tips for disabled people who cannot go vegan

sashavart:

queeranarchism:

sofitlolz:

I’m disabled & vegan,  w/epilepsy, so I’m fine on a plant-based diet, but I am aware that there’s a lot of people who cannot go vegetarian or vegan, so here’s just a wee list of things you can do if you’re keen on animal activism

• Get involved & raise awareness! Sign up for any protests etc for animal rights in your area, maybe talk to abled/neurotypical friends and family, and get them to cut down some of their animal product consumption!
• Veganism is about doing what is possible, not what is going to harm you! So never be too hard on yourself
• When you hear people in the vegan community calling meat-eaters animal abusers/carnists, etc, keep in mind that this refers to people who can change but won’t. It’s kind of like when I talk about straight people. If I say that straight people are homophobic, I don’t mean every singe straight person is (I’m comparing here, not equating. sexuality has nothing to do with eating meat/disability)
• Don’t let people on either side use you as an excuse. Don’t let vegans say that x disabled person can be vegan therefore all disabled people can be vegan, but also don’t let abled meat-eaters use you (a.k.a “I have a friend”) as an excuse to keep eating meat. 
• If there is any animal product you can cut down on, then definitely cut down! Tiny steps have a massive impact on supply&demand.
• Don’t buy leather, fur, silk, wool, etc (this does not mean that you should get rid of all your clothes. If you have to buy a new jacket, look for one made with faux leather!)
• If you’re rich (lol what) , buy from local farms. 
• If you’re getting a pet, adopt! My cat is from a shelter and he is the most wonderful baby. I love him. 
• And again, don’t be too hard on yourself. You aren’t the problem here

There’s probably loads more, so feel free to add! 

– remember that ethical consumption is (1) unaccomplishable. None of your totally vegan friends are doing zero harm in any way. & (2) multifaceted. If you wanna consume as ethically as possible, getting local and season products, recycling, repairing, getting second hand stuff, avoiding plastics, etc etc are all great ways of reducing harm. It’s not all about meat.
– if you can: go skipping or get people to go skipping and share the results with you. Skipping often yields lots and lots of meat that will stop you from buying meat for a long time. Meat that is already thrown away does not effect the supply and demand cycle in any way.
– A lot of foodbanks do not offer a vegan option. If your friends get animal products from foodbanks that they’re gonna throw away, ask them to give it to you instead.
– remember that consumption impact is always minor compared to structural impact. If your activism disrupt a small part of the meat industry in a meaningful way that is better than a hundred people going vegan.
– Don’t let anyone tell you that you are not doing enough. That’s up to you to decide.
– if a vegan is ableist to you because you are not totally vegan, they suck big time. Save a pig, eat an ableist vegan.

Also : nothing is totally vegan under capitalism because it -almost- always need the exploitation of HUMAN BEINGS, which are sentious beings like all animals : even most apolitical vegans tend to slightly ignore this simple fact.

So cut the bullshit : being vegan is being anticapitalist and antiauthoritarian or it’s fucking nothing.

True. I saw a few people going “But speciesism! Animal products are murder!” on this post. In addition to being very annoying unhelpful commentary on a great post, those comments seem to ignore how non-animal products get made or else they wouldn’t dare to be so absolute.

From horrible working environments to ruining habitats by extracting materials to global polution: Animals suffered for your clothing. Animals suffered for your car. Animals suffered for your phone. Animals suffered for all your food, vegan or otherwise. All consumption under capitalism involves the exploitation, suffering and often direct or indirect murder of animals, human and otherwise.

You may feel most strongly about not eating the flesh of another being but that is an emotional thing when in reality the blood of animals is on all your shit. That won’t end before capitalism ends even if everyone went vegan tomorrow.

Whether you are at heart most passionate about anticapitalism or about speciesism, it is always about more than veganism and it is always about dealing with the fact that all your consumption inevitably does harm and you are just gonna have to do the best you can under the circumstances.