Veganism – The Focus & The Scope
Over the 30 day challenge, we’ll take a look together at the main reasons as to why people choose to go vegan. From the origins of vegan philosophy & plant-based diets thousands of years ago right up to the present day and an estimated 80 million people following a vegan way of life with many millions more eating pretty much plant based. And those of us who have created the challenge hope very much you’ll find it informative, uplifting, educational, inspirational and an interest in veganism will be sparked & cultivated.
There’s no requirement to agree with everything – the challenge is designed for you to challenge yourself on these issues and see where you stand on them, and whether to act on them or not. Animal rights and veganism is a complex position for many reasons and not one that we all agree on – even vegans. One reason for that is clear – animals are the victims here but they cannot articulate or lead the discussion, unlike any other social justice movement. We can hear their cries and know that they are suffering, but it’s humans that lead the discussions as to what’s best to do for animals.
The aim of the challenge has been to help demonstrate the focus and the broad scope of veganism and plant-based lifestyles, and it’s important to remember that veganism is a philosophy, distinct from plant based diets – that’s often where you see discord and disagreement in vegan circles as people tend to conflate the two. The original vegan pioneers did a great job in mapping out the broad scope of veganism, and the advent of research and new discoveries, especially around climate & health, has served to strengthen the original arguments put forward 80 years ago by the first UK vegans. The growth of plant-based diets and the mainstream acceptance of these broad ideals has to some degree seen the original scope slightly reduced in meaning and understanding but that’s to be expected as an idea goes mainstream. Part of the purpose of the Why Go Vegan 30-day challenge is to revisit that broad scope and vision that the UK vegan social movement set out with 80 years ago.
All steps to veganism are to be encouraged and for some people, transitioning fully to a plant-based lifestyle can take time, and everyone makes their own assessment of the information to hand and how to act upon it. If you’re not quite ready to commit to veganism 100% then of course increasing plant-based options is a big step forward and undoubtedly great for climate and for health. But at the heart of veganism lies a determination to address the imbalance between humans and animals, repair the broken relationship that we currently have, and get right to the root of the problems that we face, and that lies in addressing speciesism, challenging property status for animals, and renewing the way we regard other animals – no longer as commodities and here for our purposes, but as individuals and with a right to live their own lives uninterrupted, and here for their own interests. That’s the heart of the vegan message and if we address the root cause of the problem then many solutions will follow naturally, as set out over the 30 day challenge – and that’s in part why we need people to go vegan, stay vegan and then help inspire other people to go vegan. Truly a genuine people’s movement for animals, people and the planet.
