- One Possible Future: A Roadmap to Animal Liberation
by Matt Ball for Vegan Outreach
- Vegan Outreach exists to end factory farming and bring about a vegetarian society. With cruelty
rampant in factory farms, and vegetarians a small minority, it is easy to dismiss as naive the
hope for a vegetarian world. "My uncle Dick hunts, and my cousin Jeb is always mocking me for
being vegan—you're crazy if you think they will ever change!"
These are legitimate concerns. However, it is nevertheless possible to achieve our goals—and
much more quickly than we imagine.
If we look at the long arc of history, we see how much society has advanced in just the last few
centuries. It was over 2,000 years ago that the ideals of democracy were first proposed in
ancient Greece. But it was only during the eighteenth century that humanity saw the beginnings
of a truly democratic system. Not until late in the nineteenth century was slavery abolished in the
developed world. In all of human history, only in the last 100 years was child labor abolished in
the developed word, child abuse criminalized, women given the vote, and minorities given equal
rights.
It is hard to comprehend just how much society has changed in recent history. Prejudices we can
hardly fathom today were completely accepted just decades ago. For example, if we read what
was written and said about slavery—fewer than 150 years ago—the defenders were not just
ignorant racists, but admired politicians, civic and religious leaders, and learned intellectuals.
What is horrifying to us now was once respected.
However slowly we may feel that we are progressing today, we are advancing at lightning speed
in comparison to past social justice movements. A century ago, almost no animals received any
protection whatsoever from abuse. Now, according to a recent Gallup poll, 96% of Americans
want to see animals protected from abuse, 62% want strict laws regulating the treatment of
farmed animals, and fully one-fourth believe that animals deserve "the exact same rights as
people to be free from harm and exploitation." Until 1990, there was one ballot initiative to
protect animals that had passed at state level—just one! Since 1990, animal advocates have
passed more than 20, including several directly abolishing some of the worst abuses on factory
farms.
Today the vast majority of people are now opposed to cruelty to animals; thus, the discussion
now must focus on helping people see that eating meat violates their own principles. This effort is
only just beginning. Twenty years ago, most animal advocacy in the United States was focused
on fur and vivisection—nearly ignoring animals butchered for food, -99 out of every 100 killed
each year. Only recently have more groups and individuals focused on this 99% by exposing the
cruelty of factory farms and promoting vegetarianism. The Adopt a College program—the first
systematic national effort to reach the best audience—was launched fewer than four years ago!
In large part because of this shift in advocacy, factory farms— unknown to most people only a
decade or two ago—are now commonly vilified as ethical (and environmental) abominations.
Twenty years ago, few people had heard the word "vegan." Finding mock meats and soymilk
was nearly impossible for most people. According to market research by Mintel, "Until the mid-
1990s, change was slow in coming to the world of vegetarian foods, and many average
consumers relegated Vegetarian products' to a counter-cultural movement, not a mainstream
trend." Today, even Cousin Jeb knows what "vegan" means; you can find soymilk, veggie
burgers, and various other vegetarian convenience foods in most grocery stores. Mintel reported:
"In 2003, the vegetarian foods market in the U.S. topped $1.6 billion in sales. This represents a
constant-price growth rate of 111.3% since 1998." Last year, Mintel estimated that the market
was up to $2.8 billion.
In addition to the growth in the vegetarian foods market and regular mentions of vegetarianism
and veganism in popular culture, ARAMARK (a company that provides foods on college
campuses) reported in 2005 that a quarter of college students value having vegan meals.
ARAMARK has since added 220 vegan and vegetarian recipes to their lineups.
As reported by Forbes: "Market research shows that the number of consumers who lean toward
some sort of vegetarianism is increasing across all age groups. The Vegetarian Resource Group
estimates that 2.8% of adult Americans consider themselves vegetarian, up from 2.3% in a 2000
survey. Another 6% to 10% of the population said it was 'almost vegetarian' and another 20% to
25% are Vegetarian inclined,' or intentionally reducing meat in their diet, according to VRG."
According to Food Systems Insider: "Ten percent of 25- to 34-year-olds say they never eat
meat."
As we continue our efforts, more vegetarian products arrive on the market every month. Having
convenient vegetarian options available is vital, as it makes it easier for new people to try and
stick with a compassionate diet. As more people sample faux meats and other vegetarian
products, competition will continue to increase the supply and varieties, improving quality and
driving down prices. This cycle of increasing numbers of vegetarians and the increasing
convenience of vegetarian eating is self-reinforcing. Essentially, the technology of vegetarian
meats and other foods is both driven by and a driver of moral progress.
If we continue to expand our advocacy, the growth of vegetarianism will accelerate to a tipping
point, where vegetarianism and opposition to factory farms become the "norm" among influential
groups. Legislation, as it usually does, will continue to follow these evolving norms, and we'll see
more of animal agriculture's worst practices outlawed and abolished (something that has already
begun). Corporate practices will also continue to adjust to the demands of an increasingly aware
market.
At the same time, powerful economic forces will kick in because meat is ultimately inefficient.
Basic biology makes it inherently more efficient to eat plant foods directly, rather than feeding
plant foods to animals and then eating the animals' flesh. Of course, people aren't going to
substitute tofu for meat, but that is not the choice they'll be making. Food science has advanced
such that the best vegetarian meats are able to satisfy even hard-core carnivores - Tofurky deli
slices, Boca burgers, Gimme Lean sausage and ground beef, Morningstar Meal Starters,
Gardenburger BBQ Riblets and Chik'n Grill patties—all of these dismiss the notion that giving up
meat is necessarily a deprivation.
The faster the growth in people eating vegetarian, the faster vegetarian meats will improve in
taste, become cheaper, and be found in far more places. (Compare a 2006 Boca Burger to a
1986 Nature's Burger, and imagine how good a 2026 veggie burger will be!) In addition, in vitro
meats become more viable each year. In meatro can also be more efficient than actual animal
corpses, and can be engineered to have the same benefits as vegetarian meats: no cholesterol,
good fats (omega-3s), no factory farms, no slaughterhouses, no manure ponds, no greenhouse
gas emissions, no food poisoning, no mad cow, no avian flu. These technologies will also be
accelerated by the growth of vegetarianism.
Our challenge now is to expand the vegetarian market by explaining the reasons for choosing
vegetarian meals to more meat eaters, while exposing them to new yet familiar-seeming
products. The more rapidly we do this, the sooner cruelty-free eating will be widespread.
After his first heart attack, Uncle Dick will shift over to vegetarian meats that have no cholesterol
or saturated or trans fats and are high in omega-3s. Cousin Jeb's second wife, a vegetarian
since getting an Even If You Like Meat booklet in 2003, will cook only vegetarian meals—and
Jeb will hardly notice the difference! Their daughter Barbara will grow up as a vegan activist and
oversee McDonald's shift to animal-free chicken sandwiches.
Ultimately, de facto animal liberation will be achieved with a whimper, not a bang. Change will not
come by revolution, but through person-by-person outreach progressing hand-in-hand with
advances in technology, leading slowly but inexorably to a new norm that, to most people, hardly
seems different. But an unfathomable amount of suffering will be prevented.
Despite all the current horror and continued suffering, if we take the long view and are willing to
commit to the work that needs to be done, we should be deeply optimistic. Animal liberation can
be the future. As The Economist concluded: "Historically, man has expanded the reach of his
ethical calculations, as ignorance and want have receded, first beyond family and tribe, later
beyond religion, race, and nation. To bring other species more fully into the range of these
decisions may seem unthinkable to moderate opinion now. One day, decades or centuries
hence, it may seem no more than 'civilized' behavior requires."
It is up to us to make this happen.
We can be the ones who bend the arc.
We can be the ones who change the world.
History is now.
Vegan Outreach, 2007
- A message from Ingrid E.Newkirk, PETA
Even though they may try to hide it, animals feel pain just as acutely as humans do...
...Just as I was setting out to launch my new book, Let's Have a Dog Party! I met a wet floor
and went splat, neatly snapping the bones in my wrist. Ooh, the pain! Thank goodness for IV
drips. Lying on the emergency room gurney, I thought of a seagull I had seen with a broken wing
who was being tormented by boys, of the fox in our fur-farming video with a broken leg, and of
the monkey who caught his arm in a laboratory cage and broke it. How had they coped without
pain relief of any kind? And not just with the raging pain of their injury but also with the
simultaneous fear of attack by the humans who were clearly out to harm and even kill them?
Even though they may try to hide it, animals feel pain just as acutely as humans do.
While researching our Animal Liberation Display, we found that during the days of human slavery,
whites claimed that blacks did not experience pain as acutely as whites did. Blacks' stoicism in
the face of total domination, like that of animals today, was taken as positive proof that they
were almost immune to physical pain. The same mindset allowed families to be torn apart
because Africans were also, most conveniently for their owners, thought not to have the same
emotional and familial ties. Some mothers walked a dozen miles every night, after a day of hard
field work, to glimpse or hold a child of theirs sent to another plantation.
Families are still being torn apart. Chimpanzees used in "cute" ads when they are just babies,
torn away from their mothers and forced to dress up in silly costumes and grimace for the
camera. By the time they are 8 years old, they are too strong to be managed and are "retired" to
filthy, depressing roadside zoos, never to see their families again.
Times change and victims' identities shift, but old, worn-out, flawed arguments remain. Please
join us in vigorously bursting these balloons that drift everywhere around us. Every myth
challenged, every pamphlet posted, and every video link shared pokes them with a pin. Thank
you.
For all animals,
Ingrid E. Newkirk President, PETA
- From “A Meaningful Life” by Matt Ball
- for Vegan Outreach
- Often, the logical response seems to be, Why bother?..Changing the world is hopeless...It is
relatively easy to look at horrible pictures or watch footage of brutality to animals and be angry
and motivated in the short term. But what about a week down the road? A month? A year—after
being rejected by relatives, ignored by coworkers, mocked while leafleting?
In many ways, remaining dedicated and motivated is a harder challenge than opening other
people's hearts and minds.
Is the situation hopeless? If you look at the big picture, I do believe that there is reason for
optimism. Indeed, anyone interested in creating a fundamental change for the future is advised to
take the long view—at least longer than the next year, or even the next decade. Although it is
frustrating how slow the pace of progress can seem to us, the rate of change has been
unprecedented in the past few centuries...It seems clear that today we have the great and
singular opportunity to make The Economist's prediction come true:
- "Historically, man has expanded the reach of his ethical calculations, as ignorance and
want have receded, first beyond family and tribe, later beyond religion, race, and
nation. To bring other species more fully into the range of these decisions may seem
unthinkable to moderate opinion now. One day, decades or centuries hence, it may
seem no more than "civilized" behavior requires."
Is this enough to keep an activist going, day in and day out, when trying to do the hard work of
promoting ethical eating—especially while not surrounded by other activists to provide support?
We aren't robots. We each want to be happy.
Yet our desire for happiness, I believe, is the answer to the final challenge.
Ultimately, happiness isn't to be found in "stuff." While the United States is the richest country on
earth, Americans aren't the happiest people on earth. The phrase isn't "the pursuit of happiness"
for nothing! Over the millennia, those creatures who were satisfied found themselves erased
from the gene pool by our unfulfilled ancestors. Those that passed on their genes always desired
more, leaving us with a basic nature that pursues happiness but isn't able to acquire it.
Where does this leave us? The best answer I've found is that happiness is the result of a
meaningful life, and meaning comes not from things, but from accomplishment.
Matt Ball for Vegan Outreach
- Please try to live a meaningful life and help the world!
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