Veganism is often viewed as a moral choice or an ethical choice and to that extent we can see veganism as a set of standards for behaviour based on the principles of right and wrong. Morals and ethics are not always easy to define and are complex issues, but here are some important considerations to make when it comes to veganism and morals, including the subjects of moral consideration, moral imperatives and moral evolution.

 

By moral consideration, we mean the idea that certain beings or entities deserve to be treated with respect and have their interests taken into account when making decisions or taking actions, recognizing that some things and some beings matter morally, and that our actions can have a moral impact on them. Cleary in the case of choosing to use animals or not, we severely impact on their existence and their well-being – not only those animals directly impacted by our choices, but also those indirectly impacted – as we have seen, animal agriculture is also having a devastating effect on free living beings and natural habitats. The question for us is – do we extend our moral consideration to include other animals? The vegan position would say that yes we do. It’s worth noting too that we already include some animals in our understanding of moral consideration, and domesticated animals such as some cats and dogs enjoy both moral and legal protection, and in many respects veganism seeks to extend this circle of moral consideration to include all animals and all sentient beings, not just some animals.

 

Do we have a moral imperative to help animals? The vegan position would say yes, absolutely we have a moral imperative to prevent willful suffering and death wherever we can, and this extends to all animals. Veganism is rooted in the values of non-violence and peace and many vegans share the concept that we do have a moral imperative to help all animals, and the best way to help them is to not use them as commodities in the first place, before getting active for animals and helping end animal use. A useful analogy to understand the moral imperative to help animals – if you were walking in a car park on a hot day and saw a dog trapped in a car with no windows open, and clearly suffering and potentially with their life at risk, and trying to get out, do you have a moral imperative to act and to free the dog, even if it means maybe smashing a window and potentially risking arrest for criminal damage, in order to let the dog out? If you answer yes to that then you already understand the vegan position.

 

For in the same way the vegan feels a moral imperative to help animals trapped in farms, or in laboratories, or in circuses and zoos. Perhaps too in answer to the question about the dog in a carpark – if you didn’t realise the dog was in danger, and thought maybe the dog was just waving at you instead of trying to get out of a hot car, and was actually quite happy, then would there be a moral imperative to help them? Possibly not, because if you don’t realise that someone is in danger, what imperative is there to act? This helps explain why vegans are often willing to share what happens to animals in slaughterhouses, farms, circuses and laboratories, to help alert people to the problem and then exercise a moral imperative to help them, which in effect means going vegan. The rather tired old joke ‘How do you know that someone’s vegan? Don’t worry they’ll soon tell you’ takes on a different slant when we consider a moral imperative to help animals, and this also underpins the reason why many people become animal rights activists, and sometimes even risk their own freedom and safety to help other animals.

 

Moral Evolution is a term referred to by Leslie Cross and Donald Watson to describe veganism – the early vegan social movement pioneers considered veganism to be a lifeline for the evolution of mankind, which if adopted widely would see the end to world wars, starvation, injustice, ecological and environmental destruction and the establishment of fundamental rights for all sentient beings to exist with exploitation. This grand vision of veganism is still alive and well amongst many people, and especially those that have been vegan for a few decades, although in truth the broad scope and vision of veganism has also been somewhat reduced to something more akin to a dietary or lifestyle consumer choice in recent years.

 

Whilst moral may refer mainly to guiding principles, ethics are perhaps more specific in terms of behaviour and actions and the ethics of veganism point clearly to not using any animals for any purpose, and veganism is very much a set of lifestyle choices that reflect these ethics, and align with our values and morals. Sometimes vegans are accused of being ‘all or nothing’ or ‘inflexible’ or even ‘extremist’ or ‘militant’ when it comes to the avoidance or animal products – when seen from a health or environmental perspective then yes that may be true, but when viewed from the perspective of ethics and morals then we begin to understand just why vegans seek to exclude – as far as practicable and possible – all forms of animal use and commodification. Anyone taking a principled stand against a perceived wrong can be accused of the same – being inflexible, intolerant, rigid, dogmatic and obstinate – but when it comes to taking a principled position, by definition one must maintain that position at all times possible, otherwise it’s no longer a principled position. Hence the vegan position is pretty clear – all animals matter, all animals have a right to live free from human oppression, and we do our best to live by that principle and understanding. 

 

The vegan position is now recognised by law and ethical veganism is a protected philosophical belief. More recently in 2020 veganism became a protected belief under the Equality Act when vegan zoologist and animal protection campaigner Jordi Casamitjana won a landmark Employment Tribunal to make ethical veganism a protected belief in Great Britain, meaning individuals cannot be discriminated against based on their ethical vegan beliefs.

 

Another term that is useful in relation to veganism is Virtue Ethics. Virtue Ethics emphasizes character and virtues as the primary focus of ethical thinking, rather than rules or consequences, and aims to cultivate a virtuous person who acts in accordance with their character. This is an aspect that has been in part left behind with a modern day understanding of veganism, which has tended to shift away from traditional veganism into the realms of consumerism and dietary choices but for many vegans, virtue ethics and self-transformation lie at the very heart of veganism, alongside the clear focus of justice for all animals, and the works of Cross, Watson and Jannaway point to both self and society transformation as contained within the broad scope of veganism.

 

“The consciousness of interbeing informs the desire to lead a moral life. Virtue ethics is an emergent manifestation of this desire, with veganism — an opposition to the exploitation of sentient life —  being an integral aspect of virtuous action, necessarily.” Philip Murphy, Meditation Facilitator

 

 

 

Further Reading & Viewing

 

Speciesism, moral consideration and anthropocentrism – Animal Ethics  (short presentation)

 

 

Ethical Vegan – Jordi Casamitjana (The Book)

 

 

Lewis Gompertz – Moral Enquiries (free download)