Hello! I saw your post about veganism, and I mean to send this ask in good-faith. Tone isn't always clear in text, so I want to make sure you know that I don't mean for this to come across judgmental or anything. Also, while I am not someone who has ever told anyone that they can't love animals and eat them too, I do want to share the perspective as someone who is vegan, and it is wonderful that you do care about issues that affect indigenous peoples, people who are disabled, and those living in poverty, these are causes that I care very much about too.
There absolutely is a history of indigenous people and their practices being treated disrespectfully, and so I do understand having concerns about anything that contributes to that. However, veganism is about advocating for animal rights and reducing harm where possible, not about condemning others, and advocating for animals does not negate or disrespect indigenous identities and cultures. I would really like to encourage you to look into some indigenous people who are vegan to get their point of views.
To suggest a few people, there is someone like Linda Fisher who is part Ojibway and Cherokee, and she wrote a piece called 'Freeing Feathered Spirits' in the book titled "Sister Species: Women, Animals and Social Justice".
Yvette Baker is Afro-Indigenous and she is a human and animal rights activist and is the Director of Activism and Community Impact at APEX Advocacy (which is a Black-led animal rights organization dedicated to empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to reclaim their voices and leadership in animal advocacy), and you can check out her Instagram page ( collectiveabolition ) where she talks about intersectional veganism.
Dr. Margaret Robinson, who is a Canadian Mi’kmaw human and animal rights activist wrote an essay titled "Veganism and Mi'kmaq Legends: Feminist Natives Do Eat Tofu". (This essay can be read on The Anarchist Library.)
There are multiple articles that were published on Sentient Media written by indigenous people that I would recommend (I can't share links over asks, but an internet search for the titles should show these as a top result) :
Samah Huriwai-Seger wrote "Veganism Is Not Anti-Indigenous: Advocates for humans, animals and our ecosystems are natural allies in the fight against oppressive colonial structures". Samah Huriwai-Seger is Mandaean Iraqi and runs Aotearoa Liberation League which she co-founded with her partner Pere Huriwai-Seger who is of the indigenous Māori people of Aotearoa.
Ashley Chisholm who is Red River Métis and Anishinaabe wrote the article titled "How Industrial Meat Oppresses Indigenous People: Factory farming has harmed the earth and countless animals, and changed the way we eat".
Dr. Melanie K. Yazzie who is Navajo wrote "How Cattle Ranchers in the West Cut Off Indigenous Water Rights".
Regarding people with disabilities, low-income households, or other obstacles, I'd like to share the definition of veganism which might make this a bit more clear :
"Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."
The part "as far as is possible and practicable" means to do what is feasible for that person, but to still make a sincere effort where they can. With addressing issues like medical conditions or financial limitations, the focus should be on improving food accessibility and affordability rather than dismissing the ethical considerations of veganism. Also, for low-income households, plant-based foods are most often more affordable than meat, especially when focusing on whole foods such as grains, beans, and vegetables (of course in some areas there isn't as much accessibility, but often when someone has access to a grocery store these options will be available). To read more about this, search for the Oxford study titled "Sustainable eating is cheaper and healthier" and from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition "Retail prices, environmental footprints, and nutritional profiles of commonly sold retail food items in 181 countries".
With humans being omnivores, this only means that humans have the ability of consuming animal-based products, not that it is essential for us, especially not in our current time. Humans are capable of getting all of the nutrients we need from non-animal-based sources, and so it is important to consider the implications and consequences of our choices and actions when we can live healthy lives with nutritionally adequate food that doesn't involve harming animals.
Animals are sentient and they are able to experience things like joy, fear, and pain, and they are someones rather than somethings which should be kept in mind. I don't at all doubt that you do feel a connection with the animals who you mentioned you work with, and most people do have at least some care for some animals, but when animals are being used and killed for humans, we really must remember that these are not kind, respectful, or loving acts to do to someone. We would never accept exploitation, abuse, or killing someone who doesn't want to die as signs of love in any other context, so when there are people who say that it isn't possible to love animals and eat them too, what they mean to get across is that perpetuating the mistreatment of animals through purchasing animal-based products is not an act of showing that a person is concerned about and loves animals through their actions in the way that actively avoiding animal exploitation through veganism does. With veganism, it is trying to live in a way that aligns our actions with our values of showing kindness and consideration towards all others.
And again I do hope that this came across not seeming critical or mean-spirited or anything like that because I definitely don't mean for it to! This was just to explain what veganism is since it's something that most people don't know much about. I also realize this ask got a bit long, so I do really appreciate you taking the time to read this.
i read most of this, but i feel like you misunderstood my post
i was not criticising vegans, i was criticising billie
i have multiple vegan/vegetarian friends as i do work in an animal field and have since i was 12, so quite a long time
my post was made entirely to billie and other people who shame non vegans/think theyre morally superior
i have no issue with vegans. the issue i had was billie trying to shame her fans into going vegan, even though a lot of them still live under their parents pay check and don't have the capacity to go vegan
this is all mean positively, i don't mean to shame anyone since that is what i'm against