Veganism isn’t a “diet”. It stretches far beyond what we eat to what we wear, drive, support, watch, purchase, interact with, play with, sleep in, etc. The dietary portion of veganism is just the most talked about because most of the animals we exploit are the ones we eat.
I know it might feel daunting to not be able to cut out all animal products, but activism isn’t an all-or-nothing thing. Every little bit helps if everyone tries to do their personal best and strive to improve in ways they can.
Let’s say someone can’t change their diet in any way for whatever reason. There’s a whole lot of other things they can do such as (links to resources at the bottom):
Don’t buy leather/wool/fur/down/animal fibers. Not only are they cruel they’re also less environmentally friendly than even plastic substitutes.
Buy as many non-food vegan products as you can (toothpaste, makeup, glue, shampoo, etc). No animal testing/animal ingredients.
Donate to/volunteer at animal shelters/farm sanctuaries.
Donate to actual conservation programs rather than going to for-profit zoos that only use a bit of their money–if any–for conservation work.
Don’t go horseback riding, dogsledding, fishing, cub-petting, or anywhere that exploits animals for fun/profit.
Follow intersectional vegan blogs and share what they have to say about the intersection of human rights and animal rights.
Ask yourself if you really can’t stop eating animal products because it’s entirely possible for many poor and disabled people to go vegan without sacrificing much or anything.
Stop erasing marginalized vegans: poor vegans, indigenous vegans, vegans of color, disabled vegans, fat vegans.
Stop erasing the veganism/animal rights activism of prominent human rights activists like Angela Davis or even bloggers like closet-keys. Heck, I’ve even seen several posts sharing Joaquin Phoenix’s speech from the Oscars cut out the part about animal rights/veganism.
Share resources! There’s so many wonderful resources out there to help people in every demographic do their best to help. Many vegans would absolutely love to help share or point people in the right direction if you just ask!
Be more critical of “cute” animal videos. Be wary of staged photos, dangerous interspecies interactions, animals being harassed/harmed, animals behaving in an atypical way.
Don’t use “food” animal products for fun or other non-food purposes. Like taping hotdogs to your body, or fish to ATMs, or waving severed pig heads at a protest, or sticking beef in a pothole, or cutting up dead animals to show how sharp the sword you made is.
Realize that most vegans understand there are always exceptions to statements they make. No not everyone can go vegan or adopt an animal from a shelter, but not everyone can donate to people’s gofundmes, or go out to protest, or do other human activism work either. Mentioning that on every single post isn’t helpful to anyone.
Adopt from an animal shelter rather than buy from a breeder (yes that includes fish/snakes/lizards/birds/any animal). If unable to find what you want then find something else or just volunteer at a shelter.
Call out anti-vegan and fake-woke nonsense. They’re more likely to listen to another omni than a vegan.
Think critically about those “Listen up vegans” type posts that circulate this site because more often than not they’re complete nonsense. (”Agave is killing the bees” “quinoia is hurting bolivian farmers” “xzy painful/stressful thing needs to be done for the animal’s own good [tail docking/debeaking/taking honey/etc]”)
Call out any racism/ableism/bigotry within the vegan community the same way one would bigotry in any other community rather than treating it as something inherent to veganism. Or better yet, boost callouts made by other vegans. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen some nonsense from a vegan get “called out” with even more garbage.
Try to get local stores to offer more vegan options.
Advocate for more accessible veganism, such as research on lab-grown meat or more vegan options in hospitals, homeless shelters, schools, nursing homes, etc.
Unlearn harmful and false information about animal agriculture and animals as a whole.
Understand that each animal is deserving of basic autonomy and respect. Even the “gross” ones or the “basically plant” ones like jellyfish or clams.
Vote, write to your reps, and sign petitions to weaken the meat/dairy/egg/etc industry’s hold on the average western diet and help prevent it from bringing high-meat diets to other parts of the world.
Read books on veganism and animal rights.
Keep your cats indoors–don’t allow any pet to harm a wild animal.
Try to deter/release “pest” animals such as rats, roaches, flies, and only kill as a last resort.
Take part in local activist groups.
Understand that ALL oppression is linked, not just human oppression. Racism is linked with misogyny is linked with homophobia is linked with transphobia is linked with ableism is linked with speciesism is linked with every other axis of oppression.
This list is intended for people who aren’t able to cut out all animal products from their diet, not as a “replacement” to making any dietary changes if possible and practiceable.
Resources for cheap vegan food and for vegans in college.
Resources for going vegan and general information on animal rights issues and anti-vegan arguments.
Vegan egg/meat/dairy substitutes and information about the cruelties of the egg industry.
Another guide on going vegan.
Some guides for people with allergies.
Acti-veg’s huge collection of resources of all kinds.
Acti-veg’s blog index which has pretty much everything else.
Black-owned vegan businesses that ship nationwide.
List of vegan subreddits. Has subs for vegans of several marginalized identities.
