Dear Colleagues:

In this Commentary, I have two guests: Ronnie Lee, who founded the Band of Mercy in 1972 and the Animal Liberation Front in 1976, and Dr. Roger Yates, who teaches sociology at University College, Dublin and at the University of Wales at Bangor.

As I am sure you are aware, I am opposed to all violence and I do not support militant direct action. This is the starting point for my discussion with Ronnie and Roger but we go on to talk about a variety of topics. And we are all agreed about the importance of creative, nonviolent vegan education.

I hope that you enjoy the Commentary.

And by the way:

Go vegan. It’s better for your health (animal foods cause physical harm); it’s better for the environment (animal agriculture is an ecological disaster); and, most importantly, it’s the morally right thing to do.

Gary L. Francione
© 2010 Gary L. Francione

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Dear Colleagues:

I have the honor of presenting the two keynote addresses at Ethics, Ecology, and Animal Rights, a conference being held at the University of La Rioja in Spain. My two addresses, which will occur on Monday, April 26 and Tuesday, April 27, will be followed by round table discussions involving Spanish scholars from various disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics, sociology, and history.

The organizers of the conference were particularly interested to have me discuss animal rights and the role of veganism.

I hope to see some of my many friends from Spain at the conference. I will be discussing problems with single-issue campaigns so I expect that there will be a spirited discussion!

I should note that I remember when I gave lectures in Spain in the early 1990s, there was no discussion of ethical veganism and it was almost impossible to get vegan food in restaurants. And now, veganism is being discussed at university conferences!

We are making progress.

Go vegan. It’s better for your health (animal foods cause physical harm); it’s better for the environment (animal agriculture is an ecological disaster); but, most importantly, it’s the morally right thing to do.

Gary L. Francione
© 2010 Gary L. Francione

Dear Colleagues:

After debating animal-rights opponent, Wesley J. Smith, on Michael Medved’s radio program, Medved decided to have Smith and me back on a live call in. That will take place on Monday, May 3, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Medved is conservative and if the past is any guide, most of the callers will be conservative and most will side with Smith. That’s fine, but perhaps some balance would be a good idea, so do please call in and ask Smith any questions you might have.

Go vegan. It’s better for your health (animal foods cause physical harm); it’s better for the environment (animal agriculture is an ecological disaster); but, most importantly, it’s the morally right thing to do.

Gary L. Francione
© Gary L. Francione

Read Critical Perspectives on Animals

Dear Colleagues:

Anyone who claims that ethical veganism, as it is represented in the abolitionist approach to animal rights, is a single-issue campaign understands neither abolitionist ethical veganism nor single-issue campaigns (SICs).

Ethical veganism is the notion that we should not eat, wear, or use animals for human purposes. Ethical veganism reflects the view that we cannot distinguish among various types of animal exploitation for moral purposes and that we should abolish animal exploitation altogether.

Ethical veganism is the application of of the principle of abolition in one’s individual life and requires that one eschew all forms of animal use or consumption.

Ethical veganism recognizes that all sentient beings have an interest not only in not suffering but in continuing to live. Therefore, killing animals for human use, even if we have treated animals “humanely,” is fundamentally unjust.

Single-issue campaigns focus on particular uses of animals, or on particular species. Examples: a campaign against fur; a campaign against the use of wild animals in circuses; a campaign against white veal to encourage the consumption of red veal or against battery eggs in favor of “cage-free” eggs; a boycott of a state because it allows the killing of a particular “favored” sort of animal, such as wolves. All mainstream animal organizations promote SICs. No mainstream group has adopted ethical veganism as its exclusive, or even a, central focus.

An ethical vegan would not support any animal exploitation. Therefore, to say that ethical veganism is a SIC is to fail to understand the nature of ethical veganism or the fact that SICs rest on distinguishing among various forms of animal exploitation and promoting the notion that some forms are worse than others and, by implication, that other forms of exploitation are morally desirable or morally acceptable.

One can, of course, use the expression “veganism” to apply only to diet in the sense that one who does not eat any animal products may be considered to have a vegan diet. This use of “vegan” is more restricted than the notion as I have developed it in my abolitionist theory. Promoting a vegan diet is more like an SIC than is promoting ethical veganism and the abolition of all animal use. But the practical reality is that if people rejected eating any animal products, we would see a rejection in all sorts of other animal use. The most significant form of animal exploitation–the form that “legitimizes” all the others–involves using animals as food. If you dislodge that use, you dislodge all others.

But let us be clear: abolitionist ethical veganism rejects all animal use. As such, to call it an SIC is to fail to understand what ethical veganism is or to misrepresent it.

Gary L. Francione
© 2010 Gary L. Francione