REPEATED PHRASES HEARD BY ANIMAL ACTIVISTS

Print Copy Editor Natasha Matsaert discusses animal activism and veganism.

Oftentimes, the experience of animal activism feels a lot like listening to a broken record stuck on repeat. You start to get familiar with a certain set of phrases and a certain set of people consistently cropping up, sniffing your sample of vegan cheese with serious suspicion or, in extreme cases, shouting ‘BACON’ at you obnoxiously from across the street like its world-class comedy. Sometimes it’s depressing, sometimes it’s understandable, and sometimes it just makes you want to write an extremely detailed magazine article that breaks the madness down.

Producing and consuming meat and other animal products is, to put it mildly, an extremely bad idea: it drives the climate crisis, is detrimental to our health, and requires the mass suffering and slaughter of over a trillion animals. However, misinformation, ignorance, and humane-washing still lead to a series of non-vegan objections which range from understandable to point-blank ridiculous.

‘What about protein?’ – the gym rat

Protein. The big dog. The close, most personal friend of the protein-shake guzzling, gym-dwelling man. In his mind, protein is meat and only meat, as well as a fragile foun dation for his sense of masculinity (which is in itself a good reason to take down the meat industry…). As such, it will likely be the first excuse you hear. However, despite the apparent nutrition expertise of this fitness guru, dare I ask… does this individual actually know what protein is?

Protein is made up of amino acids, and guess what? They can be obtained from multiple plant proteins: pea protein, soya, lentils, micro algae, and so on. Ultimate ly, all protein comes from plants – the protein in your meat just travels through the body of an animal before getting to you. Vegan athletes are keeping pace with and outperforming their meat-eating competitors, and even dogs are now thriving off plant-based proteins.

You can still be swoll and have a plant-based protein shake, bro.

‘But we evolved to eat meat - it’s natural!’ – the naturalist

This person excitedly reminds you that we have evolved to eat meat, that it is natural. They will ask: if other animals eat meat, then why shouldn’t we? You understand why they might think this, considering the stereotype of the meat-eating, mammoth-riding caveman. However, the naturalist – oftentimes a pale student living on instant noodles and Tesco meal deals – is hardly a highly-adapted predator.

The naturalist forgets that the world is changing and that the concept of natural is changing with it. Here in the UK, they are lucky enough to have access to a shiny place called a supermarket, filled with an incredible, growing collection of plant-based foods. A lion, on the other hand, does not. If this doesn’t give them pause, you can ask them to look inside their mouth. Unlike carnivores, we have the flat molars and jaws of herbivores which allow us to grind up plants. On top of the various health complications introduced by eating meat, our bodies are literally screaming, ‘you don’t need meat!!!’ And anyway, even if it was ‘natural’ to eat small amounts of meat as omnivores, would that really make it the inevitable or right thing to do?

We must ask the naturalist: if society has progressed to offer an alternative option to meat which satisfies our needs and reduces suffering, why not take it?

We’ve all met that person, maybe we are that person, or maybe we used to be that person. The ethical, organic consumer makes sure to go to local butcheries and checks that their eggs are organic and free-range. They agree that industrial animal production is cruel and tear up watching factory farming footage but continue eating animal products based on the belief that these animals led good lives.

It’s easy to empathise with this person (for a long time I justified my actions the same way), but the grim reality is that labels like ‘organic’, ‘RSPCA-Assured’ and ‘humane’ are designed to mislead: the welfare improvements they offer are marginal and simply allow farms to continue to get away with exploitation (google what free range actually is for a shocker). On top of that, it is worth asking the organic consumer whether reducing suffer ing is enough. Would it be okay to farm dogs if it was done humanely? What about primates? Or children? Indeed, a pig is more intelligent than a 3-year-old child. At the end of the day, the only humane cages are empty cages.

Faced with a consumer who is actively trying to show compassion in their food choices, it is strange to have to explain that you cannot compassionately or kindly kill someone who doesn’t want to die for an unessential reason.

‘It’s okay because animals are less intelligent than we are’ – the philosopher

This individual happily stirs up philosophical debate by giving voice to the belief that animals are less intelligent than we are, and hence have less interest in being alive. Another role reversal situation is required here, as equality among humans could never be accepted on these terms. Some humans are, truth be told, less intelligent than others, but does this mean that their interests should not be granted equal consideration? What about humans with brain damage or terminal dementia? If the philosopher abandons an unfair bias against other species, they will eventually reach the conclusion that animals possess the same inherent and equal right to life as these human individuals. For more, advise them to check out the actual philosopher, Tom Regan.

‘But it tastes so good!’ – Your average joe … (come on, it’s been all of us at some point!)

I’ve saved the best for last because we’ve all been here. It’s the number one reason people eat animal products: “But, I like the taste!” At heart, we’re all just massive foodies, and undoubtedly a tasty meal is one of life’s great pleasures. However, what is disconcerting is that what we are really saying here is: “my tastebuds are more important than the life and suffering of an individual”, and the average person knows that this is a poor excuse. But all is not lost. We are instinctive pleasure-seekers driven by our sensory impulses, but – and this is a big BUT – we are not controlled by them! We can fight back! Just because something feels good, doesn’t mean that it is morally justifiable… Thankfully, there are now a host of guilt-free treats readily at hand which prove the exception. These alternatives ensure that the average joe doesn’t even have to make sacrifices on taste to become vegan (check out Love Raw for vegan chocolate, and La Fauxmagerie for vegan cheese). What a time to be alive!

There are many, many more repetitive strategies of avoidance, beyond the scope of this article, including ‘Farm animals would go extinct if we stopped eating meat’ (the genuinely concerned citizen?), and ‘what if you were stranded on a desert island?’ (the one with the ridiculous hypotheticals). To attempt to tackle everything here would do injustice to the complexity of these discussions. So, let’s end on a happy note, with the vision of the idyllic sanctitude that is a world where we used to eat animals. The repeated excuses have been laid to rest and there is … silence. No one shouts ‘BACON’ at you from across the street. You walk in a safe, undisturbed bliss. New patterns of thinking unfurl that are compassionate and clear-sighted, and plant-based never tasted so good.

(For more check out: ‘30 Non-Vegan Excuses & How to Respond to Them’ by Ed

Winters)