Zülal Kalkandelen: I see animal liberation as a political act because it is a commitment to justice and a refusal to participate in animal slavery. I don't agree with people who separate veganism from its ethics and politics.
ROLAND AZAR: The Middle East Vegan Society had the pleasure to interview Turkish journalist, columnist, author, and vegan animal liberation activist, Ms. Zülal Kalkandelen…
Q: WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A VEGAN ANIMAL LIBERATION ACTIVIST IN TURKEY, AND HOW HAVE POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACTED THE ANIMAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT IN THE COUNTRY?
A: Animal liberation activism in Turkey has unfortunately weakened in recent years and has become stuck only on social media. A person engaged in activism in any field in Turkey may face serious difficulties at any time. Government pressure has been applied to silence every segment for the last 21 years. Animal liberation activism is no exception. Also, there is a lot of division because of the differences in approaches to vegan activism. There is not much solidarity among activists. One of the reasons for this is the political factions that permeate almost every area in Turkey. Especially in recent years, this struggle has done a lot of damage. This situation poses a serious obstacle to organizing animal liberation activism. Animals pay the price for this.
The biggest challenge of being vegan is dealing with the antagonism and harassment that we get from so much of the world. Most people who don’t have any idea what vegan means think that you are a freak. There are always sarcastic comments, put-downs, stupid “jokes” and so on… Personally, I am a journalist who has been subjected to a lot of verbal attacks, threats, humiliation, and marginalization for defending veganism in such a country for 30 years. For this reason, professionally, I have been defeated in many ways. I have a large number of cases pending in the courts for exposing the torture of animals.
Q: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ANIMAL LIBERATION, AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?
A: There are different approaches to activism. While there are people who defend gradual progress toward the objective, there are others who clearly state the animal liberation idea we defended from the start. They think it is right to express this to society without any compromise. I am closer to the second group. Because animals are sentient beings whose lives matter… By defining animals as sentient beings, we accept that animals have the ability to feel, perceive, or be conscious, or to experience subjectivity. This is proven scientifically. So my goal is to explain this scientific fact to as many people as possible and to ensure that animal husbandry ends…
Q: IN ONE OF YOUR BOOKS, YOU WROTE: VEGANISM: ETHICS, POLITICS, AND STRUGGLE. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS, AND WHY DO YOU SEE IT AS A SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT?
A: The book titled “Veganism: Ethics, Politics, and Struggle” [Veganizm: Ahlakı, Siyaseti ve Mücadelesi] was published as an e-book in 2013. It is the first veganism book published in Turkish. With Can Başkent, we wrote it to answer the questions that can come to the minds of vegans and non-vegans in daily life. I see animal liberation as a political act because it is a commitment to justice and a refusal to participate in animal slavery. The decision to boycott animal products has major political implications. I don’t agree with people who separate veganism from its ethics and politics. SOURCE…
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