AACT strongly
encourages it's members to make a vegan lifestyle choice as it is
only through veganism that we stop contributing to the suffering
of non-human animals.
The links from this page
will provide you with information about the dairy, egg, honey, and
wool industries so that you may make an informed decision. There
are also links to organisations that can support you in adapting
to a vegan lifestyle, which include links to some recipies to get
you started.
Below is an article by
an AACT member that will introduce you to the lifestyle concept
of veganism.
VEGANISM
by AACT member Ben
Payne
Veganism is a diet and
lifestyle which involves not eating, wearing, or using any products
or by-products produced by animals. This means vegans eat a plant-based
diet free from any animal products including meat, dairy, eggs,
and honey. Vegans also do not wear fur, wool, leather, or any other
animal fabric and choose products that have not been tested on animals.
Veganism is vegetarianism taken to its logical conclusion, and the
most practical and beneficial way to implement the theory of animal
rights in your life.
Veganism recognises the
need for the abolition of our use and exploitation of non-human
animals, and is the most significant and effective method for bringing
about social change regarding their moral status. More than simply
a diet and a lifestyle, veganism is the most powerful method of
activism for the animal rights movement and serves as a consistent
application of the animal rights ideology.
Veganism is not concerned
with making the exploitation of non-human animals more ‘humane’,
but instead leads the way in a revolution of our attitudes towards
them. Veganism does not ask that we have bigger cages or greener
pastures but that we revaluate our use of non-human animals and
understand our role in creating a better society through the rejection
of that use.
Many people concerned
with our use of animals quickly give up eating meat, but few immediately
realise the connection between the institutionalised exploitation
of animals and other animal products such as dairy and eggs. Animals
raised for milk or egg production are exploited longer than their
meat counterparts and all end up in the same slaughterhouse when
their production capacity wanes, after which we consume their flesh.
There is no logical difference between supporting animal agribusiness
though eating meat or through eating dairy or eggs. Buying ‘free
range’ eggs or ‘humanely produced’ pork will not
change the moral status of non-human animals either, but simply
serves to further entrench our use of them.
Taking a principled stand
against animal exploitation involves refusing to support it by buying
and consuming animal products, and carrying this into every aspect
of our lives. By becoming a vegan and educating others about veganism
we can begin to make a difference for nonhuman animals and our planet.
Letter
from a Vegan World
The Peaceful
Prairie Sanctuary website Letter
from a Vegan World is compelling reading for aspiring vegans
and long-term vegans alike. Read this and you'll have no doubt about
the misery and suffering that meat, dairy and egg consumption causes
to millions of animals every day. On this website they dispel the
myths of "free-range" farming including the belief that
it is better for the animals. |
