DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this post is not to discourage you from trying veganism, rather it questions the underlying flaws of our global social hierarchal system.
If the philosophy behind veganism is to not exploit animals for the sake of taste pleasure and material belongings; One then must ask, if suffering is the foundation of our society, is it possible to truly be vegan?
I had never considered this question before reading the Utilitarian fable of The City of Omelas. This story highlights how ignorance to suffering can allow one to live a blissful life. Is it actually bliss, if you’re aware of the suffering but choose to ignore it? Surely, you would be internally conflicted over the hidden torture that kept the City of Omelas in a constant state of ‘perfection’.
This reminds me of our society. We live in an age where we exploit not only animals, but fellow humans – we are often led to believe that slavery is a thing of the past, yet it is still very much prevalent today. In March 2020 there were 7,779 modern slavery crimes recorded by the police, a 59% increase from 4,897 in the year to March 2019, in the UK alone. This figure only shows illegal forms of slavery, such as sex trafficking, and then only the cases that were reported by police. We need to first understand that not all slavery is illegal.
In fast industries – such as fashion, technology and even food, sweatshops are used to produce a mass amount of goods. As a vegan myself, I know I have purchased goods from industries that exploit people from developing countries. I have consciously contributed to the suffering of my fellow humans – can I still call myself vegan? This often reminds me of the counter culture movement of the 70’s – their message of love and peace contradicted itself. You can’t listen to your ‘woke’ music on mass produced stereos and still consider yourself active in seeking societal change, can you? One can see a world in which suffering ceases to exist, but is that a world that can truly be achieved under a capitalist rule.
Are we not all slaves to the system? Is veganism relative to your social class? Does Veganism need to be redefined to exclude humans? All of these questions play on my mind daily. Does calling myself a Vegan make me a hypocrite?
I truly believe people have good intentions, especially many Vegans. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that living under such an exploitative and oppressive system means that it is virtually impossible to live truly vegan. I wonder if living a truly ethical life would ever be possible.
Lauryn Iris 