{"id":663,"date":"2019-04-29T13:17:38","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T13:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/?post_type=articles&p=663"},"modified":"2019-05-22T17:15:01","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T17:15:01","slug":"ethics-of-veganism","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/articles\/ethics-of-veganism\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ethics of Veganism: Ethical Reasons to Go Vegan"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself. \u00a0 \u00a0-Bertrand Russell<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Main Reasons for Going Vegan<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
On a basic level, there are generally three main reasons people cite for going vegan:<\/p>\n
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- Health Reasons<\/a> for Veganism<\/strong> – A vegan diet, rich in fruit and veg, seeds, nuts and pulses, is seen by many as healthier than most omnivorous diets. This view is supported by plenty of scientific research.<\/li>\n
- Environmental Reasons<\/a> for Veganism<\/strong> – There have been numerous scientific studies that suggest a vegan diet has far less of a negative impact on the environment than one which includes meat (including fish), eggs and\/or dairy.<\/li>\n
- Ethical Reasons for Veganism<\/strong> – There is little doubt breeding, caging and slaughtering animals for food and other products causes those animals suffering. For many people this is not acceptable from a moral perspective.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
In reality, the motivational factors that cause a person to follow a vegan lifestyle are nuanced and based on various personal convictions; but the three main reasons mentioned above, in whatever combination, play a significant role. Here we shall tackle the third of these and delve into the sometimes esoteric world of ethics.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll start with a brief summary of the ethical case for veganism, and follow that with a basic explanation about what the term \u201cethics\u201d refers to; but don\u2019t worry, this isn\u2019t going to be a long-winded philosophical treatise assessing the work of every great moral philosopher from Socrates, Plato and Artistotle to Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill (though you could do worse than read their pearls of wisdom on the subject)!<\/p>\n
Instead, we will focus here on applied ethics in relation to veganism and the use of animals. We\u2019ll also take a glance at the ethics of suffering, personhood, and environmental ethics with the aim of expanding on the summary of the moral case for veganism.<\/p>\n
The Ethical Case for Veganism<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
The whole point of veganism is to minimise the exploitation of and cruelty to animals. Everyone gets that. But why? What is it about animals in particular, as opposed to trees or even lampposts, for example, that makes vegans so keen to protect them?<\/p>\n
On a basic level, it is the ability of animals to suffer, to have the capacity to experience physical and \u2013 many would argue \u2013 psychological pain, which makes them worthy of our protection in the eyes of vegans, and many non-vegans for that matter.<\/p>\n
There are a number of reasons within the ethical realm that motivate people to go vegan, including:<\/p>\n