Vegan lifestyle articles that discuss ways of living in peace with humans, animals, and the environment.
Gary Smith,
TheThinkingvegan.com
April 2018
Yes, we live in a confusing, capitalistic world where vegan food products are going to one day all be owned by companies that exploit other animals. It’s inevitable. And everyone is going to have to navigate these murky waters by their own inner compasses – as some of us are doing today by avoiding products that were tested on animals.
I never really thought of myself as a vegan purist. Being an ethical
vegan for the last 11 years, I always considered myself just a vegan, doing
the bare minimum of trying to do the least harm possible in regards to
nonhuman animals.
So when I heard about Impossible Foods testing their soy-heme on rats, back
in August, I immediately stopped promoting and eating the Impossible Burger.
It wasn’t a difficult decision for me, really. After all, as an ethical
vegan, I have avoided all animal exploitation and use; for food, clothing,
entertainment, and animal experimentation, to the extent of the choices I
have available.
As the parent of an 11 year-old beagle named Frederick, who was rescued from
an animal testing lab six-plus ago, I could not in good conscience continue
to support, promote, or eat a product that had been tested on a fellow
animal. As I am sure most of you have, I’ve seen plenty of undercover videos
from testing labs. Marc Ching, who is known for going undercover in the dog
meat trade in Asia, recently went undercover in an animal testing lab in
China. He said that the lab was far worse than what he sees in dog
slaughterhouses. He should know.
Using products that were tested on animals is generally not considered part
of an ethical vegan lifestyle. If a brand of lipstick is tested on animals,
no one would have a problem if I did not promote the company. But when it’s
a trendy new food that is getting a huge positive buzz, suddenly people are
willing to look the other way. I also wonder: if the Impossible Burger was
tested on beagles like Freddie, rather than rats, would there be such
vociferous vegan support? In case you’re wondering, the rats were overfed
soy heme, monitored for any ill health effects, and then Impossible Foods
killed the rats to study their internal organs. It’s easy for me to see
those rats as dogs as cats as mice as cows as…you get the point. It’s
confinement, exploitation, and violence – for the sake of a veggie burger.
Was I a little bummed because the Impossible Burger tastes good? Sure. So
did sushi and brie. But ultimately, exploitation loses its flavor and
appeal.
Now I’m seeing a lot of noise on the socials about “vegan purists” who have
chosen to boycott and not promote the Impossible Burger as well, by the
loudest and most popular voices in the movement. People are being attacked
for “hurting animals” and accused of being hypocrites because we use cell
phones, drive cars and use computers. As if there is an equivalency between
eating a veggie burger, and, say, conducting business.
I happen to use my computer and cell phone mostly for my PR business in
which I promote animal nonprofits and vegan for-profit businesses like
Animal Place,
Vegan Wines, and
Wild Earth – shameless plugs for those
working to save animals from exploitation.
I’ve even seen vegans taken to task for using medication because it was
tested on animals. Do I really need to address that?
This doesn’t mean that I want to see Impossible Foods fail. If I were vegan
king, I’d like to see vegans stop promoting and buying their products, but
alas, I was not born with such a destiny. Of course I prefer that nonvegans
order an Impossible Burger over the flesh of an exploited cow. That should
be obvious.
However the reality is it doesn’t matter what I or any other vegans in this
debate want, the Impossible Burger has taken off and will continue to do so,
with or without our tiny community.
Yes, we live in a confusing, capitalistic world where vegan food products
are going to one day all be owned by companies that exploit other animals.
It’s inevitable. And everyone is going to have to navigate these murky
waters by their own inner compasses – as some of us are doing today by
avoiding products that were tested on animals.
It doesn’t make us purists because we choose not to support a company that
willingly tested their product on animals, which the FDA does NOT require,
and that refuses to commit to never test again.
It just makes us... vegan.
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