People have some serious issues when the word ‘vegan’ comes up. It can trigger defensiveness. But have you considered that you may, in some ways, think like a vegan more than you previously thought? Here are 6 things that, if you believe, you are thinking similarly to a vegan:
1. “I’m Against Animal Cruelty”
You wouldn’t kick a dog or support hurting animals for fun. Most people oppose unnecessary suffering and focus heavily on the cruelty aspect of many actions.
Vegan Logic Check: All of it is unnecessary! We don’t need to bring animals into existence with the purpose of using them for our desires. For the same reasons, cruelty to an individual would be bad (or worthy of taking a stance against), killing them would also be bad. In any other conversation, people would accept that it’s cruel to steal someone’s life from them.
2. “I Love Animals”
You care about animals and feel connected to them. They make you feel positive, and you care about their well-being.
Vegan Logic Check: If you love someone, you wouldn’t subject them to horrific acts. If you love someone, you wouldn’t pay to watch them be whipped at a racecourse in a ‘sport’ they didn’t consent to participating in, or you wouldn’t pay for them to be sent to a slaughterhouse.
3. “I’m Against Keeping Wild Or ‘Exotic’ Animals as Pets”
You find it wrong – even disturbing – when people cage wild animals and keep them as a companion. You understand that they’re not domesticated and reliant on humans, so depriving them of a life that would fulfil them and encouraging poor mental health through lack of stimulation would be a wrong thing to do.
Vegan Logic Check: But we cage and breed animals for food, even when it causes them intense stress and suffering. Then we take it a step further and send them to be removed from existence. We generate an existence for them that’s worse than that of humans we punish for serious crimes.
4. “I’m Against Hunting Animals for Fun”
Most people oppose hunting for sport, like fox hunting, trophy hunting, or other bloodsports that end in the death of an animal, like bullfighting. They recognise it’s violence packaged as tradition.
Vegan Logic Check: If killing animals for fun or to uphold traditions is wrong, why is killing them for taste or to uphold dietary traditions considered normal?
5. “I Don’t Believe in Stealing Animals’ Fur”
Most people are horrified by fur farms and wouldn’t be caught dead in a real fur coat. It feels cruel, outdated, and unnecessary. They’ve likely seen the footage of just how scared the animals are, be they trapped in cages or in the wild, and concluded that none of that was worth it for an item of clothing.
Vegan Logic Check: If it’s wrong to kill animals for their fur, why is it okay to kill them for leather items? Have you not seen the footage of just how scared the animals, be they confined in cramped conditions or living free-range, and concluded that none of that was worth it for an item of clothing?
6. “I Don’t Support Animal Testing for Cosmetics”
It feels unethical to harm or kill animals just to make lipstick or shampoo.
Vegan Logic Check: If using animals so forcefully for products we desire is wrong… is causing it for habit, taste, or convenience any better?
These views, if followed through, lead someone to the vegan position. Most of us were taught to respect animals, but we just weren’t taught consistently. Let your values of compassion guide you to living more in alignment with what you already believe.
