A Rock-Solid Case: Why all progressives must be vegan
In every sphere that matters to progressives — justice, equity, sustainability, health, and non-violence — animal agriculture is one of the world’s most destructive forces, devastating human and animal lives. True commitment to these values demands embracing veganism. This isn’t a lofty ideal — it’s the very least we can do. Anything less is utterly inconsistent with progressive values, betraying them beyond recognition.
PALA NAJANA: Progressive politics is founded on challenging oppression and injustice. If we ask others to face uncomfortable truths, we must be willing to do the same… The stakes are high: in every sphere that matters to progressives — justice, equity, sustainability, health, and non-violence — animal agriculture is one of the world’s most destructive forces, devastating human and animal lives. The choice is ours: face the truth or deceive ourselves…
1) Standing Against Cruelty: Progressives oppose systemic violence and exploitation. Yet animal agriculture is the single largest system of organized violence in human history: billions of sentient beings are bred, confined, and killed every week for products we do not need… Opposing violence while funding the greatest source of preventable suffering on Earth — what could be more contradictory?..
2) Confronting Arbitrary Hierarchies: Progressives challenge socially constructed hierarchies that justify oppression, such as racism, xenophobia, or patriarchy. Yet many overlook another deeply ingrained, irrational hierarchy: the one separating pets from farmed animals…
3) Protecting Climate and Environment: Progressives who care about climate action and ecological justice cannot ignore that animal agriculture is one of the planet’s most destructive industries. It pollutes water and air, depletes soils, and wipes out biodiversity — while producing more greenhouse gases than the entire United States…
4) Fighting Sexual Violence: Progressives oppose sexual exploitation and violations of bodily autonomy. Yet animal agriculture depends on exactly that: as soon as they barely hit sexual maturity, cows, pigs, and chickens are forced to reproduce again and again and separated from their offspring, their reproductive systems turned into machinery for profit…
5) Examining Our Own Privileges: Progressives frequently emphasize the importance of understanding and critically reflecting on one’s own privilege. Yet when it comes to farmed animals, claims of superiority are rarely questioned. Just because they look different, don’t speak our language, may be less intelligent than us in many respects and are defenseless does not give us the right to mistreat or exploit them without necessity…
6) Advocating for Public Health: While many progressives advocate for accessible healthcare, disease prevention, and social well-being, they often overlook one of the greatest threats to public health: animal agriculture. The industry drives a vast range of health risks, from heart disease and diabetes linked to animal product consumption to the looming threat of pandemics…
7) Exposing Misinformation and Lobbying: Progressives often warn about the lies companies and politicians use to manipulate people and get them to act against their own interests. Yet when it comes to justifying the consumption of animal products, people rely on worn-out, long-debunked “arguments” without taking even a few minutes to verify them, despite the abundance of well-researched sources and tools available…
8) Questioning Harmful Norms: Progressives often challenge social norms, refusing to accept injustices just because “this is how it’s always been done” or because the majority looks the other way. Yet when it comes to animals, many remain complicit in normalized cruelty — hiding behind the behavior of the majority to justify what they would otherwise reject…
9) Advocating Social Justice: Many progressives fight for for workers’ rights, resource equity, and the well-being of marginalized communities. Yet animal agriculture directly undermines these values. Workers in this industry are routinely exposed to hazardous conditions and extreme exploitation, resulting in high rates of lifelong injuries, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and PTSD…
10) Protecting Indigenous Communities: Progressives have long championed the rights of Indigenous peoples, advocating for their sovereignty, land rights, and cultural survival. Yet when it comes to animal agriculture, many fail to see how it directly harms these same communities. No other human activity consumes as much land, driving deforestation, land grabbing, and the forced displacement of Indigenous peoples…
11) Resisting Commodification: Many progressives critique the commodification of life under capitalism, where even human bodies, labor, and relationships are reduced to profit-making tools. Yet animal agriculture is built entirely on this logic: sentient beings are treated as objects, bred and killed for fleeting palate pleasures and corporate gain. Their bodies are broken into parts — meat, milk, eggs, hides — each assigned a price tag, each stripped of individuality…
Even a single one of the points above would be enough to make the case. Taken together, they form an overwhelming weight of evidence. It’s clear: true commitment to these values demands embracing veganism. This isn’t a lofty ideal — it’s the very least we can do. Anything less is utterly inconsistent with progressive values, betraying them beyond recognition. SOURCE…
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