An introduction to veganism
Dec 21st
The following presentation is an introduction to anti-oppression veganism. The first half covers animal rights, animal welfare, and how the two relate to anti-speciesism and vegetarianism. The second half covers the basics of anti-oppression veganism.
The video was filmed in the spring of 2009. The presentation has since evolved in a number of ways, including the removal of sighted metaphors, more precise use of the words ‘vegan’ and ‘veganism,’ acknowledgment of the term ‘vegan ideal of non-exploitation,’ and inclusion of Todos Somos Animales in the animal rights section.
The transcripts are mostly faithful to the video, with some extraneous words removed and a few obvious mistakes corrected.
about 2 months ago
Respect!
“Welfare reforms… fundamentally incompatible with veganism”… Word!
In my experience people certainly do connect with the anti-oppression (vegan) approach, no matter how much welfarist groups claim otherwise.
Thanks for posting these vids!
about 2 months ago
Brilliant, Victor. Thanks so much for the informative presentation and for making the transcript with slides available for reading.
The last slide of Part 1 your presentation is representative of the “welfare” movement and is worsening as time goes on. By starting with “reducing suffering” as the solution, advocates hack at the branches of injustice rather than strike at the root to oppose the exploitation and oppression that causes the suffering (and equally important- death) of nonhuman animals.
See the evidence here of what happened to one well-known activist who went from grassroots abolitionist to corporate reformist to industry insider:
“From COK to HSUS to Whole Foods Market”
http://www.animalrightscommunity.com/abolitionists/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=515
I promote basic rights (life and liberty) extension to nonhuman animals, because as sentient beings, they deserve legal protection from human harm. I also think, as Joan Dunayer argues in Speciesism, that we should extend property rights (recognized as “undeveloped” habitats) to nonhuman animals to prevent further human encroachment and destruction of their means of survival.
I support the anti-oppression approach to veganism and have learned much from reading David Nibert’s Animal Rights/Human Rights. The three factors of oppression are useful in understanding how the ideology of speciesism justifies human exploitation of other animals and the system of human supremacy. I agree with you that the animal rights movement should pay attention to these factors as well as the intersectionality of oppression if we hope to liberate nonhuman animals.
Thank you again for making this presentation available. May we all continue to speak our truth in pursuit of justice for all!