1. Some vegans try to force dogs and cats to eat a fully vegan diet, despite their naturally carnivorous nature.
But what are the ethics of owning a plant that eats meat? Can a vegan own a plant that kills living creatures for its protein? Or can we train them to eat tofu?
2. Should Vegans listen to music from artists who shamelessly wear fur, such as Beyonce and Kelis, and those who think they are artists such as J-Lo? Every CD, branded perfume, or official merchandise is just more income.
However, if we illegally download their music and listen free, they get no royalties. Does that count?
3. Non-vegans who you love and live with who refuse to share cooking with you, because they “don’t know what vegans can eat”, yet, fully expect to eat what ever you cook. Is it wrong to sabotage your food? Load up what you cook for yourself with spices they don’t like, or make it extra-hot if they like mild? until they learn to share the cooking duties and stop taking your food.
4. Eating in meat-centred restaurants can be a minefield for a vegan, especially in places where everyone splits several entrees and sides to shares from the food middle of the table. You know you won’t find nearly as much to eat, and yet when the bill arrives, you are asked to contribute equally.
Do you refuse to go? Go but make sure everyone knows you feel left out, by sitting with an empty plate in front of you. Could you even trust the food from a kitchen that serves predominately animal products to be free from cross-contamination?
Or do you first make sure that the final bill will be split equally between everyone and then order the most expensive drinks on the menu, and if other complain at the end of the meal, call them self bastards for dragging you to a meat-eating restaurant in the first place.
5.
Vegan desserts – I’ve often brought a cake, dessert or meal to a friends, and they express surprise ‘that’s quite tasty… for vegan food’. So the dilemma is, do you tell people it’s vegan before or after they taste it. If you wait til after you might change someone’s mind about how delicious vegan food can be. It might not create any converts, but it may just remove (or reduce some of the stigma against vegan food.
6.
Can / Do vegans watch television shows starring meat-eaters and promoters. Someone told me once that to watch Jamie Oliver made me un-vegan. I didn’t even know who Jamie Oliver was, until I searched it. Apparently he is a British celebrity chef. He cooks with meat, he slaughters meat, his School Dinner Revolutions make animal products a requirement of “healthy” food, was given an award from RSPCA for humane meat.
In the below clip, Jamie Oliver is making chicken nuggets, from chicken carcasses and fillers. Will this make anyone ‘go vegan’? Possibly not, although it may make switch to what they believe is a healthier version, and eating more chicken.
So, does watching Jamie Oliver make someone not a vegan? and is their veginity restored if they stop watching?
7. And this dilemma, which I never feel I can answer adequately. What do you do with products and clothes that you bought pre-vegan days. To throw them out will be wasteful, and contribute to landfill. To donate or gift the to others, gives the impression that they are acceptable to use. To continue to use them, even in the privacy of your own home, away from the Vegan Police no one will know except you, but they are not vegan. But throwing them out cannot undo the animals that died or were used to produce those products. Some people say, it’s never acceptable to use them once you know. Others say, use them but when you replace them, replace them with vegan products.
If someone is poor, and has a hard time making ends meet, going out and replacing all their cleaning products, personal care products, half their clothes, blankets, bone china and so much more might be a cost burden that people can not afford.
This is my dilemma, I don’t have an answer for this one.
Feedback welcome.
Vegan Animal Liberation Alliance 
Leave a comment