It’s amazing what you’ll find if you go around poking into the crazy corners of the internet. People are funny and ask the weirdest questions about things they don’t understand. So with that in mind, let’s do a Part 1 on The Weirdest Questions Vegans Are Asked… at least in my opinion.
1. Are vegans against abortion?
Um… how do you answer this question. I know, let’s try something really cool, like the TRUTH 😉 Yes vegans are against abortion, and… no vegans are not against abortion.
Veganism is not a religion although it can certainly be considered an ethical lifestyle choice, but it does not in any religion I am aware of (except for maybe Jainism) play a role. However, most religions do not prohibit veganism either so you can likely be a Muslim vegan, Jewish vegan, Christian vegan etc, etc.
Now, vegetarianism does play a role in some religions. Seventh Day Adventists come to mind, as do Buddhists and Hindus.
Okay, I no y’all are itching to know whether this vegan (the one who writes this blog) is against abortion. No, I’m not. I’m pro choice, but this is not going to turn into a debate so don’t even consider commenting for that purpose.
2. Are vegans against breastfeeding?
Definitely not. Human milk is the best and most appropriate food for a human newborn. In fact, most doctors recommend that babies be breastfed for at least the first 6 months of their lives.
I think the confusion here is that vegans are against milk of other species. But that’s the kicker, other species. Human milk is perfectly designed for baby humans and should be given to them as indicated above.
Now, some vegans might not breastfeed because believe it or not, some women just don’t produce enough breast milk for a baby to thrive on, and some vegans may choose not to breast feed, but that has or should have nothing to do with their veganism.
3. Are vegans against PeTA?
Some vegans are, but not because PeTA or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals doesn’t recommend or support veganism. They do promote veganism. Some vegans feel that PeTA’s approach to campaigning is oftentimes too bold and sometimes sexist.
I see this point of view and I remain somewhat ambivalent. PeTA has helped me personally when I was campaigning at my college’s animal rights group and they have done a lot of good work to help animals. I feel that they are moving more towards a welfarist approach rather than an abolitionist approach to animal rights and that concerns me. But I get why some vegans are against PeTA. What are your thoughts? Are you for or against PeTA? I want to hear from both vegans and omnivores on this.
4. Are vegans against wool?
You better believe it. Wool as most people know is from sheep. However, it is not like giving a human a haircut, it is much crueler. Wool is not vegan because it is an animal product, but more importantly it entails lots of animal suffering.
You can read more about it here. Suffice it to say that sheep are bred for their wool and as such, they have been bred to carry more skin than they normally would in nature. This creates wrinkles but more square footage of skin that grows wool. But because of the wrinkles maggots and other insects can often get in there.
To prevent damage to the sheep (or product really), the farmers carry out mulesing which is basically chopping of a dinner sized chunk of skin without anesthesia after the sheep have been shorn. Barbaric.
5. Are vegans against zoos?
Yes. This is basically jail for innocent animals. And even though modern zoos have come along way from the spectacles of yore, they are still very much inadequate.
For example, elephants will roam several miles looking for food or old watering holes that the matriarch of the herd remembers. They’re very smart and live long lives in herds of up to 1001, so an elephant in a cage puts all of heaven in a rage.
Zoos fancy themselves nowadays as conservationists, but jailing animals is not the best way to conserve them. Would you like to be locked into a room for your entire life just because you were one of the few humans left? I’d hope not.
Don’t support zoos, rather save up and take a safari and watch these majestic animals in their environment. It will give you such a greater appreciation of them than watching them pace in boredom at the zoo. You can also read more about zoos here.
We’ll continue these weird questions about vegans soon. It’s fun and hopefully it’ll help educate the public.
1 – http://www.defenders.org/elephant/basic-facts