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After @SUGARBABYRARA's tweet about the environmental dangers of meat went viral, a lot of people responded using corporations and capitalism as an argument against veganism. Let's talk about why neither of these things are arguments against animal liberation and veganism:
(As a warning, this thread will be very long).
Let's start with the argument "There's no ethical consumption under capitalism." (1)
Let's start with the argument "There's no ethical consumption under capitalism." (1)
Your interlocutor could easily grant that it's true, and you would be left with two options:
1. Conceding that the morality of different types of consumption exists on a spectrum, or
2. Argue that all consumption is equally (2)
1. Conceding that the morality of different types of consumption exists on a spectrum, or
2. Argue that all consumption is equally (2)
unethical. If you agree with point 1, then the argument "no ethical consumption under capitalism" becomes completely irrelevant because the relevant point would be discussing whether the consumption of animal products is at a point on the spectrum that grants it (3)
sufficient levels of immorality to be avoided.
If you agree with point 2, then you would have to agree that literally ALL consumption is equally unethical, which would commit you to the idea that buying something like a homemade shirt from someone's (4)
If you agree with point 2, then you would have to agree that literally ALL consumption is equally unethical, which would commit you to the idea that buying something like a homemade shirt from someone's (4)
Etsy shop that they themselves cultivated all the ingredients for is a form of consumption that is equally as unethical as buying a product from a company that kidnaps and beats children to produce their products. (5)
When we're looking at all the horrible circumstances from which many of the products on the market come from, that should just be a reason for us to be better in our own choices and advocate for better conditions, not an excuse to throw our hands in (6)
the air and completely absolve ourselves of any responsibility. That's what the *evil corporations* whom we seem to be against want us to do, because it allows them to carry on, business as usual, without having to worry about losing the money you give them. (7)
Now let's address the "You shouldn't blame individuals for the actions of corporations" argument.
Why does animal agriculture exist? Why do they produce the products that they make? Because there is a demand for it, and this demand brings them profit. (8)
Why does animal agriculture exist? Why do they produce the products that they make? Because there is a demand for it, and this demand brings them profit. (8)
Although, personally, I don't foresee individual action and boycott leading to the complete abolition of animal agriculture, I DO think that it can help us make some progress as we strive towards that goal. It can, and already has, helped create a demand for vegan (9)
foods. It wasn't until veganism and going meat-free became as popular as it currently is that we got products like Impossible and Beyond both implementing their products into restaurant chains and also making them accessible to the average consumer in the market. (10)
Are they sometimes more expensive? Of course. But Beyond meat plans to cut their prices in half to better compete with animal-based meat, something which the demand for their products has enabled them to do: (11) https://thebeet.com/beyond-meat-plans-to-drop-prices-during-nationwide-meat-shortages/
Further, we now see the dairy industry struggling in part due to the sudden shift in demand from cow's milk to plant-based milks. Again, is the decrease in demand for animal-based foods alone going to abolish these industries? Maybe not. But it can help alleviate the (12)
problem until we get there through other means, like lab grown meat, and help raise public awareness about the issues animal agriculture presents, thus creating a domino effect of more people going vegan or plant-based. (13)
Essentially, the collective actions of consumers *do* have an impact, but in order to realize our potential, we have to stop downplaying how much we can do as individuals. Again, these corporations rely on you thinking you're powerless. (14)
The whole "blame the corporations and not individuals, the power is out of my hands!" mentality is, ironically, pro-corporation because it does exactly what they want you to do: continue lining their pockets with money. (15)
Now, I also wanted to mention this damn article people keep citing. I guarantee that every single person citing this as evidence against veganism or individual action has not actually read the study. I know that because you wouldn't be citing it in the context that you are (16)
if you actually knew what their methodology was and what their conclusions were. This is the article in question: (17)
Now let's briefly go over the actual study that the article references. A better way of paraphrasing the study is that "71% of fossil fuel emissions can be traced back to 100 fossil fuel companies." But these companies did not burn the fossil fuels themselves, they simply (18)
provided the fossil fuels to other people who then burned them. For example, Shell and Exxon Mobile are two of the companies the study cites. Anyone who has ever filled their car up with gas at one of these stations and driven it has, according to this study, (19)
just become part of the 71% of emissions. It is NOT 100 companies standing around burning 71% of fossil fuels. It IS 100 companies supplying the fossil fuels that CONSUMERS and other people/businesses then burn, and THAT becomes the 71%. (20)
I hope this thread, to anyone who actually read it, was useful. I would really like to beg every nonvegan on this bird app to stop getting their anti-vegan information from viral tweets. That's why these ideas become so widespread. Each time, the virality (21)
of those tweets feels like nothing more than confirmation bias, and I would implore you to look past that and truly analyze these arguments with a critical eye (and yes, I am critical of the things vegans say too, don't worry). If you would like any (22)
resources on going vegan, feel free to reach out. I'm sure that pretty much every other vegan would be willing to help you out too. Animal agriculture is dark, gruesome, horrific, and dystopian. The more you learn about it, the worse it gets. Please watch (23)
This documentary for information on how these industries operate:
Also, I'm so sorry to @SUGARBABYRARA because I just now realized that tagging you in this probably means that you just got a notification for every single tweet in the thread, and that you'll be notified every time someone interacts with it. omg
