this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2024
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I always find it funny when fellow leftists don't consider the exploitation of animals a leftist issue. There's a reason vegans are almost exclusively left leaning with the exception of the contrarians, who've now mostly moved on as veganism has become more mainstream.
If it was ever in doubt, just look at who keeps pushing these sorts of laws.
I actually find that a lot of the vegans I know don't consider worker rights or mineral extraction when they make choices. As a leftist that has recently been trying very hard to go full vegan find there is a stark trade off I am forced to make when it comes to meeting a budget and also considering the imperialist extraction of the earth usually by exploited workers.
That seems wild to me. I get some vegans being a bit apathetic towards humanity, but it seems crazy to turn a blind eye to human issues. I see the way we treat other animals as being directly intersectional with the way we treat humans. All sentient beings deserve compassion.
I think from a practical standpoint, it's easier to check a list of ingredients than to keep track of which brand is owned by whom and how much they suck, especially when most of them do suck. Not to mention that the who-owns-who chart is more convoluted than the English monarchy's family tree.
I definitely get where you're coming from. It's almost impossible to live in modern society without unintentionally exploiting someone. What matters is we're doing our best.
Oh yeah, with the system we've got, there is too much separation between consumption and production of commodities. It is so much leg work to try to have some semblance of ethical consumption, but we'll just keep trying to make the moves in the right direction. The left certainly has a past with animal exploitation and even geoengineering. I think it is just promethian-ism that is the problem really, the domination of nature.
To me the worst part of being fully vegan is that there's no great, mainstream, non-plastic alternatives to leather and wool. Almost all faux leather is made of oil or some vegetable oil, and almost all vegan wool sweaters use synthetic wool.
I think there's an underdog effect at play there. I recognise shades of that in myself. If you're sensitive to the kind of highly industrialised violence at scale that modern farming operates under, then I can understand how exploitation of human workers might seem vastly les important.
It's not my view, but I can see it.
I have noticed this, and I wonder why it is. Other than basic empathy I struggle to see the connection.
That is I feel the connection, but I couldn't explain it to you in a satisfying way.
If you're against the oppression of human animals, it's only one more step to oppose the oppression of non-human animals.
Comrade cow and pig
Comrade duck