I am a vegan, animal rights/universal rights activist from Cambridge. I believe in the universal rights of all individuals based upon consciousness and the ability to feel. I believe that basic rights, based upon the ‘interests’ of the individual, should be protected regardless of age; sex, race, sexuality, disability, species membership or any other irrelevant characteristic.

How did you become a vegan?

As a small child I started asking my mum questions about the origins of meat, you know the typical 'where does beef come from?' 'oh poor cow' type things that kids say. This got my mum interested in what the facts of the subject were and she did some research, leading her to become vegetarian. At about age 6 I decided to join her after seeing an animal rights stall the previous day. When I was about 8 my mum and I both began to transition to veganism as we learned that the milk and egg industries also kill animals.

Why don't you eat animals?

Animals are individuals much like you or I they feel pain and suffer as we do. Animals are not objects or things for us to use and abuse. We certainly have the power to harm other animals but this does not make it morally right. Animals on farms across the world are abused and tortured in ways that wouldn't even be legal if companion dogs and cats were the victims. This moral schizophrenia where we love animals but still abuse them for food is a little strange to say the least!

When I first stopped eating animals I think it was because of the cruelty and suffering, however now additionally I don't believe we have the right to take an animals life simply for our taste buds.

Well, I get the meat thing, but why don't you eat other animal products?

Laying hens are killed when their 'production levels' drop. Baby chicks bred for egg production are killed if they are male, as they obviously don't produce periods (eggs) and are not the same breed used for meat production. Slaughter takes the form of gassing or killing by a hi-speed grinder. In the milk industry cows are killed when production levels drop and are regularly artificially inseminated, as cows must have a calf to keep milk flowing. Cow's babies are snatched away from them days after birth. If the calf is female she will have the same fate as her mother; if he is male he may be shot or sent on long journeys overseas for veal production.

When I first became vegan the reason was the killing of the animals involved. However, I now also believe animals are individuals in there own right and humans do not have the right to consider them property. What gives us the right to use them for our own ends? Might doesn't make right.

What about protein, calcium, your health, etc, etc?

Since around the time I went vegetarian until now I have not needed to go to the doctors once! A vegan diet as long as you eat well is absolutely fantastic! You can get all the protein and calcium you need from plant based foods.

The American Dietetic Association's position on vegetarian diets notes that well planned vegan and vegetarian diets are appropriate for all ages (including infants and children). It further notes that appropriately planned vegetarian diets provide health in the prevention and even the cure of certain diseases. The British Medical Journal notes that vegetarians get all the minerals they require and that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease and cancer among other health issues. The British Medical Journal notes that vegetarians have lower rates of obesity.

Is it hard being vegan?

Nope, not really. Being vegan is fun and there are lots of great foods to choose from all sorts of stuff from vegan chocolate to meatless burgers. While it is likely you will have tried one or more of the many meat alternatives and disliked the taste, (for the record I don't like veggie burgers that are nothing more than potato with vegetable in them!) there are many brands and a lot of them are really good! Even a picky eater can be a vegan!

What do you eat?

I personally tend to eat rather a lot of vegan junk food, etc. but as a vegan you can be as creative or simple as you like. I love Fry's vegan sausages and the Fry's brand in general is brilliant! Vegan food includes vegan cakes; pizzas, pies, chips, salads (yuck), rice, curries, noodles, breakfast cereals with Soya, rice or nut milk and the list goes on and on. Being vegan is fun :-)

But, but, but… animals eat each other, don't they? Got you there haven't I?

Hmm no. Animals are not believed to be able to consider morality in the same way most adult humans can. Similarly babies and some people with severe mental impairments are not considered to be responsible for there actions. To argue the ability to act ethically (i.e. consider right and wrong) is necessary in the granting of rights would mean these groups of humans would be equally excluded. Additionally animals are not faced with the wide range of delicious vegan options that people in modern western countries are, for them it's eat or die.

The fact is rights must be granted on the basis of the ability to suffer and feel. Any being with consciousness has interests (safety, happiness, etc) that are important to him or her as such they should be taken into account.

But we is smarter than other animals, so surely only we should have rights?

It is certainly true that animals do not have the same mental abilities as most adult human beings. However neither do babies, young children or some people with severe mental impairments. However this does not exclude them from having the protection of rights. If someone can suffer or feel he can be effected by the actions of others his ability to understand the theory of relativity is irrelevant!

We should look after our own – rights are just for people, aren't you just being a species traitor?

Throughout history this 'logic' of protecting ones own group, believing it to be superior, has been used to justify discrimination on the basis of race, gender, class, etc. In the past working class men were not allowed to vote, even when that was changed women were still not allowed to and blacks were kept as slaves, etc. the oppressive group in each case put the interests of his group above the interests of the oppressed group. To draw the line at species is simply random in the same way drawing it at race is. The fact is rights must be granted on the basis of the ability to suffer and feel, because a being that can do these things can be positively or negatively effected by actions done to her.

"If we are trespassing, so were the American Soldiers who broke down the gates of Hitler's death camps; If we are thieves, so were the members of the Underground Railroad who freed the slaves of the South; and if we are vandals, so were those who destroyed forever the gas chambers of Buchenwald and Auschwitz." - ALF Activist.

HLS Exposed Again! 2007-2008!

McProtest

Unlock the labs, lock up the trolleys!