Veganism is a way of life, implying the rejection, as far as possible and practicable, of all forms of exploitation and cruelty towards animals, their use for food, clothing and any other purpose.

Simply put, veganism is a denial of the exploitation of animals in your life.

Vegan women and vegans do not eat animal products, don’t wear clothes from animals, don’t buy or breed them, don’t use goods tested on animals, don’t go to zoos and circuses.

Why go vegan?

Most of us already agree with vegan ideas. Animal violence is unfair.

We get furious when we find out that someone was mocking an animal because we consider animals to be sentient beings, which, like people, should not be harmed unless absolutely necessary. Sadistic pleasure is not necessary, so such cases cause outrage.

At the same time, most of us are involved in monstrous violence on a scale: animals raised for food, clothes and experiments suffer no less than victims of sadists, and the number of animals killed is tens of billions per year.

We pretend that the exploitation of animals is still a necessity, although leading medical organizations have recognized plant foods as safe for health, shops are full of warm non-animal clothes, and thousands of vegans and vegan veggies prove that veganism is available to everyone.

We have no excuses except our pleasure in the taste of animal products, wearing their skin, coat and fur, as well as our habits and comfort. But if pleasure and convenience can be an excuse for harming animals, we will also have to forgive the prayers who take pleasure in killing them; if you agree that pleasure and convenience are not enough excuses for harming animals, you already agree that we should all go vegan.

Veganism is not a diet.

Health is very important, and we urge you to monitor your well-being, eat right and enough and not be afraid to see a doctor if such a need arises.

But veganism is not about a healthy lifestyle, although vegan nutrition can certainly be very healthy and healthy. Among us there are both adherents of a healthy lifestyle, and those who are happy to eat “junk” food. It is important to understand that veganism is about animals, and the choice of food (of course, vegan) and lifestyle is a personal matter for every person.

Veganism is not a spiritual practice.

We often hear that we, as vegans and vegans, should be kinder, patient and calmer. But, fortunately or unfortunately, not all of us learned Zen, because we are just people who refused to exploit animals in their lives.

Despite the fact that the principle of non-violence is close to many vegans and vegans, veganism is not related either to religions or to spiritual practices. Veganism does not open access to secret knowledge. But it is the only way not to participate in violence.

Veganism is not a “lifestyle”

As already mentioned in the first paragraph, lifestyle is completely voluntary, and no one has the right to tell you how to live. But only as long as your choice does not affect other people’s interests, which, of course, makes the “choice” there are animal products. We must be vegan, this is our moral duty to animals.

Once vegetarianism was … veganism

In the 1830s, when the word “vegetarianism” only appeared, vegetarians were people who completely excluded animal products from their diet; the same rules applied to clothing and other aspects of life. Early vegetarianism was veganism.

Since 1847, since the founding of the Vegetarian Society, vegetarianism began to be understood as a diet with the exception of animal flesh, and nothing more. Members of the vegetarian community were allowed to consume all other animal foods. For people who saw the goal of vegetarianism as freeing animals from human exploitation, such a policy was unacceptable.

In 1944, after many years of debate about the permissibility of vegetarians to use milk and other animal products, several members of the British Vegetarian Society decided to create a separate organization – the Vegan Society.

The problem with vegetarianism is that it is always arbitrary.

If we consider animal abuse immoral, we cannot justify the use of any animal products. To refuse cow meat, but to continue to drink their milk, is just as illogical as to refuse violence on even days of the month; it’s like giving up killing black cows, but killing spotted ones, because cruel exploitation and killing are an integral part of the production of any animal product. All animals involved in the production of milk, eggs, wool and other “slaughterless” animal products suffer no less, and sometimes even more than animals for meat, and they end their lives in the same slaughterhouses. Using any animal products, we support enslavement and killing.

Vegetarianism is pointless in terms of morality.

Nevertheless, many vegetarians claim the title of lovers and protectors of animals. Large “animal welfare” organizations promote vegetarianism along with veganism, and even more actively. Such a position is beneficial for their wallet (because there are more vegetarians and other non-vegans than vegans, therefore, they also make more donations), but certainly not for animals: the promotion of a lifestyle that includes the exploitation of animals inevitably destroys the idea that veganism is our moral duty, and characterizes veganism as the most difficult, but not the only way to take care of animals.

If you care about animals, go vegan yourself and agitate others to vegan, and nothing less. No small steps are needed to switch to veganism; it is safe for health and does not require a gradual transition. And if someone convinces you that vegetarianism is a necessary step on the path to veganism, remember Paul McCartney, who has been on the road for more than 40 years.