NOTE: This piece is not intended to shame anyone for not being vegan, or to suggest that one must be vegan in order to be considered a feminist. I fully understand that there are very real issues such as health, dependency, economic backgrounds that determine whether or not someone can decide to lead a plant-based lifestyle. This is simply to show how ethical veganism can be considered feminist.
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It is immoral to live your life in a way that depends on the oppression of others. This is an idea that most people, and certainly most feminists would agree with. There is of course a large portion of the population who would be quick to point out that it is virtually impossible to live your life in a way that doesn’t negatively impact on the lives of others. Most affordable clothing has been created by people far away from us in less than ideal conditions, the mining process for the minerals needed for your mobile phone is hugely detrimental to the planet and the workers, driving you car contributes to the slow death of the planet, and so the list goes on. It can become overwhelming very quickly, especially for those who try to live as socially conscious as possible.
But it is important we try as best we can. If feminism is the social, political and economical equality of the genders (and it is), then intersectional feminism is the only feminism that can possibly achieve this. It’s not only the freedom of white, middle-class, cis-gendered, able bodied women that deserves working on, we all have to fight for the rights of women and people everywhere. And in an increasingly globalized and capitalist-driven world, that struggle is becoming more and more apparent. Most feminists can recognise that fighting for our rights while buying clothes from shops like Penneys and Forever 21 which exploit working women, usually of colour, in ‘developing’ countries is hypocritical, even if it is all that we can afford at the time. But one ethical purchase once is better than none ever. When possible, buying from companies that provide a better life for its workers is always ideal. It is not about perfection, it’s simply about trying to do our best when we can. In a capitalist world, feminism has to be present in the way we spend our money, otherwise we will never win.
As intersectional feminists, it is paramount that we are aware how our personal choices affect others. Sometimes it’ll be unavoidable, but other times that suffering can be prevented. This is why I believe that veganism is a feminist issue. Before I elaborate I want to make it clear that I am not attacking non-vegan feminists. I have been a feminist a lot longer than I have been vegan, and I didn’t make the connection between the two until recently this year. Even amongst the vegan community there are differing opinions. In a poll conducted on an international vegan Facebook page in which 559 people took part, only 189 of those felt that feminism and veganism where linked. At 270, just under half of people felt they were both feminist and vegan, but that the issues did not coincide, while only 100 of those polled stating they were vegan and not feminist.
The argument for eating vegan extends further than just what you put in your body, but what you spend your money on. Those creating animal products don’t care if you actually eat it or not, in the same way that fast fashion companies don’t care if you wear the clothes. They just want you to spend the money. For me, this is one of many areas where veganism and feminism collide. In the same way that it is hypocritical of me to splurge on fast fashion when it comes at such a cost to women, it is wrong of me to spend money on an industry that is nothing but violent, and that disproportionately exploits females. The meat and dairy industry are one and the same. If you consume dairy you are propping up an industry that sends male calves to slaughter and which traps females in an endless cycle of pregnancy, separation, and torment. There is an excess of male calves because dairy calves are repeatedly impregnated against their will, a process which is just as horrifying as it sounds. If the calf born out of this is female she will be subjected to the same torture. If it is male, he will become veal. Trust the capitalist system to turn what could be deemed ‘waste’ of the dairy industry into a delicacy. Imagine being forced into pregnancy for your entire life, developing connections to those babies, only to have them ripped from you a few days, if not hours after giving birth. Childbirth is a rough ordeal on your body, and when your body finally can’t take it anymore, you are killed so you can be eaten. The egg industry also sends male chicks into grinders, as they are seen as useless. If you’re a hen, then you get to live. But more than likely in dire conditions and being forced to lay eggs more often than nature intended. These never ending cycles are unnatural and unnecessary. And yet, we pay for them to exist. For me, it’s hard to have a conversation about bodily autonomy when you are consuming products that can only be produced by denying autonomy to another creature.
There is also the issue of framing the lives of all living creatures in relation to man. Women are too often compared to men. We are congratulated when we embody typically male characteristics, applauded for being ‘just one of the guys’ and ‘not like other girls’. We are degraded and written off for being too much like women, when we dare show emotion and a different perspective. For too long our society has framed every action that a woman takes to be in relation to how we allegedly want men to see us. In the recent Cork case, a young woman who had been raped was described as wanting sex because she wore a lace-front thong. The idea that we as women dress ourselves in a certain way to communicate something to men (something which doesn’t work the opposite way apparently) is next in the long list of things that women do because of men. Men live their lives for themselves and because our patriarchal society was built by them they think women live their lives for them too. And it’s not just women; we frame lives of POC in relation to those of white people, we frame the actions and desires of LGBTQIA+ people in relation to those of straight people, and we look at animals in what they can provide us as opposed to what they might want for their own lives.
“Another issue with this particular anti-vegan argument is that it pushes the idea that if we can’t be perfect we shouldn’t try at all. A totally cruelty free lifestyle under capitalism is nothing more than a dream. But taking steps to minimise the pain you cause in the world, no matter where that pain is caused can only be good.“
Arguments for eating animals for the most part range from tiresome to bizarre. Here in Ireland we often get the ‘grass-fed animals are happy animals’ argument. People seem to be under the impression that animals are living long and happy lives in beautiful green pastures and are eaten at the end of their life cycle. Cows are slaughtered at three years old, not their potential twenty-two. Pigs are slaughtered at the age of six months instead reaching a possible fifteen years, while lambs are slaughtered at one year old, instead of getting to potentially twelve years old. Not to mention, when have you ever seen a pig frolicking outside? And even if all of that weren’t the case, does it actually justify killing an animal so you can enjoy a meal? I would argue that it is rather irrelevant where and when you kill a sentient being, the primary issue is that you killed them.
Next we have the argument that animals are less intelligent than us, and that somehow excuses eating them. I am more intelligent than some people, should I be allowed to eat them? Some people like to claim that it’s our conscious that makes us somehow better than other animals. Is a life really only worth living if it can be lived on our terms, or in a way that we as humans can understand? Women are not only deserving of a place at the table as long as they conform to the rules set by men. We are deserving of that place because we are people, with a humanity that cannot be erased or minimised. Animals are not only deserving of life because they bring something to our lives, or because we can connect to them. They are deserving of life because they are. And if that’s not feminist then I don’t know what is.
Another argument, and one which can’t be ignore, is that eating vegan isn’t ever cruelty free because people along the way are ultimately exploited and abused. This cannot be denied. A lot of fruits and vegetables that are bought here are imported from Israel, whose violent oppression of the Palestinian people is nothing short of genocide. Mexico’s growing of avocados, or ‘green gold’ as it’s known has led to big business, but also corruption, extortion and murder. The explosion of international produce in our stores comes at a human price, which is why we have seen the rise of the fair trade movement. A problem with this argument is that it tries to pin unethical eating on the consumer, rather than the system. A global and capitalist system is what creates these mass inequalities in food production, not vegans, or anyone else for that matter. Vegans simply try to minimise the impact of this system. And it has long been understood that the best way to eat vegan (for the animals, the planet, and your health) is a whole foods plant based diet that is made up predominately of locally sourced foods. Another issue with this particular anti-vegan argument is that it pushes the idea that if we can’t be perfect we shouldn’t try at all. A totally cruelty free lifestyle under capitalism is nothing more than a dream. But taking steps to minimise the pain you cause in the world, no matter where that pain is caused can only be good.
When I wasn’t living a vegan lifestyle I was paying for violence. I was consuming violence. No matter where you stand on the vegan argument, you cannot deny that you are standing in favour of violence when you eat animal products. That’s how capitalism works; money is the only vote that matters. No matter what lifestyle the animals have led, there is not ethical way to kill them. Bloodshed is bloodshed, no matter what way you present it. If I am to try and live my life without oppression, that has to include the animals. There is never a justification for oppression. And while sometimes it’s hard for me to live a totally ethical lifestyle, going vegan has been one of the easiest things to do. A whole foods plant based lifestyle is often cheaper than its meat and dairy filled alternative. And by voting with my dollar, I am voting for more vegetables, and less violence. And I am one step closer to living the truly feminist life I believe needs to be lived in order to achieve real equality in life.
Written by Julia Crowe
Instagram: @Julia
Kildare Feminist Network 