan Stoner: Peanut Stew”:
http://theveganstoner.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/peanut-stew.html?m=1

“LASAGNA GRILLED CHEESE. NUT-FREE SOY-FREE VEGAN RECIPE”:
http://www.veganricha.com/2014/06/lasagna-grilled-cheese-nut-free-soy.html

“Jeff Novick, MS, RD: My Simple Recipes”:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.204432390124.260255.177550385124

“14 Recipes for Turning Avocados Into OMGados”:
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2014/05/28/14-recipes-for-turning-avocados-into-omgados

“The Simple Veganista: SMOKY CHIPOTLE MAPLE T.L.T.”:
http://thesimpleveganista.blogspot.com/2012/12/smoky-chipolte-maple-tofu-sandwich.html

“The top 10 best vegan recipe websites”:
http://www.thisdishisvegetarian.com/2011/12/the-top-10-best-vegan-recipe-websites.html

“Anna Adey’s Recipes”:
https://www.facebook.com/anna.adey1/media_set?set=a.10151913073610069.1073741840.679240068

“10 Basic Vegan Recipes Even the Worst Cook Can Master”:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/basic-vegan-recipes-even-the-worst-cook-can-master

“First Proper & Best-Ever Vegan ‘Egg Mayonnaise’ (Egg Salad) Sandwich”:
http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/04/06/first-proper-best-ever-vegan-egg-mayonnaise-egg-salad-sandwich
_

Sub-Section 3B4:
Miscellaneous:
“8 Vegetables You Can Regrow Again And Again”:
http://www.trueactivist.com/8-vegetables-that-you-can-regrow-again-and-again

–

Section 4:
Ecological/Environmental:
It has come to my attention that some people are reading this list merely for info on a Plants-Only Diet or the environmental aspects of such, and refusing to read any of Section 1. Therefore, I’ve relegated the section on environment to another, separate post. Please do not ignore the moral arguments for Veganism. Thank you.

–

Section 5:
Veganism-Related (misc. non-Vegan issues related to Veganism):

Sub-Section 5A:
Videos:

Sub-Section 5A1:
Miscellaneous:

“Critical Thinking”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OLPL5p0fMg

“The Long Reach Of Reason”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk7gKixqVNU

_

Sub-Section 5A2:
Effective Advocacy:

“A radical experiment in empathy”: Sam Richards at TEDxPSU:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUEGHdQO7WA

“How to Change the World With Love”: Joey Adler at TEDxMontreal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INZq4LDaNVM

“For argument’s sake” by Daniel H. Cohen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTN9Nx8VYtk

“Tactical Performance: Thinking Theatrically for Powerful Protest: Larry Bogad at TEDxUCDavis”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psRuhwkwt5Q

“Science Of Persuasion”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw

“Rosenberg on Nonviolent Communication ~ NVC”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ-fUVM4Dos

“Nonviolent Communication Part 1 Marshall Rosenberg”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dpk5Z7GIFs&list=PLB7FA52401E74FFE0&index=4

“How To Convince People To Do Whatever You Want”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7dINpMdMRA

“Living the Great Refusal – Dublin talk, May 2014”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUxklv2mDcQ

“The Secret To Winning An Argument Is Ridiculously Simple”:
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-win-an-argument-2014-5
_

Sub-Section 5A2a:
Podcasts:

“YANSS Podcast 023 – What you can learn about dealing with differing political views from bloodthirsty, warring tribes of children”:
http://youarenotsosmart.com/2014/05/07/yanss-podcast-023-what-you-can-learn-about-dealing-with-differing-political-views-from-bloodthirsty-warring-tribes-of-children
_

Sub-Section 5B:
Text-Based Info:

Sub-Section 5B1:
Alternative Political Systems:

“Collaborative Post-Scarcity Commons Resource-Based Gift Economy Anarchism”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/934968119863677

“Moral Problems Of Capitalism”:
http://bloganders.blogspot.no/2014/04/moral-problems-of-capitalism.html

“What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know about Capitalism”:
http://www.indypendent.org/2011/10/18/what-every-environmentalist-needs-know-about-capitalism

Anarcho-Syndicalism at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-syndicalism

Herbert Marcuse at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Marcuse
_

Sub-Section 5B2:
Alternative History:

“A People’s History Of The United States”:
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html

“Against All Odds”:
http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2004/01/against-all-odds
_

Sub-Section 5B3:
Miscellaneous:

World Clock:
http://www.poodwaddle.com/Stats

“More scrutiny for UCLA’s School of Medicine”:
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80018992

“You Decide: Save the People or Save the Planet”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Z7whe-YHk

Evolve Consciousness:
http://evolveconsciousness.org/foundational-living-and-true-unity

“Meditation can Change your Brain Structure”:
http://fractalenlightenment.com/14740/enlightening-video/meditation-can-change-your-brain-structure

“News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier”:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-rolf-dobelli

The “Backfire Effect”:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/?page=full
http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/06/10/the-backfire-effect/
http://www.skepdic.com/backfireeffect.html
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/mariakonnikova/2014/05/why-do-people-persist-in-believing-things-that-just-arent-true.html

“Which Products Should You Buy Fair Trade?”:
http://mambosprouts.com/news/which-products-should-you-buy-fair-trade

“Compassion Incorporated”:
http://www.compassionincorporated.org

Cats are not the real threat to birds:
https://www.alleycat.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=1593

“What is ‘Nutri-washing’ and Why Should You Care?”:
http://www.nutritionbykiki.com/blog/2014/02/21/What-is-Nutri-washing-and-Why-Should-You-Care.aspx

These 10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy:
http://www.realfarmacy.com/these-10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy-2

“15 Things Everyone Would Know If There Were A Liberal Media”:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/07/1229087/-15-things-everyone-would-know-if-there-were-a-liberal-media

“The Scary New Evidence on BPA-Free Plastics”:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-certichem-eastman-bpa-free-plastic-safe

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If you’re not already Vegan, please go Vegan. It’s easy and great for you, incredible for the animals, and wonderful for the planet. Even more important, it’s the morally right thing to do and desperately needed by everyone. If you’re already Vegan, please educate others about why they should go Vegan.

These links and tons more:
https://legacyofpythagoras.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/master-list-of-vegan-info