Entries by Gary L. Francione

Response to George Monbiot

Dear Colleagues: Guardian UK columnist George Monbiot, who expressed support for veganism, has recanted his support and, in an editorial entitled, I was wrong about veganism. Let them eat meat – but farm it properly, Monbiot jumps on the “happy” meat bandwagon. I wrote a brief comment that was posted on the Guardian website: Dear […]

Ingrid Newkirk on Principled Veganism: “Screw the principle”

Dear Colleagues: In an article in Time Magazine, PETA co-founder Ingrid Newkirk discusses “flexitarianism,” or “[p]art-time vegetarianism.” The goal for many activists is simply to get more people to eat less meat. “Absolute purists should be living in a cave,” says Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “Anybody who […]

Commentary #18: A Step Backward, the Importance of Veganism, and the Misuse of “Abolition”

Dear Colleagues: In this Commentary, I discuss several topics: First, I talk about the announcement by the new welfarist Mercy for Animals that the retail giant Costco has taken a “step forward” by agreeing to market “humane” veal. I maintain that having animal advocates praise this as a “step forward” and characterizing the issue of […]

Commentary #17: Discussion with Ronnie Lee and Roger Yates

Dear Colleagues: In this Commentary, I have two guests: Ronnie Lee, who founded the Band of Mercy in 1972 and the Animal Liberation Front in 1976, and Roger Yates, an adjunct lecturer in sociology at University College, Dublin. As I am sure you are aware, I am opposed to all violence and I do not […]

Vegan Philosophy in Spain!

Dear Colleagues: I have the honor of presenting the two keynote addresses at Ethics, Ecology, and Animal Rights, a conference being held at the University of La Rioja in Spain. My two addresses, which will occur on Monday, April 26 and Tuesday, April 27, will be followed by round table discussions involving Spanish scholars from […]

Live Call-In on Michael Medved’s Radio Program

Dear Colleagues: After debating animal-rights opponent, Wesley J. Smith, on Michael Medved’s radio program, Medved decided to have Smith and me back on a live call in. That will take place on Monday, May 3, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Medved is conservative and if the past is any guide, most of the […]

A Short Note on Abolitionist Veganism as a Single Issue Campaign

Dear Colleagues: Anyone who claims that ethical veganism, as it is represented in the abolitionist approach to animal rights, is a single-issue campaign understands neither abolitionist ethical veganism nor single-issue campaigns (SICs). Ethical veganism is the notion that we should not eat, wear, or use animals for human purposes. Ethical veganism reflects the view that […]

Save a Seal; Eat Non-Canadian Seafood

Dear Colleagues: In his Report from the Seal Slaughter: Special Chance to Help, HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle writes: It’s a day I dread each year: the first blow or bullet landed against a baby seal off Canada’s East Coast. It marks the beginning of the world’s largest, intentional slaughter of marine mammals.” The HSUS solution? […]