•
Make veganism look easy. When people hear vegans ordering at restaurants, it can sometimes turn people off veganism. It seems too hard for them to even consider. They don’t want to inquire about shared grills or know the details about the preparation surfaces in the kitchen. They just want to order some food. I’ve been at restaurants with nonvegans who are shocked that I can order quickly at almost any restaurant. They have been with other vegans who made the staff bring out labels for their inspection and questioned shared grills, fryers, etc. It had them totally freaked out - convinced they could never be vegan and act in this manner. When they see me order easily, they start to see how they could do this “vegan thing” too.
•
Support a middle ground for people who aren’t going to turn vegan – yet. This is where weird developments like fast food chains that sell Impossible burgers on non-vegan buns or Beyond Burgers on cow’s cheese laden burgers come in. No, these options aren’t vegan. But, yes, they do offer a substantial reduction in demand for animal products (and animal suffering) compared to the other choices on the menu.
The goal of veganism is clear. We need to reduce demand for animal products, which will lead to a reduction in supply of animal products, which will result in few animals being bred and killed for food and a reduction in emissions that are causing climate change. To do this, we need to worry more about reducing the demand for animal products by others than our own personal purity. The animals don’t care about your squeamishness, nor do the people being displaced and dying from the effects of climate change. It’s about something bigger than ourselves. We have to start acting like it’s important because it is!
Tammy Fiebelkorn is a long-time vegan animal rights activist. She is an environmental economist and energy efficiency lobbyist. She is also the founder of Positive Links, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing all forms of family violence – animal abuse, child abuse, intimate partner violence and elder abuse. She lives with her partner Paul, her elder and special needs mutts Ruby, Frida, Cinderella and Queenie, and a 67-year-old paralyzed amazon parrot – Mr. T in Albuquerque.
NM Vegan | 40