Questioning the Concept of Vegan Privilege - Greenebaum - 2016.pdf

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• Some people are apolitical and eat a plant-based diet for personal health benefits.

• Others reject animal consumption to protect the environment from the harm caused by the system of industrial farming. Some vegans, whom I call ethical vegans, choose veganism as an ethical lifestyle to reduce the suffering and exploitation of animals

• Ethical vegans adopt a definition of veganism coined in 1944 by Donald Watson of the Vegan Society of the UK, which promotes animal rights by rejecting the use of all animals for food, clothing, and entertainment

• Veganism as an ethical position based on the belief of animal rights and animal liberation, rather than a personal dietary heath choice

• ejects food consumption as ‘‘personal choice,’’ and rejects the ideologies of speciesism and carnism.

• debate whether they should encourage people to reduce their consump- tion of animals or promote a total abolition approach.

• whether emphasizing health, environmental, or ethical arguements will be the most effective way to advocate for veganism

• bloggers have been actively writing posts and commentaries debating the notion of ‘‘vegan privilege.’’ These bloggers debate whether veganism requires affluence, whether it assumes whiteness, first world privilege, and cultural insensitivity, and whether it encourages self-righteousness and condescension towards non-vegans

• one is vegan or not since a group of vegan activists and animal rights activists also promote the concept of vegan privilege

• approaches veganism as a monolithic movement and lacks contextualization. Privilege is defined as the invisible, unearned, and often unwanted advantages granted based on membership to ascribed social groups such as race, class, and gender

• theory developed by black feminist theorists, critiqued the essentialist notion of the universal woman and argued that the experience of femininity and sisterhood differed for all based on one’s social location

• recognizes that racism, sexism, class exploitation, and other forms of discrimination and oppression are part of a matrix of domination and therefore must be dismantled together, not separately

• a vegan diet is not inherently costly and is possible for people of various income levels.

• urchase expensive and exotic ingredients, although it does make the food more varied and interesting.

• dietary staples for vegans such as rice, beans, and potatoes are budget friendly

• Beans and nuts are more affordable, if bought in bulk

• shopping at Whole Foods or a health food store and eating organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables and ‘‘superfoods.

• In addition, if you check out People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETAs) ‘‘accidently vegan’’ food list, you will find that many types of junk food are vegan.

• Vegan products like soy, mock meats, dairy substitutes, and other prepackaged or convenience foods can be expensive and are not always sold in mainstream grocery

• airy substitutes are convenient and tasty and useful for transitioning to a vegan diet, but they are neither necessary nor particularly healthful if eaten in large quantities