No Need for Absolutism: In Defense of the Vegan/Omnivore Alliance Against Factory Farming

It makes sense.  Tom Philpott proposes that vegans and omnivores work together against factory farming.  I don't think he's sure exactly what we are going to do yet, and that is fine.  Point is to promote the idea that we are a much larger force if we work against factory farming together.

Here is his article:
http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-23-introducing-the-vegan-omnivore-alliance-against-animal-factories/N10/#comments  I didn't find the article to exactly express warm welcome toward vegans, but that is OK.  It is a great place to start.

The fighting begins immediately following the article's release. If you haven't already, you should see the thread that resulted from Food Inc.'s posting of the article on Facebook.  Wow.  I haven't even checked Twitter yet, I've been in the Facebook discussion for a long while now.

My thoughts are as follows:

We are going to face the same issues as always between vegans and omnivores in said alliance. We need to start by avoiding the fighting, stereotyping and name-calling. One issue Tom doesn't take up is that there appear to be at least two schools of vegan ideology: the "abolitionist" and the "welfarist." The abolitionist vegan wants to do away with animal agriculture entirely. The welfarist vegan still eats a vegan diet and agrees with much of the sentiment, but ideologically supports welfare measures to improve the lives of farmed animals (and, might also support improvements in slaughterhouse techniques, improved stunning, slowing speed of the line, etc.).  It gets in the way of effective, open communication between vegans & omnivores when the argument focuses only on rebuking abolitionist thinking.

Plant-eaters who are interested in working side-by-side with omnivores on this issue should consider this: If we support (not necessarily promote) welfare vs. abolition given the current (and historical) demand for animal products, 10 billion land animals a year, we acknowledge the realistic goal of decreasing and not necessarily eliminating demand for animal products. We don't have to compromise our own value system to do this. Some people will choose veganism and some people won't, as a direct result of learning the same information. We can give the information. We can discuss the information. And then people choose.

A rigid focus on absolutism, as in going 100% vegan is the only way to fight factory farming, may not be as helpful as a focus on decreasing demand in general.  There are so many factors in play that keep omnivores eating meat and animal products: strong taste preference, embedded ideology and decades of misinformation promoted by the USDA to name a few.  We can definitely still educate and support those interested in totally eliminating animal products and embracing veganism with all of the resources we already know and love.  But others need help setting more flexible goals.  I see supporting flexibility to reduce demand as a realistic strategy for dealing with the complexity the topic brings to the table.

Let's accept that the idea that truly eliminating factory farmed meat and animal products would be just as "radical" as not eating any meat and animal products (as "radical" vegans do).  Let's work instead of argue.  We have no where to go but down...from 99% of available animal products being factory farmed to even 80% would be a great success.  Borat would definitely approve.

I don't know how many other "welfarist vegans" are out there, and therefore we have the next problem: I'm sure some vegans already don't think I'm a vegan. I truly hope we stop marginalizing each other in this way and can agree on some obvious common ground.   Vegans against vegans, vegans against vegetarians, vegans against omnivores, omnivores against vegans, selective omnivores against eat-everything omnivores, the debates rage.  There is a continuous spectrum of eaters, from the eat-everything omnivore to the vegan with multiple food allergies, and we all fall somewhere along that spectrum.  If we are within an arms reach of the next person down the line, why not reach out and hold hands?

I choose a vegan diet and support the lifestyle for many reasons.  Another important reason to choose a vegan diet, one that can ring true to many, is that it is near impossible to accurately source and purchase more ethically farmed meat and especially more ethically produced animal products (butter, cream cheese, etc.) very tough. There is also the question of the actual meat.  Where are family farmed animals sent to slaughter?  It seems that some family farmed animals are still sent to commercial slaughterhouses (where the atrocities are well known) because the small butcheries have been put out of business. I don’t have more information on this issue.  And, for those interested in this topic, I can't seem to get more information on it, despite some looking and my respectful questions on the AWA blog.  Omnivores should be as informed as possible when choosing to eat animal products from any source.  If folks want to do the research to source more ethically farmed animal products (including going to the slaughterhouses used by family farms) then that is their decision, but they should be as informed as possible when making that decision.  

I'm here to support whatever measures will help people to eat less (hopefully significantly less) of that 99% of factory farmed foods. If a person ate vegan one, two, three or more days a week, they could eat family farmed animal products on the other days and reduce a lot of suffering, ethical problems and demand for factory farmed meats. Let's go there.

What goals do folks propose? Let's start working, and leave education of the finer points for another time. Maybe we can create a page with links to the resources, books, articles & webpages people we are all discussing so that can be put out of the way and people can access it at their leisure. 

Questions for the masses:

If you support welfare reforms to animal farming, are you still eating factory farmed products? If so, which ones? Let's assume the why answer is because they taste good, fine, let's accept that. Let's get some data on what foods people are having difficulty sourcing ethically and refer them to vegan versions or somehow to ethically sourced animal versions (I don't know about this, though, I will need people's help and not just a referral to the AWA website). Since everyone will not go vegan in my lifetime (or likely any other) what do folks propose omnivores do instead? Please be specific as I have not heard a resource put forward that was not somehow linked to commercial slaughterhouses which many people, knowledgeable omnivores included, are against. Not saying they aren't out there, just saying I don't know about them and I have done some digging.

Ideas? Obviously I say eat as many vegan meals per day, per week, per year as possible.  We also must work together to create options where it seems like there are none, to share resources, to support and encourage each other when the going gets tough.  I can help with the vegan end of things.  Who else will come to our aid?  Will Rohan answer? Light the beacons!

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Feel free to comment on this post with ideas, insights, and solutions.  No criticisms or attacks, please.  I know it is a lot to ask, but let's stay solutions-focused.  For the animals, for ourselves, for our future.

Sincerely,
Dawn