Animal Writings

Vegan advocacy is, in a way, so straightforward: Buy this instead of that. Soy or rice or almond milk instead of cows' milk. Veggie burgers (or lentils or portabellos or eggplants or what have you) instead of the killed flesh of worn-out dairy cows and "excess" calves.

In our current society, as people buy non-animal products instead of animal products, the market for non-animal products increases; more companies devote more resources into developing and selling non-animal items; diversity, quality, and availability of such items increases; social acceptance for non-animal alternatives to animal products increases and becomes more widespread; demand for animal products falls; and so on. Simple changes in purchasing decisions lead to monumental changes.

For the most part, consumers cannot simply move down the grocery aisle a few feet, pick up a different item, and dismantle vivisection in the same way.

I tried to think of a couple or three actions or changes of habit that average Joes and Janes—your non-vegan neighbors, co-workers, friends, and relatives—might do in the short term. Note; This is not a comprehensive list; it's not a list of all the things I'd like people to do. It's "what actions that would make an impact on vivisection do I think I could get some neighbors and casual acquaintances to do in the short term?" I could be way off; you might have a better idea for "first actions." Here's what I came up with.

1. Most people I run into are fairly receptive to buying "cruelty-free" personal care products, but they need a little push. I'll suggest any or all of the following to people, in the right context, depending on how much time I have, how well I know them, how much I guess they might retain, how likely I guess they are to break away from current habits, how married they might be to their favorite products:

• Look for "no animal testing"


• Look for "no animal ingredients"


• Look for the leaping bunny


• Prefer products from smaller or hippie-type companies


• At least buy your personal care items at Whole Foods

2. Just my experience, but it seems that, at least lately, if you recommend giving to local charities instead of the big national organizations, because you're more likely to see where the money goes, and there's less bureaucracy, it usually resonates with people. Local food banks, cancer support groups, homeless shelters, humane societies, and so forth. The local charities are also less likely to fund animal experiments.

3. Anything you can do to help those around you be healthier..."Let's take the stairs," sharing some homemade soup, using humor to diffuse stress...may result in them giving fewer of their hard-earned dollars to Big Pharma.

Labels: cruelty-free, vivisection