This question may seem strange or provocative, but it is of great importance. The fact that many vegetarians continue to eat eggs and dairy products leads to the death of many animals. Every year, millions of cows, calves, chickens and males suffer and die because of it. But, nevertheless, many animal welfare organizations continue to plan and support activities for such vegetarians.
It’s time for a change, it’s time to tell it like it is.
The term “vegan” refers to a philosophy of life that does not accept the enslavement, exploitation and death of other living beings in every aspect of daily life, not just at the table, as is customary among vegetarians. This is not a sham: this is a very clear choice that we have made in order to be at odds with our conscience and promote the cause of animal liberation.
The use of the term “vegan” provides us with a great opportunity to explain our ideas accurately, leaving no room for misunderstandings. In fact, there is always a risk of confusion, as people often associate the term “vegan” with “vegetarianism”. The latter term is usually interpreted in different ways, but in principle, people who follow a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, and sometimes eat fish, for reasons of personal pleasure or health, are considered vegetarians.
We always try to make it clear that we are driven by a number of very specific motives. It is a choice that depends on ethics, respect for animal life, and therefore implies the rejection of any products derived from animals, because we know that even dairy products, eggs and wool are associated with suffering and death.
At the risk of seeming arrogant, we can say that we were right, based on such straightforward logic. When we started, we were almost alone, but today there are many groups and associations discussing veganism, there are even large organizations that promote our ideas. The word “vegan” has already been used in stores and restaurants, more and more products are appearing specifically labeled as vegan, and even doctors and nutritionists now know the term and often recommend a plant-based diet (even if only for health reasons).
Obviously, we do not intend to judge strictly people who have a negative attitude towards plant-based nutrition. Our role is not to condemn the choice of certain individuals. On the contrary, our goal is to create a new way of treating animals based on respect and recognition of their right to life, and to work to change society in this sense. Based on this, we obviously cannot support animal rights organizations that accept vegetarianism in the broadest sense of the word. Otherwise, it would appear that the consumption of animal products such as dairy and eggs is acceptable to us, but this is of course not the case.
If we want to change the world we live in, we must give everyone the opportunity to understand us. We must say clearly that even products such as eggs and milk are associated with cruelty, that these products include the death of chickens, chickens, cows, calves.
And the use of terms like “vegetarian” goes in the opposite direction. We reiterate: this does not mean that we doubt the good intentions of those who contribute to this. It’s just obvious to us that this approach is stopping us instead of helping us progress, and we want to be direct about that.
Therefore, we call on activists of all associations working for the liberation of all animals not to encourage or support the initiatives of those who use the term “vegetarian”. There is no need to organize lunches and dinners “vegetarian” or “lean”, these terms only mislead people and confuse them in their life choice in favor of animals.
Vegetarianism, even indirectly, allows for animal cruelty, exploitation, violence, and death. We invite you to make a clear and correct choice, starting with your own websites and blogs. It’s not our fault, but someone needs to start talking. Without a clear position, you will not be able to get closer to the goal that you have set for yourself. We are not extremists, but we have a goal: the liberation of animals. We have a project, and we always try to objectively assess the situation and make the best choice to implement it. We don’t believe that it’s “okay” just because someone is doing something for the sake of animals, and while our criticism may seem harsh, it’s only because we want to be constructive and want to cooperate with those who shares our goals.