[The following is inspired by a Facebook thread dominated by denialists, fundamentalists, purists, and single-issue consumerists and isolationists.]
Many are missing a key point in the rush to absolve themselves and this weak movement of any flaws or imperfections, and to insist that veganism is not a religion, but is in fact its antithesis. Comforting, but wrong on many counts.
There are many criteria that constitute a full and viable definition of religion, and while veganism does not have them all, it meets too many criteria to an uncomfortable degree. Veganism, properly understood, is science, ethics, and anti-oppression politics. But this movement is chock full of fundamentalists and True Believers who think the Second Coming and World Salvation is going to happen in our lifetime, or even in 6 years according to one person! And that the spread of veganism somehow translates into revolutionary social change, if any attention is given at all to oppressive social structures.
It is like a religion in its cultism (Francione and his now dying flock of disciples); in its purism and holier-than-thou pontification that promotes a feeling of superiority to those you judge as impure and not as “enlightened” as you, and that have a deep need for simple answers to complex problems that vegans alone are NEVER going to solve as thinkers or activist! It is like a religion in the mass denialism of what SCIENTISTS are saying and warning, can’t have a little truth about the full extent of global crisis dent that smile and positive faith. It is like a religion in the daily announcements “we are winning!” when we are in are in fact losing badly (with accelerating climate change, overpopulation, species extinction, predatory capitalism, and the massive spike in meat consumption due to the modernization of the two largest countries in the world, China and India).
It is like a religion in its tiny bubble world. It is like a religion in brash preaching methods, where vegangelicals say:”Brother have you found Vegan? Do you have Vegan in your heart?” “Let me show you the way! – as if veganism is not the first but also the last word on knowledge, ethics, personal and social transformation.
It is like a religion in its isolation from society and other social movements, in its sectarianism, it is infighting, in its factionalism where split leads to sub-split. It is like a religion in that any vegan or otherwise who dares challenge the Masters, Gurus, and Groupthink are castigated, ostracized, demonized, called “pessimists” and “dangerous” and stoned with righteous wrath. It is like a religion in the recitation of “facts” with no basis in reality (“every vegan saves 1,000 animals in their lifetime,” etc, when government surplus makes up the difference and the rising Tsunami tide of carnivorism negates the impact).
I used to always deny this charge too, and I took deep offense, and insisted, no, veganism is secular; it is ethics, science, and politics. But increasingly I have seen the rise of cultism, purism, fundamentalism, Manichaeism, and Southern Baptist revival meetings take place daily on the Fakebook news feed. Not everyone needs the crutch of faith and is unable to examine criticism or other perspectives, or — imagine! — listen to the dire warnings of world scientists and social theorists. But enough live in a theological paradigm and narrative to justify rejecting the claim that veganism is not a religion. It is flat wrong to deny the alarming authoritarian, cultish, fundamentalist, fascist purism, Manichean, True Believer Syndrome rife in the global vegan movement. There is a pronounced tendency toward an inability to tolerate criticism and dissent, if only to make veganism a real, living, vital political and ecological force in this world, rather than an insular, marginalized, elitist, non-thinking, ahistorical and apolitical form of mass delusion.
And vegan compassion? Please, toward nonhuman animals, yes, but toward their fellow bipeds, they are as rude, petulant, mean-spirited, and outright vile and ugly as any other group of people. For clearly veganism does not change the basic personality structure, nor other facets of one’s life. I can cite you dozens of pages of petty, hateful, lies and false accusations I have received from “compassionate” fellow vegans in this “loving community,” and pacifists are the most aggressive and violent of them all. Vegans have no monopoly on any virtue whatsoever, and self-righteousness in fact makes them worse and more annoying and alienating people than before being their born again experience and conversion process.
As a vegan for 18 years and activist for 30, it pains me to say this,but I care not whether this is popular, I don’t need the backslaps and faux Fakebook “friendships,” and I have come to this conclusion through long, painful, careful analysis and experience: While CRUCIAL to a viable social and ecological future, veganism is riddled with philosophical flaws and tactical errors and needs to be completely rethought and rebuilt from bottom up, with all the orthodox “truths” and unquestioned assumptions discarded to reconstruct this molecular movement on a more solid basis that acknowledges our marginality, our impotence to effect significant change, the justified contempt spat on us by leftist and progressive movement, the failure of vegan “education,” and the joke of vegan outreach (to white privileged community only).
If you are purist, lifestyle-oriented, consumerist, apolitical, single-issue, uninvolved in other social issues and struggles, unwavering in your “faith” that “we will win,” don’t read scientific and ecological reports; don’t study the social and ecological crisis unfolding throughout the world; only read vegan literature, feel yourself morally superior to non-vegans (there are MANY criteria of being a good person and ethical citizen other than food choices); and if you are offended or alienated by what I am saying, by any sort of constructive criticism and provocative challenge to your belief system and self-identity; and especially if you respond to me with insults, anger, and hatred, you are, my friend, a vegangelical, through and through, and there is no virtue in that whatsoever. Get thee to a nunnery.
Despite the clams of lifestyle vegans, veganism IS hard, it is NOT easy — that is, if you are operating with a rich, manifold, and political concept of deep veganism rather than the facile, purist, lifestyle, single issue, color-by-numbers approach. No, on the whole, it is not hard to find and cook vegan food for many people, especially privileged whites or middle and upper classes of any type. But it IS hard to transcend the reduction of veganism to lifestyle issues, one-dimensional perspectives, groupthink, and comforting delusions, in favor of challenging study of a wide array of disciplines and issues, and a politics of resistance that seeks radical social transformation at the institutional level, rather than a lifestyle level with occasional and perfunctory efforts at “education.”
Veganism is hard, because of the intense challenge to break out of the prisonhouse of marginalization. It is a formidable task to address the larger issues of power, domination, and deep crisis; and to become part of a vital global alliance politics and resistance movement that alone has any chance to stop our rapid descent into oblivion, as we take countless species with us and inflict untold damage to the planetary ecosystems that are already preparing their furies for us.
The main issue I find is that most people that advocate the above seem to view veganism as them doing something ‘good’ for the animals – when in fact it is a moral baseline. I don’t eat the bodies of other humans or kill people in the street for there skin and I don’t consider refraining from doing so ‘human rights activism’ – it is the minimum I owe others. Feeling they have ‘done their bit’ however leaves these people feeling no need to do activism.
As for the positive projections for change, this is seen in all groups including militant AL groups. The such and such facility ‘will be closed by the end of the year’ or ‘when such and such supplier pull out it will close’ are the subject of a lot of jokes in the movement.
I think the main issue is to get people out of the vegan fairs, vegan picnics, talks and film screening, social meetups – and on to the streets doing activism.
Thank you for this profoundly inspired writing. It is very helpful to me, as a vegan, who wants to do what I can to end the abuse and torture of animals…however, do not feel the hatred and intolerance of those who do not agree with me-that some of the “activists” I have met seem to thrive on. The “activist” passion is to be respected, I believe. It is passion for benefit of the helpless. But-their impatience with and alienation of those who are ignorant (not necessarily, consciously complicit), uneducated about the “movement,” etc-through their anger and true ignorance about how to move others towards compassion and action-is religiosity in its scariest form. One can only do what one can do. Some can do more than others. Some will eventually change and do more than others. Samsara is not a pretty place–and there is suffering behind every front door…barn or home.
Thanks Mal, I think preoccupation with what my cats eat or who is purer than thou, about sums up the sad state of the movement; as I try to introduce some vegan food to my cats, perhaps others could reing reading a book about capitalism, imperialism, neoliberalism, the IMF and WTO, and experiment with a little resistance politics in the streets rather than keyboard ninjaism.
According to PETA many criminals convited for crimes against humans have a past of abusing pets. Hence, Vegan extremists and zealots are idiotic cause they miss the point of Veganism as ethical stance. If you manage to respect and be compassionate towards a defenseless creature (from animal to child) you then propably won’t end up beating up your children, your wife or becoming a criminal in the human society.
Veganism is just a tool for social change, not an end it itself !!
Agreed!
Mmm…. I give U a ray of light, brother who wrote this article. I will choose not to feel insulted by your gross genearalisation and categorisation of vegans, activists and the “vegan movement” (there is one?), but rather will choose to enlighten you, of some vegans and activists, myself i take as example, who by our education an dactivism, has achieved, and have been doing so for many yaers, and continue to do so, all that your article claims is non-existent and ineffective in the vegan world, and amongst activists. We certainly are not situated in a privileged white middle, class area, quite the contrary. And we are very located within all the issues, and realities our communities and the world face. We educate ourselves, and those around us, especially the children, we are diy, and also partake active roles in improving our env and communities of people stemming from many parts of africa, many refugees an dchildren, hundreds of street-kids, dislocated, child-headed families, and we provide a vegan meal a day as part of food not bombs, and all the principles, which you claim is lacking, we preactice, but not fundamentalistically. To be called a fundamentalist, a very bad specimen, I take offence to. Myself, and many students and activists, teachers and friends, and yes, vegans, may be the rare spots of hope you did not find in your research. my coummunity, and people who help and support not just the issue of veganism, but the many social, educational and environmental problems that we know exist. we do, share, give, educate, in whatever way we can,. but do not tyrannically enforce veganism as some sort of ticket to suddenly saving the world, and having a supertiour attitude. It is being brave, though, but much oppressed by popular science and academica, the educn sytem, media, ignorance, etc, etc.
Just to clear the air!
Lara
“Gross generalizations”? Really? I said not all vegans are this way, some are political and involved socially and in many issues, and Lara if you read the nuances, I said they are the exception to the rule. Thank you for being an exception, but really, you have no grounds to take offense. I am an exception too, and have been a social and environmental and all-causes activist for 30 years now. But I stand by what I say as a FAIR AND ACCURATE GENERALIZATION, AND hardly a “gross” one. I’m not new to this, I’ve been around the block a few times. I have been vegetarian for 30 years, vegan for 18, and again, in all kinds of movements for 30 years; I have travelled all over the damn world and spoken to and talked to all kinds of vegans and other people. I’m 55 years old, not a kid, and I have studied and lived deeply and extensively. And I stand by what I say, as a fair and accurate generalization, with by definition means there are exceptions, but I see the whole movement becoming domesticated, ever more insular, and ever more delusional as the world situation deteriorates. I am appreciative of people like you, and I just there more of you and less of the “culinary activist” (!) types!
Dear Steven,
I am a lifelong vegetarian and 30 year vegan. I agree with your post.
I have known vegans who only hang out with other vegans and are aloof or downright nasty to other humans who still eat flesh or dairy. I believe that we are all here to love one another as well as we can and live up to our own aspirations without pinning them on others. My sister eats meat and I love her. Most of my ballet students eat meat and I love them. I’m sure most of the people who were fellow protesters of the war eat meat, yet I have admiration and connection with them. They are obviously caring people. I know many pure vegans who never attended an anti-war demo, and some do not yet know what fracking is and wouldn’t go out of their way to help prohibit it, yet I love them. I have heard of those who do vivisection on animals (something that breaks my heart) who are faithful husbands and fathers, and I know some “pure” vegan/activists who are egotistical, hurtful users of people, if not animals.
It seems we all need to work at breaking down the partitions in our brains that stop us from getting the whole picture — EVERYTHING is interconnected. Undeniably, all our systems are breaking down — environmental, economic, educational, etc. Logically, we won’t see things made right in our lifetime, so what can we do but live the most compassionate, conscious life we are capable of and keep our minds open for more enlightenment and balance?
30 years, wow, congratulations. Of course I agree, some of the worst behavior I have witnessed or has been inflicted on me was from animal activists and/or vegans. Again, this does nothing to make you compassionate toward anything but nonhuman animals, and if you are an asshole before being vegan, you will as least as big a one after going vegan. No deep enlightenment or spiritual change automatically follows, I wish it did, I might not despite so many people I come across in these movements so far, and the authoritarian streak and craving for easy answers and cult leaders really creeps me out; some of these people would join a religious cult if Francione didn’t exist at one time. If you want to be compassion, kind, and all those other things vegans claim to be, you better read a library of Buddhism, and undertake extensive training in yoga and meditation, because otherwise, I have no automatic like for, trust in, or solidarity with you. Deep down, you’re nothing special, and I say this too as a long time vegan; the minimal sign of enlightenment is to just drop the fucking pretense and realize everyone vegan or not has all kinds of shit and garbage and anger and hate to clear out of their system, and a diet of tofupups and bananas hardly does the job.So these new age John Robbins types (and he now pushes humane meat!), make me sick, and to you types, please just fuck off, I am so sick of your phony bullshit and hypocrisy. I personally am riddled with errors and flaws, but I don’t pretend to be something I am not, that is the absolute worst thing; minimally, I try at least not to gossip and not to shit talk people, and if these “compassionate vegans” would at least do that, we might have a little better community and be more effective for the animals.Thanks for the comment Sandra!
What does being a compassionate vegan entail and what does it prohibit?
Unlike the US, back where I come from, animals (mostly cows) are left to roam the streets to feed themselves from garbage piles. A number of times, I witnessed these poor animals (cows, dogs, donkeys, what have you) with exposed injuries and in obvious distress. What is astonishing is the reaction of my (grown-up) classmates: laughter and smirks.
Sorry, but I cannot bring myself to understand, much less love such perversity. Allegedly, since we all have our share of flaws, failing to do so is now a lack of enlightment and hypocrisy on my part? Please help me understand.
Firstly, Facebook (and Twitter) is a tool for the govt/CIA/elite to watch people and collect data. People should feel free to say “hi” to Big Brother each time they post there.
Secondly, you’re right, the vegan/animal rights “movement” is a study in intellectual insularity. But, it is not alone in that. As you said a few days ago on your blog, each of the current movements has its flaws. For example, most environmentalists lack insight into politics and economics, as they work within the system, unaware of the problems of capitalism, the non-profit industrial complex, etc. Climate change activists believe that lowering emmissions, etc. will save the world, without understanding any other social issues that plague our planet (or the problems inherent in progressive technology, e.g. geoengineered solutions). Peak oil/transition/sustainability folks are praying for collapse because they think it would be peachy keen to get back to nature, ignoring any discourse on hierarchy/oppression (James Howard Kunstler’s fictional books on the post-collapse future is the epitome of how these people view the future – he unwittingly creates a “back to nature” scenario of total hierarchy, rife with patriarchy, sexism, racism, speciesism, religion, etc.). Also, they seem to ignore the growing police state, as if the environmental collapse will solve this and put a stop to the elites’ interests in robots, drones, DNA patents, seed/food/land control, total surveillance, etc. Dark Mountaineers, who in spirit I feel most in tune with, accept that we have no answers and are the only ones who have faced the taboo that operating on hope may actually be counterproductive. However, none of these movements (including feminism, anarchism, anti-war, and others) understand the intersection of oppression AND how the treatment/use of other animals fits into this.
Generally speaking, insularism has infected all movements. Activists focus on their own core advocacy. So events are going to unfold as they will unfold. I mean, go ahead and pick a collapse, any collapse out of the house of cards. In fact, go ahead and pick several – I couldn’t count all the tipping points on my fingers and toes. Things are going to get worse, much more so. Unfortunately, people only wake up when they are ready (if ever) to do so, and in this case, it will no doubt be too late. Most humans are not interested in breaking out of their bubble, whether it is a bubble of mainstream interests or a bubble of a particular sub-group/cause.
Preparation, protection, healing, and getting back to the basics…to me, these are our (all living beings’) chances of survival. Movements will not save the world, but individuals, like yourself, will help save lives with their knowledge, their prepared skills, their healing, their protection of the innocent/powerless, their compassion, and their courage to face the facts of what is coming our way.
Yes, yes, and yes! Thank you for this great comment! I try to alert people to these facts all the time, and they complain I am a “pessimist” and “downer” and no longer read my posts. And we wonder why we are so small and ineffective? Many reasons, but that is a big one, and it should be no mystery. The Church of Veganism must close.
Where do I join the Church of Veganism?
There are more Vegan Churches in the US and online that there are Catholic cathedrals in all of Italy, just for the sigh above the door that says, “Only the pure, chaste, perfect, holy, faithful, dogmatic, lifestyle-oriented, fundamentalist, and sanctimonious can enter this edifice. Here., for example, are two such sites:
http://theveganpolice.com/ (a fledgling, pimply adolescent group with little knowledge but great missionary zeal and persecutorial talent)
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/ (the Pope of Vegan Popes, the Holy Father, the Sacred Saint, and the Infinitely Infallible with, with disciples all over the world who drink the Kool–Aid so their faith never wavers and their brain cells never grow; it saddens me to report, however, that his global legion off bloggers-to-the-converted, with their ruthless attacks on all heretics and their beloved Father, is weak, sick, and dying, apparently the victim of an implosion of inevitable misfire, their firing squads forming a circle and shooting within; or a terrible bug of hypocrisyitis and cerebral hemorrhagic malfunction, which often happens to religious cults who slavishly follow ta tyrannical master, but becomes “schizophrenic (thought the hard-core flock of children remain chaste and pure, despite the death of their God). Come, everyone, join hands, let us pray for them, strive to turn our brain into wings, and never forget their profound message, as formulated by the Master in a moment of inspiration (ok, a bad John Lennon rip-off):
AND NEVER FORGET: THE WORLD IS NOT VEGAN BECAUSE OF AGRIBUSINESS, MCDONALDS AND BURGER KING, CHINA, OR MEDIA ADVERTISING AND MASS SOCIALIZATION, BUT ONLY BECAUSE **YOU**, SINNER, DO NOT WANT IT ENOUGH!!
I’m reading along here, wondering if this is purely opinion on your part to justify your personal carnism, or if someone is paying your bills to cubbyhole everybody who wants to work towards a more enlightened race of humans as simple hypocrites and losers. Still not sure which, but it’s one or the other. Let’s stay in the dark, that’ll solve all our problems. “The Church of Veganism must close” lol it”s still a free country here and you don’t set the rules. What arrogance!
My personal carnism? How big of a flaming idiot are you? I went vegetarian 30 years ago, vegan 18 years ago, became a social activist 30 years ago, have been in the animal rights movement for 20 years as an educator, speaker, writer, spokesperson, and leader of vegan and animal groups, and did a vegan/AR radio show for 4 years. I have a list of accomplishments you could not match in 100 lifetimes, and it is twits like who make my argument for me, and I think I learned all I needed to confirm about this movement over the last week or two. It is zombies like you who make me embarrassed to even call myself a vegan anymore, and force me to find a new word that separates me from this cult of ill-informed, poorly educated cult of denialists and True believers, and ties veganism to systemic social change and resistance, not baking cupcakes. You want to know why vegans in the US are less than one percent of the population? Go look in the mirror. Donald Watson is rolling in his grave at the degeneration of his critical social and political vision of veganism has degenerated into a cult and religion. Ignorance is bliss, you must be ecstatic.
“if only to make veganism a real, living, vital political and ecological force in this world.” – ” While CRUCIAL to a viable social and ecological future, veganism is riddled with philosophical flaws and tactical errors and needs to be completely rethought and rebuilt from bottom up, with all the orthodox “truths” and unquestioned assumptions discarded to reconstruct this molecular movement on a more solid basis that acknowledges our marginality, our impotence to effect significant change, the justified contempt spat on us by leftist and progressive movement, the failure of vegan “education,” and the joke of vegan outreach (to white privileged community only) ” – How would you propose to advertise Veganism in a more positive light.? Being a vegan is a life style choice and some individuals may express their views more strongly than others but this does not make Veganism a religion. Neither will you effect change by pointing out the flaws of some Vegans, change is effected by positive education and inspiring a sea change.
Oh, please, how easy a target do you think I am? Do your homework please before firing off the first and easiest challenge that comes to your head, If you look at journals such as The International Journal for Inclusive Democracy (2.3), Fast Capitalism (2.2), and NegotiationisOver.net (“The Manifesto for Radical Abolitionism,” “Deep Vegan Outreach,”,and “13 Ways to Promote Alliance Politics and Total Liberation” etc etc , you just might find some tidbits of alternative approaches and radically different concept of veganism and how to best promote it.
Melanie, if you live anywhere near a coastline, you’ll witness a “sea change” soon enough, with or without vegan education.
is that a sea change, as in a Tsunami coming to bury coastal areas due to global warming?
I tend not to associate with meat eaters. My in-laws are deer hunters and cow punchers and I could not bring myself to be at their table. Sitting with people eating venson steak of some beautiful creature they slaughtered in the woods…? Hell begins at the level I just left and I cannot return
Please tell me what you are smoking, I think I could use some by now. Jesus, do you know anything about me or my history? Read anything but this blog? If i read you right, and you are now accusing me of being a bourgeois, consumerist, neoliberal type (who knows what you’re saying, it;s almost unintelligible), that is exact;ly part of what II have criticized — the commodification of veganism as a lifestyle and something easily co-opted not only into markets and profits, and so perpetrating this destructive capitalist system, but in fact bought out by giant agricultural meat and dairy industries.
An issue against Marxism? Yes and no. I remain a Marxist in many ways, and have published books and countless papers on the topic, so in this sense, no I don’t, i have an issue with capitalism. But I evolved more into an anarchist because of my agreement with their critique of the hierarchical and centralized institutions attractive to Marxism. am a radical leftist, either way, a rare type in the single issue world of veganism and animal rights.
Make money? Hahahahaha, you actually just made all your nonsense worth it, for you made me laugh so hard it relieved some stress and had healing effect. I am a professor who values autonomy and free time over money, and I have very little of the latter, I assure you. Or is your next lie, already implied, I am working for the neo-cons in Washington or the John Birch Society, if not the meat industry. For your information, I have sacrificed my academic career to stand up for radical politics and principles, and despite 13 books and over 150 published articles, I will never be promoted to Full Professor nor be hired anywhere, except perhaps University of Baghdad might take me.
I try to be patient and respectful, but I am sorry, you are a fool and a troll, and this is the opportunity you have to waste my time with your slander and stupidities, now please crawl back into your hole or return to the corporations or fascists paying you for your “services.” Pretty weak job though, you should be fired. I never censor critics, only trolls and assholes, and it is clear to which category you belong, so don’t waste your time penning another line of ad hominem drivel, you are hereby blocked.
Thanks for the laugh though, it was almost worth the slimy experience of dealing with you.