Ethical Veganism as Protected Belief: What the European Court of Human Rights just affirmed
Ethical Veganism as Protected Belief: What the European Court of Human Rights just affirmed
This ECHR judgment matters for vegan advocacy because it provides a legal foundation for veganism as a protected belief. It recognizes opposing the exploitation of animals is an ethical and lifelong commitment, which can be as deep and as identity-forming as any conviction. The judgment also underscores a broader truth: the EU states cannot use procedural barriers to avoid its obligations to those in its care, and that vegan nutritional constraints must be considered. EMILIA A. LEESE: In a first, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) has held ethical veganism meets the required level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and […]
Vegan Parenting: When compassion gets called ‘indoctrination’
Vegan Parenting: When compassion gets called ‘indoctrination’
There is a difference between guilt and conscience, between shame and moral awareness, between indoctrination and age-appropriate truth-telling. We should be careful about using ‘indoctrination’ only for minority beliefs. A child raised to hunt, fish, eat animals, attend rodeos, visit zoos, or see some animals as pets and others as products is being taught values. A child raised vegan is also being taught values. Children are allowed to have moral feelings. They are allowed to feel sad when they learn that animals are hurt, to ask why humans do the things we do, to object to cages, to say no, and […]
GET REAL: Misleading portrayals of farmed animals on television matter
GET REAL: Misleading portrayals of farmed animals on television matter
Television frequently presents farmed animals as unintelligent, interchangeable commodities rather than as individuals with distinct personalities, preferences, social relationships and emotional lives. Scientific understanding of animal cognition and behavior has developed dramatically over recent decades, yet public portrayals often lag behind the evidence. Where evidence demonstrates complexity, intelligence and emotional capacity, those realities should not be obscured, minimized or cast into doubt without justification. It should also accurately portray the conditions animals are kept in. Television should reflect what we know about animals, not what tradition, convenience or cultural habit has led us to assume about them. EDIE BOWLES: Television does more […]
