Moral Compass After Encompass : What Vegans Think but Don’t Say Out Loud
Suppose an ordinary citizen and a respected politician are found having stolen money from public funds – which one do you judge more? What is your gut response to this question? What factors do you consider? Is the wrongness of the act your only criteria for judgment or do you consider the actors and your expectations of them too?
This is an example of the many ethical scenarios we face every day. Ethics is not an abstract notion; it is woven into the fabric of our daily lives. It determines what we consider right or wrong, what we expect from ourselves and each other, our emotional responses to events and how we justify our decisions.
Similarly, veganism as an ideology conjures moral and ethical claims in ourselves, our friends and our adversaries. We preach morality concerning our non-human relations. As such, ethics is at the heart of veganism. And like the politician in the above example, vegans are held to higher moral standards by the general public.
Before their dissolution, Encompass, an organization created with an unwavering commitment to promoting equity and justice in the vegan movement, had recognized that incongruity between our values and our actions hinder the growth of our movement.
Let me illustrate the importance of ethical issues in veganism with reference to a recent event. Amy’s Kitchen, a plant-based food company whose self-claimed vision is to “heal the planet,” has made headline news for the unfair treatment of their employees, most of whom are from marginalized communities. The employees’ vulnerability was exploited to increase the revenue for Amy’s Kitchen – a conduct that violates the very principles this food company officially advocates.
Lack of ethical thinking is at the root of all systems of oppressions. As such, an ethical veganism that opposes exploitation of animals while failing to extend these ethical considerations and obligations towards humans is gravely inconsistent.
That is why it is essential to keep talking about our moral compass after the dissolution of Encompass. The reasons for Encompass’s disbandment were never publicly disclosed. It is certain, however, that the complex ethical issues and entangled power dynamics within the vegan movement played a crucial role in the end of this laudable enterprise.
While I do not claim to have any concrete answers to our ethical struggles as a movement, I believe that our first step is an honest self-reflection, an admission to our moral challenges and a commitment to an ongoing conversation on these issues.
What follows is a reflection on a key ethical dilemma from nearly a decade as a vegan activist.
A key ethical issue: Our values paying our bills
As ethical vegans, we have a strong, clear vision: we want the world to go vegan. A sense of urgency, impatience and excitement propels us to act, from posting quotes, memes and the latest scientific evidence in support of a vegan diet, to founding charities and vegan organizations.
We want to do “good,” and we want our activism to pay our bills. In short, most of us wish to turn our vegan values into a livelihood.
The conflict is simple and obvious, but also very real, pervasive and resistant to simple solutions. We live within a larger socio-political reality that is shaped by capitalism, with its logic of competitiveness and scarcity.
The sense that there is not enough for all of us to make a living becomes even more urgent for vegans. There is not enough financial and institutional support for us. What is more, we are subjected to endless scrutiny by the established systems – institutions, cooperations and the meat industry – that hold on to their power and interests and mercilessly undermine our credibility and legitimacy as professionals.
Understandably, the smallness of our movement and our marginalization in the larger society unites us as a community. However, since we work within a preexisting capitalist structure, our society’s gender, racial and class inequalities penetrate our small communities and are replicated by us too. As a result, there are only very few of us whose voices are respected by established systems of hierarchy and status in our society – think, for example, entrepreneurs and doctors, even though they may not be educated in nutrition, animal rights activism or social justice. The rest of vegan professionals struggle to find a place for their vast knowledge and unique skills in the job market – they rely on those privileged few to pave the way and create jobs for them.
Many vegan and plant-based organizations are filled with best intentions and moral aspirations and yet, in the absence of a regulatory body, unequal power dynamics often lead to abuse of some vegans by other vegans.
With that in mind, what are our choices? As I said earlier, I invite us to think it through together. Yet, I would like to offer two suggestions.
Potential responses to the ethical conflict
What are the responsibilities of individuals and their peers?
Having taken the first step of acknowledging the conflict between our values and the very real human need of making a living, we must be strategic and realistic about our activism and professional aspirations.
When working for a vegan organization, even a non-profit organization (NPO), ensure your employment rights are protected. Check whether the NPO has an impartial, functioning board of directors that is aware of their governing responsibilities to ensure that the organization stays on track with its mission and goals, and works towards the public’s interest. Having an NPO board of directors is a legal requirement in most countries. However, some non-charitable organizations such as Community Interest Companies are social enterprises run solely by the director(s) and relatively free from regulatory restraints. The less governance the organization you are joining has, the more crucial it is to insist on a legally binding contract before starting any collaborative work. You may also join a labor union that can help you with contract negotiations.
If you join a vegan organization as a paid member, pay attention to transparency in leadership, and hold them accountable to their values.
We also need self-honesty. This comes from taking stock and ensuring our actions align with our values. Have we increased our number of followers on social media by compromising integrity? Have we excluded those who don’t look, think and act like us? Are we serving our own ends at the expense of what is best for animals? Are we coerced into self-censorship by more powerful vegan voices? What needs changing?
Being inclusive demands that we refrain from building self-serving cliques. Being inclusive means being open and easing the way for new people to join our circle. The simplest answer to injustice is solidarity and allyship with those who are ostracized and marginalized. As cautioned by Holocaust survivor, Martin Niemöller, do not sacrifice solidarity for self-interest. If you don’t speak out when you witness oppression of others, there won’t be anyone to speak up when they come for you.
What are the responsibilities of vegan leaders and organizations?
Donors have an ethical duty of a thoughtful selection of the organizations they fund. They need to be aware that the laws and regulations vary in countries. Does the organization they want to fund have a board of directors? Who has the final say in that organization? Is it a charity or a social enterprise?
Justice-based movements should welcome diversity. However, most people mistake superficial diversity (i.e., including a token person of color) for the complex diversity that appreciates cultural, structural and systemic dynamics that uphold inequalities (e.g., internalized racism, or cultural racism as opposed to skin racism).
Donors must reevaluate their criteria for grant applications. They could, for example, request that applicants answer questions regarding ethical considerations in their projects. They may consider sending out confidential surveys to individuals involved in the projects they are financing in order to collect data on diversity and fair treatment by their leaders. In addition, they could demand that vegan charities and their leaders take anti-oppression training.
Fair procedures at organsiational level as well as an uncompromising honesty and sense of accountability at individual level are crucial to walking the talk and establishing safe organizational environments. Vegan leaders should appreciate that as they advance and navigate the complex strategies of leading an organization, their worldview will change. And without self-reflection they risk veering off course.
In summary, “when in rush, slow down”. If, as individuals and collectives, we do not take adequate time to reevaluate our actions, we will by default fall into the same oppressive behaviors that permeate our society, the very behaviors that are at the root of injustices against animals.