Sarah K. Woodcock is the founder and executive director (volunteer) of TAVS - The Advocacy of Veganism Society. We caught up with her to talk about the link between veganism and caring for animals and why she believes veganism is a moral obligation.
Sarah K. Woodcock (middle)
When and why did you decide to become vegan?
For many years, I had a sense that something was wrong with animal agriculture. That sense led me to forgo "meat" in my diet for months at a time, but I would always go back to eating it. That sense also led me to purchase cage-free eggs for home. In November of 2011, I needed eggs for a holiday recipe, but my local coop where I would purchase cage-free eggs was closed so I had to go to a large store for eggs. The refrigerator didn't have any eggs; it had a sign on the refrigerator door that said something like,
"We are no longer carrying eggs from [farm name] due to an undercover investigation that revealed animal cruelty."
The words "animal cruelty" really struck me. How could eggs be associated with "animal cruelty"? I had no idea but knew I didn't want to support animal cruelty. I started researching animal agriculture, and what I learned validated the sense I had that something was wrong. As I learned about the production of different animal "products," I removed those "products" from my diet. And eventually I learned that "animal cruelty" is inherent in animal agriculture. It was on April 15th, which is "tax day" in the United States, 2012 and I was at a breakfast restaurant with my husband. This particular restaurant had no plant-based breakfast options, and that forced me to make the choice to go vegan. April 15th, 2012, was the day I decided I no longer wanted my life to "tax" the animals; that was the day I went vegan. By then, I had learned how veganism as a practice includes food as well as clothing, entertainment, personal care products, household products, and beyond. Looking back, I strongly believe that had I been introduced to veganism as the ethical position against all animal exploitation and use and the corresponding way of living, I would have gone vegan faster though.
Please tell us about founding The Advocacy of Veganism Society.
After I went vegan, I knew I had found my purpose in life - to help animals. A few months after going vegan, I learned that there are two main schools of thought with regards to animal advocacy - animal welfare and animal rights. The former is concerned with animal welfare and how humans use other animals but doesn't consider the use of other animals as a rights violation; the latter is concerned with animal rights and that humans use other animals-that is, that animals have the right not to be used by humans. The modern animal movement is dominated by the animal welfare school of thought. This is exemplified by the large animal organizations' refusal to promote the animal rights position of veganism as the moral minimum and as the moral imperative that it is. Instead, the large animal organizations shirk responsibility related to avoid animal ethics in favour of promoting various diets that encourage non-vegans to abstain from morally arbitrary animal-based "foods" such as flesh (i.e. veg, vegetarian, veggie, etc.), flesh on Mondays (i.e. Meatless Monday), and cage-free eggs.
After studying the differences between animal welfare, animal rights and how they manifest in the modern animal movement, I was deeply disappointed in the large animal organizations and how they let down both animals and vegans who are committed to veganism as the moral minimum and as a moral imperative. I felt the movement and the animals could really benefit from an organization dedicated to not compromising on veganism and animal rights, no matter what. I also saw huge opportunities for organizing and connecting grassroots advocates and creating a library of unequivocal resources such as leaflets and information sheets and offering them free of charge to advocates who cannot afford them.
Why does caring for animals mean being vegan?
As a non-vegan, I didn't want to support animal cruelty. But for years, I was never introduced to the simple idea that caring for animals meant being vegan. Caring for animals doesn't simply mean forgoing "meat" or "meat" on Mondays but being vegan - being someone who takes the ethical position that using animals as resources is, in and of itself, animal cruelty. Because animal welfare ideology is the dominant ideology in mainstream society and the animal movement, our cultural imagination is limited to how humans use other animals. Animal advocates need to start a new conversation about veganism and the idea that the problem is that humans use other animals.
Why is veganism a moral obligation?
Veganism is a moral obligation because, as humans, we have duties to others including other animals. One of those duties to other animals is respecting their inherent rights including their rights: not to be used as a resource, not to have unnecessary pain or suffering inflicted upon them, and not to be killed. Non-veganism violates every single one of those inherent rights.
Veganism is very rarely presented as a moral obligation, and in our speciesist society, it is often reduced to a diet and presented as a dietary personal choice. Humans exploit and kill over 1 trillion animals per year, which causes an immeasurable amount of pain and suffering that we are directly supporting if we are living non-vegan. We have the choice to support or not support the infliction of that pain and suffering. Therefore, the moral choice is crystal clear; that is, the moral choice is to go vegan and refuse to support, or participate in, the infliction of that pain and suffering to the greatest extent possible. It is important to remember, though, that violating the inherent rights of others, regardless of whether violating them causes pain or suffering, is always morally wrong. This is why veganism is a moral obligation.
What is the humane myth around food?
The humane myth around food is the manifestation of the animal welfare ideology in mainstream society. For example, the false idea that cage-free eggs are "humane" skips the question of whether using animals as resources is morally right and focuses on animal welfare and how humans use other animals. Animal advocates know that there is nothing "humane" about using chickens for their eggs. The humane myth also extends to all other animal uses including animals used for clothing, entertainment, and beyond.
The humane myth is perpetuated when animal organizations work on animal welfare initiatives instead of animal rights initiatives. In the context of our speciesist non-vegan world, belief in the humane myth is sadly inevitable unless animal advocates promote an unequivocal animal rights message and refuse to partner with industry on animal welfare initiatives. This is yet another reason we, at TAVS, promote unequivocally.
In terms of nutrition- what is your best piece of advice when starting out on a vegan diet?
When it comes to nutritional advice, I advise people to seek out expert advice from the many plant-based doctors. When it comes to menu advice, I advise people to make plant-based versions of their favourite recipes. When I went vegan, I thought I would have to eat bland food for the rest of my life. I had no idea how delicious and nutritious plant-based food is!
How valuable are vegan starter kits for those who are thinking about making the switch?
Non-vegans are hungry for information about veganism and continually request veganism starter kits from WhyVeganism.com. I have sent out thousands of veganism starter kits, and they are incredibly valuable because they are actually vegan starter kits, not just plant-based starter kits. That is, they educate about veganism and the ethical position it is as well as how to incorporate that ethical position into one's life. As vegans, we mustn't forget how much we had to learn when we went vegan. It affects every part of one's life, and as vegans, we should strive to provide all of the information that helped us (and more!) to those who are going vegan now.
What is your favourite vegan recipe to create at home?
Lasagna! But I don't have the recipe online…yet? J
What is next for you?
TAVS is an all-volunteer organization, and we welcome new volunteers as we continue to educate non-vegans about veganism through in-person advocacy, WhyVeganism.com where we offer free veganism starter kits, and our national vegan bus ad campaign (www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/vegan-bus-ad-campaign). For in-person advocacy, we provide our unequivocal resources on veganism to vegans around the world. Those can be ordered through our website TAVS.org (new site launching this year).
I wanted to add that I am very passionate about the terminology around veganism and a plant-based diet. I used to think the following terminology was inconsequential, but I now think it is critically important for animals and anti-speciesist advocacy in order for the meaning of veganism not to get corrupted. Veganism is the ethical position against animal exploitation and use and the corresponding way of living. The reason for veganism is animals, although the benefits of veganism are for everyone. A plant-based diet is the diet one adopts when they go vegan, when they want to improve their health, or when they want to reduce their environmental impact. But one only "goes vegan" for animals. One adopts a plant-based diet for many reasons. There are no "health vegans" or "environmental vegans." There are people who adopt a plant-based diet for health reasons or environmental reasons.
Interview in connection with VegfestUK
London (Oct 22nd 23rd 2016), Brighton (Mar 11th 12th 2017), Bristol (May 20th 21st 2017)
vegfest.co.uk
facebook.com/vegfestuk twitter.com/vegfestuk
instagram.com/vegfestuk
youtube.com/vegfestuktv
Tagged in Vegan