We all want to see a fair, just and peaceful society, one that fosters security and compassion for those who need this the most, and exists sustainably, healthily and in balance with our natural surroundings. Currently we are badly out of kilter with the values we seek, and the impending climate crisis serves to heighten our broken relationship with the natural world and with animals. Vegan values and the vegan position opposed to the use of all animals, if adopted widespread throughout society by individuals, could dramatically alter the balance in favour of all the values we seek as an evolved society. This vision of society transformation was at the forefront of the vegan social pioneers – Jannaway, Cross, Ling and the Watsons all spoke about or worked towards society transformation, leaving behind the death and destruction of the 2^nd world war, ushering in veganism and into a new era of moral evolution.

 

Can veganism really transform society? By nature, if enough individuals went vegan then yes, we would see a dramatic transformation and that change would be coming right from the heart of the people, a very powerful transformational experience. But it would be unrealistic & disingenuous to frame veganism as the magic cure all for society’s ills without significant system, corporation and institutional change too. Indeed, it is a lively topic of debate within the vegan movement as to whether system change, or individual change is more important. But it is true that a mass switch to plant-based food systems, be that consumer, corporation or Government led, is needed as a matter of urgency if we are to effectively combat our shared environmental issues. A switch to wholefood plant-based diets would see a measured positive impact on people’s health, with a noticeable saving on public health care the natural successor to peoples improved health. And what a switch to plant-based food systems could mean for the Worlds’ hungry people, with so much food, land, water and resources freed up – it would be genuinely transformational. And for captive & farmed animals & free-living beings a transformation beyond belief. If the world adopted veganism en masse, society transformation would be very positive on so many levels.

 

Veganism would see a reduction of violence on the planet, a proliferation of habitats and improvements for the environment, and a rapid transformation of people’s health, & we have to wonder why it hasn’t grown even quicker that it has. In part the answer lies in vested interests and subsidies – the meat and dairy industries, fashion and entertainment, pharmaceutical companies and so many wealthy corporations depend on their wealth for our continued taste to oppress animals, and many of them receive big subsidies from public money to help maintain this. There is so much misinformation peddled by the corporations and such a massive investment in maintaining the status quo to continue to exploit animals by the billions, it’s little wonder that the great scope of veganism has a long way to go yet if we are to establish a truly vegan world. That’s the goal for increasingly millions of people and it’s one of the biggest reasons why people choose veganism – it offers a genuine lifeline not only for society transformation but for survival into the 21st century and beyond.

 

Is Veganism Intersectional? – Andy Atkinson (short film)