Our Virtual Billboard: “THE WORLD IS VEGAN! If you want it.”
Dear Colleagues: In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a billboard placed in Times Square. It read: “WAR IS OVER! If you want it Happy Christmas from John and Yoko.” I propose the following: That we flood the world with a message; that we create a virtual […]
Commentary #11: Discussion with Professor Gary Steiner
Dear Colleagues: In this, Commentary #11, I have a discussion with Gary Steiner, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Bucknell University. Gary recently had an editorial in the New York Times about veganism and we talk about the reactions that he got to his editorial, including the criticisms from welfarists, many […]
Commentary #10: World Vegan Day—Nov. 1, 2009
Dear Colleagues: Happy World Vegan Day to all of you. In this Commentary, I reflect on the state of the vegan movement. The bad news: the large welfare corporations have done a great deal to marginalize veganism. The good news: in the past year, we have seen the growth of the abolitionist movement, which views […]
Some Thoughts on the Abolitionist Approach
Dear Colleagues: Here are some simple thoughts that embody the abolitionist approach and philosophy. They may be useful to you in your own thinking about things as well as in your discussion with others: 1. Speciesism is morally objectionable because, like racism, sexism, and heterosexism, it links personhood with an irrelevant criterion. Explanation: We do […]
Source Materials on Donald Watson
Dear Colleagues: Donald Watson (1910-2005), co-founder of the Vegan Society in the U.K. and the person who coined the term “vegan” in response to the consumption and use of dairy and other animal products by “vegetarians,” was a remarkable person who was very far ahead of his time. In 2002, George D. Rodger of the […]
Commentary #9: Using Sexism to Promote Animal Rights
Dear Colleagues: Would Martin Luther King have had an “I’d Rather Go Naked than Sit in the Back of the Bus” campaign? Of course not. He would have recognized that such a campaign would trivialize the important message of civil rights. Why don’t animal advocates recognize that sexist campaigns similarly trivialize the issue of animal […]
Some Thoughts on the Meaning of “Vegan”
There is a great deal of discussion about what “vegan” means. “Veganism” means at the very least not eating any flesh, dairy, or other animal products. In this sense, “vegan” means “vegan diet.” Donald Watson, who originally coined the term “vegan” used the word in this way when he made statements such as: “Wherever Man […]
Commentary #8: A Discussion of Abolitionist Principles
Dear Colleagues: There are some advocates who claim to be abolitionists but who support welfare reform or who support violence. In this Commentary, I explain why welfare reform and violence cannot fit into the abolitionist approach. Gary L. Francione ©2009 Gary L. Francione
Sexism and Misogyny in the Movement
Dear Colleagues: For two decades now, I have argued that using sexism and misogyny supposedly to promote animal rights is a very bad idea. Perpetuating the commodification of women is not only inherently immoral but will do nothing to change social thinking about the commodification of nonhumans. PETA has been doing various versions of the […]
Commentary #7: An Up-Close and Personal Encounter with Moral Schizophrenia
Dear Colleagues: I refer to the delusional and confused way that we think about animals as a social/moral matter as constituting “moral schizophrenia.” I had a recent encounter with moral schizophrenia in dealing with a deer who had been hit by a car and the hunters who stopped to help the deer. In this Commentary, […]
Hey, Is That Milk on Your Balaclava?
Dear Colleagues: As you know, I am opposed to all violence. See, e.g., A Commentary on Violence (podcast), A Comment on Violence, More on Violence and Animal Rights, and On Vivisection and Violence. That has been a consistent theme in my work for many years. I oppose all violence—including violence against property. Those who claim […]
New Welfarism Fails on its Own Terms
Dear Colleagues: The abolitionist approach maintains that ethical veganism is a moral baseline; it represents the recognition of the moral personhood of animals and the rejection of the notion that animals are commodities for human use. Ethical veganism is an essential component of a commitment to non-violence. The new welfarist approach rejects veganism as a […]
Commentary #6: Aspects of the Vegetarian/Vegan Debate
Dear Colleagues: Our first Commentary about vegetarianism as a “gateway” to veganism has provoked continuing controversy and in this Commentary, I address three issues: 1. Does my position that we cannot draw a moral distinction between flesh and other animal products mean that we ought to be confrontational or judgmental when we talk to people […]
Commentary #5: On Violence
Dear Colleagues: I am opposed to violence. I regard violence as inherently immoral. I have written about and discussed that issue often, including in essays (1,2) on this site. I recognize that many of you disagree with my opposition to violence. But that is irrelevant. Even if you believe that violence can be justified, there […]
Commentary #4: Follow-Up to “Pets” Commentary: Non-Vegan Cats
Dear Colleagues: A number of people have written to me in response to the Commentary on “pets” to ask about the issue of non-vegan cats. It is my understanding that many cats can live healthy lives on a vegan diet but what if there are cats who absolutely need to consume animal products? In this […]
Commentary #3: On Michael Vick
Dear Colleagues: As you know, I have since 2007 been wondering about why anyone thinks that Michael Vick is any worse than anyone else who consumes or uses animal products. (See 1, 2, 3) In any event, Vick was released from prison in May, 2009, and on July 27, 2009, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally […]
Some Comments on Vegetarianism as a “Gateway” to Veganism
Dear Colleagues: As a result of my comments (here, on Facebook, and on the Podcast Commentary), I have been inundated with private messages that all have the same themes: (1) “but many vegans started off as vegetarians”; and (2) “advocating veganism is elitist.” As for whether many vegans started off as vegetarians, let me say […]
A Note on Moral Schizophrenia
Dear Colleagues: In my book, Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?, published by Temple University Press in 2000, I introduced the notion of “moral schizophrenia.” I have received comments about my use of this term and these comments fall into two groups. Some people accuse me of confusing moral schizophrenia with multiple/split […]
Commentary #2: “Pets”
Dear Colleagues: The issue of “pets” is a hot button issue with many advocates. Here is something I wrote in the Appendix to my book Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?: Question 3: Does the institution of pet ownership violate animals’ basic right not to be regarded as things? Answer: Yes. Pets […]
Commentary #1: Vegetarianism as a “Gateway” to Veganism?
Dear Colleagues: Welcome to the Abolitionist Approach Commentary. The Commentary will consist of a series of podcasts that discuss and explore various aspects of the idea that we ought to abolish, and not merely regulate, animal exploitation. The Commentary will reflect ideas contained in this website and in my books. Animals are nonhuman persons and […]