Why vegan?

Only 50 years ago, racial discrimination was considered “normal” by most people in the United States. Two hundred years ago, slavery was acceptable to the great majority of people in the world. Two thousand years ago, in Europe, it was considered “normal” to feed lions with innocent people just to entertain the public. Further back in history, it was common for servants to be buried alive with their deceased master.

In every case, morality progressed because a small number of people had the courage to question the ethical norms of their society, in order to reduce pointless suffering. Today most people believe it is “normal” to kill animals for meat, but truth is not democratic. The Earth does not become flat just because most people think so.

In Moldova, most people would agree that it is ugly and immoral to set a cat on fire for entertainment. Yet, once we do not need meat to survive, when we choose to eat meat we choose at the same time to cause the suffering and death of others merely for the pleasure of tasting meat. Considering what happens on animal farms and in slaughterhouses, setting a cat on fire is, by comparison, relatively humane. In both cases, all we get in return is a few moments of insignificant pleasure.

Documentaries and videos

If you want to see more, here are some well-known documentaries in English. All of them open on YouTube, in a new window. We chose official uploads by the authors; some films are hard-hitting and are marked. The descriptions follow the sources’ own descriptions.

The films represent the views of their authors. Check the claims against independent sources, for example in Health and a vegan diet and The environmental reason.

Questions and answers on the ethics of veganism

• How Do We Know That Other Animals Can Feel Pain?
• What If Humans Treat and Slaughter Farmed Animals Humanely?
• Aren’t the Animals Already Dead When We Buy Meat from a Shop?
• Haven’t Humans Eaten Meat Ever Since They Appeared on Earth?
• Is Meat Too Tasty to Give Up for Veganism?
• What About Situations Where People Need to Eat Meat to Survive?
• If Everyone Became Vegan, What Would Happen to Farmed Animals?
• Isn’t It Insulting to Compare Human Beings with Animals?
• If We Didn’t Raise Animals for Food, Would They Miss Out on Life?
• What About Killing Plants?
• What Evidence Is There That Other Animals Can Make Moral Decisions?
• Doesn’t Our Duty to Other People Come First?
• Do Only Humans Have Souls?

See all 63 questions and answers