Vegantinatalism: Veganism+Antinatalism
Photo: Weaned piglets being transported to a growing facility to be fattened up for killing. 1 out of 3 pigs dies before they reach their six-months-of-age slaughter date. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
Veganism and antinatalism are so similar that they should be merged together to form one portmanteau word: vegantinatalism. Veganism and antinatalism are really one and the same—as they are both rooted in serious and practicable harm reduction for present and future life; looking out for others, wanting individuals to experience at least a minimally decent life, mitigating ecological destruction, respecting consent, and not bringing life into existence to suffer and die for the self-interest of oneself and others.
Veganism should inherently be part of any antinatalist’s lifestyle and vice versa for those who live a vegan lifestyle. A large segment of people who identify as antinatalist also identify as vegan and a large segment of people who identify as vegan also identify as antinatalist (or they have antinatalist thoughts and feelings, but aren’t aware of the term “antinatalist”).
Antinatalists don’t want humans to be created to experience and perpetuate needless suffering, destruction, and death. Vegans don’t want other animals to be forcefully bred into existence to be inexcusably used against their will, dominated, objectified, and destroyed—all of which degrades our environment, exacerbates world hunger, creates pandemics, squanders precious resources, amplifies human-to-human violence, generally causes more human degradation and death than anything else, and much more. Shouldn’t vegans and antinatalists both be onboard with a global stance for all animals to be as free as possible from unnecessary suffering—and to be able to have autonomy over their life and body if they are to exist? Should we strive for as consistent anti-oppressive of a lifestyle as possible and embrace anti-speciesism? Should we grow out of our human supremacist viewpoints that other animals are here for us—or that we can use them as we please for their life and body—or that some animal species have more moral worth than others—or even worse, that we are the only animal species on the planet that matters at all?
Some peoples vegan lifestyle applies only to other-than-human animals, whereas the vegan lifestyle we like to promote encompasses an interconnected anti-cruelty and anti-oppressive stance towards humans and other animals. We believe that no humans or any other animals should be discriminated against, viewed and used as a means to an end, and be brought into existence by us to live and die against their will.
Veganism and antinatalism are so similar that they should be merged together to form one portmanteau word: vegantinatalism. Veganism and antinatalism are really one and the same—as they are both rooted in serious and practicable harm reduction for present and future life; looking out for others, wanting individuals to experience at least a minimally decent life, mitigating ecological destruction, respecting consent, and not bringing life into existence to suffer and die for the self-interest of oneself and others.
Veganism should inherently be part of any antinatalist’s lifestyle and vice versa for those who live a vegan lifestyle. A large segment of people who identify as antinatalist also identify as vegan and a large segment of people who identify as vegan also identify as antinatalist (or they have antinatalist thoughts and feelings, but aren’t aware of the term “antinatalist”).
Antinatalists don’t want humans to be created to experience and perpetuate needless suffering, destruction, and death. Vegans don’t want other animals to be forcefully bred into existence to be inexcusably used against their will, dominated, objectified, and destroyed—all of which degrades our environment, exacerbates world hunger, creates pandemics, squanders precious resources, amplifies human-to-human violence, generally causes more human degradation and death than anything else, and much more. Shouldn’t vegans and antinatalists both be onboard with a global stance for all animals to be as free as possible from unnecessary suffering—and to be able to have autonomy over their life and body if they are to exist? Should we strive for as consistent anti-oppressive of a lifestyle as possible and embrace anti-speciesism? Should we grow out of our human supremacist viewpoints that other animals are here for us—or that we can use them as we please for their life and body—or that some animal species have more moral worth than others—or even worse, that we are the only animal species on the planet that matters at all?
Some peoples vegan lifestyle applies only to other-than-human animals, whereas the vegan lifestyle we like to promote encompasses an interconnected anti-cruelty and anti-oppressive stance towards humans and other animals. We believe that no humans or any other animals should be discriminated against, viewed and used as a means to an end, and be brought into existence by us to live and die against their will.
Veganism is about living with basic decency. It is not about being perfect.
Photo: Freshly birthed calf on a dairy “farm.” Ripped away from their mother, being forcefully stomach tube-fed colostrum. Despite what people will say, this is not necessary, natural, or normal. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
You Care Or You Don’t Care. Nobody Can Be Made To Care.
So many people say they care about animals and that they love animals, but how many are realistically living in alignment (practicably speaking) with these claims? The sad reality is that most people who make these claims to care about and love animals are supporting, and sometimes directly acting out, some of the most needless and most violent and degrading things to ever happen to animals. For many, the options to adequately live their life and not participate in such needless and avoidable violence and environmental degradation is hypothetically very achievable.
“If we, as humans, ever awaken to the ethical obligations that are an inherent function of the enjoyment of privilege, instead of selfishly asserting our traditions and desires at the expense of the welfare of other beings, then we will have achieved a society that will enjoy unprecedented harmony and peace with nature and with each other.”
Hope Bohanec, The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
Photo: Chicken “processing” day at a small farm that kills chickens the old-fashioned way, putting them upside down in a “kill cone” to restrain their movement and escape attempts, and make it easier to slit their throats. “Meat” chickens are typically only 5- to 6-weeks-old when they are killed, just artificially overgrown chicks. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
No Humane Exploitation & Killing
Humans have come up with all kinds of ways to justify doing the worst things to others. When it comes to our needless violence of other-bodied individuals, the excuses to justify torture and killing is inexhaustible. We justify atrocities towards other animals with unabashedly arbitrary excuses, such as intelligence level. We don’t stop to think that we can’t truly know the intelligence of other beings, that other beings are intelligent enough as it is to live their life and survive, that intelligence level is irrelevant to how we should treat others, and that we wouldn’t justify violence on other humans if their intelligence dropped below a certain level—since we know that increased intelligence doesn’t equate to increased sensitivity and ability to feel physical, mental, and emotional pain—nor increased desire to avoid needless pain. What matters isn’t intelligence level, what matters is the ability to think and feel, and the want to live whilst avoiding unnecessary suffering at all costs, which is what all sentient animal life shares—as far as we can tell.
When horrible things happen to us, we can most often rationalize what’s taking place and why it’s happening. When it comes to our exploitation, betrayal, and killing of other beings though—they can’t rationalize what’s taking place and why it’s happening. It’s not that they lack the intelligence to rationalize, it’s that they lack the awareness because we can’t tell them things like “I’m killing you so I can make a few bucks and so someone else can eat some of your body parts” or “You're trapped for life in this tiny cage because I’m going to use your fur to make a fraction of a winter coat.”
Instead of embracing the concept that there’s no right way to do the wrong thing, we look for loopholes where we can support something that sounds nice, but is otherwise violent beyond wording. We use terms like “Organic,” “Pasture-Raised,” “Local,” “Happy,” “Family Farmer,” “Natural,” “Humane,” “Cage-Free,” “Hormone-Free,” “Non-GMO,” “Animal Welfare Approved,” “Grass-Fed,” Etc. to make ourselves feel at ease with what we are participating in. All of these labels are essentially meaningless and just tools to distance ourselves away from the frankly barbaric acts and treatment of others we are actively participating in.
Some people think that because they have met or they know the person behind the exploitation that it makes supporting the cruelty okay. Some people think because they’ve watched or carried out the violence that they are more connected to what’s taking place and therefore their participation obliterating life is justified. Some people think if more of the dead body of the victim gets utilized then that that makes all of the violations committed against the said individual totally okay. Some people think that if the money generated from the violence is going “towards a good cause” then it makes the violence okay. The list of excuses for taking away the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for other beings is inexhaustible, as mentioned above.
“This is the pattern among many so-called humane operations—they are not humane for the animals' sake; it is a marketing strategy to appease the conscience of consumers and to lure them into a false sense of confidence that no animals suffered for the product. If producers were genuinely concerned about animals, they would not be in the business of killing animals. Ultimately, much of their "caring" is about appealing to a niche market where they can charge higher prices—they care about their bottom line. It is absurd to speak of humane treatment of animals when it comes to their handling, management, food, and shelter if you deny them the most basic right—to live out their lives—and condone or are complicit in their slaughter.”
Hope Bohanec, The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?
A lamb “project” being sold for killing at a county fair youth “livestock” auction by a young exploiter. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
Overcoming Cognitive Dissonance
“Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort that keeps us from acknowledging an opposing value or idea that contradicts our deep-seated beliefs. This form of psychological distress is necessary to entertain ideological frameworks that enable us to take part in the obviously violent oppression of others and thus taints the possibility for true liberation of either ourselves or nonhuman animals. A significant characteristic of capitalism is that it frames lives, bodies, and the things those bodies produce as commodities. This phenomenon victimizes both humans and non-human animals—though, of course, not in the same ways. Full liberation from capitalism, imperialism, and other oppressive structures cannot occur if so-called liberators are caging, killing, or otherwise exploiting sentient beings. Because of this, it is imperative that we address all forms of liberation at once in order to break down interconnecting structures that have power over us all.”
-Julia Feliz Brueck, Veganism of Color
Photo: an orangutan trapped inside of a zoo. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
Veganism Is Basic Respect For Sentient Life
The definition of 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, promote the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of [other] animals, humans and the environment.” The principle of veganism, based in decency and justice, was practiced by countless individuals around the world well before the word was coined in the 1940s by Donald Watson.
Mr. Watson viewed veganism as a principle focused on other animals. His “animals” refers to the cruelty and exploitation of other-than-human animals. But the cruelty, exploitation, and discrimination to other animals is often interconnected with the cruelty, exploitation, and discrimination to human animals. Our cruelty towards other animals, based on the mere fact that they are “different,” helps to perpetuate some of our worst offenses against humanity to those who we also deem “different,” “other,” and “inferior.”
Vegans do not eat dead bodies, dairy, eggs, or honey. We do not buy products that were tested on animal “models.” We do not wear or use anything that contains the skins and fur of animals. We do not purchase new “pets.” We do not pay to visit zoos and aquariums. We do not use animals for our entertainment, convenience, or any other purpose rooted in self-interest and greed. We believe in leaving other animals alone and granting them the self-determination they all inherently deserve to their body and their life. We reject the myth that there can be humane forms of exploitation to humans or other animals. We reject the current status of other animals as things to be traded, trapped, and used as we please.
“In truth, veganism isn’t a destination; it’s a direction. You keep going as far as is practicable and possible for you in order to be in solidarity with other beings on this planet every time you get the chance. This is why people who eat plant-based aren’t always vegans. It’s an ideology first. It’s how you see the world.”
Kez St. Louis, Veganism of Color
Photo: a dead squirrel run over by a car on a residential street. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
New Humans Bring More Harm Into The World
All human procreation is inherently bad for animals and the environment (the home to all animals). When humans have children they are going against the anti-exploitation and anti-cruelty principles of veganism, whether they are or aren’t vegan. All new humans are subject to potential exploitation and cruelty themselves and they’ll perpetuate imposing exploitation and cruelty onto others through capitalism, commonplace problematic human behavior, and potentially more. All human procreation causes and perpetuates harm—no matter how consciously one tries to go about their life and minimize their environmental and suffering impact.
Humanity is inclined to otherize and inferiorize others (humans and other animals) and this otherization and inferiorization often leads to brutality, trauma, and a premature death for countless individuals. Otherization leads to oppression and no oppression can go away as long as we maintain this idea that those who are deemed “other,” for one reason or another, don’t deserve full rights, integrity, and safety to their body and their life. Vegans may teach their kids to view other animals through an equity-based lens and teach that other animals aren’t trash, resources, commodities, unfeeling, unknowing, or here to serve us—but this doesn’t produce any guarantees of a truly compassionate human—nor does it safeguard against all potential harm.
“I am an animal liberationist. Those are some of the words I use to express the view that other animals have beautiful and complex lives that are meaningful and worth preserving and respecting, regardless of their usefulness to humanity. It is my way of recognizing that other animals have their own intelligences, language, skills, creativity, social landscapes, personalities, practices and spaces they call home; of declaring that each one is a unique, irreplaceable being whose dignity should be honored.”
— Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, Veganism of Color
Photo: an overflowing dumpster behind a small slaughterhouse. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
Less Humans, Less Problems
We should seek to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—having human children. New children will be subject to needless cruelty, potential exploitation, suffering, and death. They will likely perpetuate cruelty, exploitation, and death towards others—whether it’s done deliberately or not, and whether they become vegan or not. New children adds to pollution and environmental destruction, which has far-reaching harmful consequences that impact all living beings (present and future).
Just like we have more ethical alternatives to food, clothing, packaging, entertainment, housing, vehicles, personal care products, etc.—we also have alternatives to bringing new humans into existence. If we want to take care of other life we can foster, adopt, rescue, volunteer, mentor, and donate to help humans and other animals who are already alive. Millions of children worldwide are suffering unimaginably right now with no proper guardians and lack of other needs that they inherently deserve. The same goes for other animals too. Why perpetuate so many problems by bringing another human into existence when we can easily help countless individuals who are alive and in need of help right now?
Photo: a rainbow trout fish caught in a net at a recreational fishing facility. Photo by Unparalleled Suffering.
“The world is a dangerous place for nonhuman animals. Those who aren't hunted, tortured, or enslaved by humans struggle to survive within ecosystems encroached on and polluted by people. Often, their very bodies are perverted by the poisons we have introduced into their habitats and bloodstreams.”
-Pattrice Jones, Aftershock: Confronting Trauma In A Violent World