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.
1:35:47EARTHLINGS – 10 Year Anniversary Edition2005 documentary written and directed by Shaun Monson and narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, about humanity’s economic dependence on animals and how they are treated. Official upload.Hard-hitting content, not for children.![Thumbnail of the video: Dominion (2018) – full documentary [Official]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LQRAfJyEsko/hqdefault.jpg)
2:00:00Dominion (2018) – full documentary [Official]2018 Australian documentary directed by Chris Delforce, using drones and hidden cameras to expose modern animal agriculture. Official upload.Hard-hitting content; YouTube asks you to confirm your age.
2:13COWSPIRACY – Official TrailerOfficial trailer of the environmental documentary “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret”.
2:29The Game Changers – Official TrailerOfficial trailer of the documentary about plant-based eating in sport.
2:12Forks Over Knives – Official TrailerOfficial trailer of the documentary “Forks Over Knives”, about plant-based eating and health.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?
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Are Only Humans Able to Enter into Social Agreements?
The original FAQ describes food sharing and reciprocal support among some bat species.
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Do Only Humans Understand the Concept of Death?
The original FAQ gives anecdotes about elephants and a chimpanzee mother responding to death.
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How Is Animal Testing Different from Other Situations Where People Kill Animals to Survive?
The original answer distinguishes animal testing from killing animals to survive by the suffering involved.
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Aren’t There Laws Regulating the Use of Animals in Laboratories?
The original answer describes the US Animal Welfare Act and its stated exclusions.
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What Do Animal-Rights Activists Think about Abortion?
Animal-rights advocates hold different views; the movement has no official position on abortion.
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Shouldn’t We Focus on Human Problems before Worrying about Animals?
The original answer argues that choosing vegetarian food does not prevent helping people and may free resources.
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Isn’t It Wrong for Vegans to Act Superior and Try to Convert People?
The author says the aim is to reduce animal suffering, not to claim moral superiority.
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Aren’t Animals Also Killed during Harvests and Road Construction?
The author distinguishes unavoidable harm from deliberate choices and argues that plant-based diets cause less harm.
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Do Animal-Rights Supporters Use Life-Saving Medicines Developed through Animal Testing?
The author argues that using a medicine does not require endorsing unethical research methods.
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What If a Cure for Cancer Could Be Produced by an Experiment on One Animal?
A thought experiment asks whether the same procedure would be acceptable if the test subject were human.