Eric Prescott at An Animal Friendly Life wrote a series of articles for Taste Better.

Below is a list of the articles with a quote or description from each one.

Although I don’t personally agree with everything Eric says, I enjoy his writing and agree with most of his work.

I hope you’ll find these essays inspiring and empowering:

1. The Power of Privilege -
   

   “The privilege of being born and living in a modern civilization, such as it is, means that we no longer require animals for food, transport and so on, which provides us a relatively new perspective on nonhuman animals that allows for equal consideration, to even be able to consider animal rights and veganism.” [...] “To someone dying in Darfur, this column might seem surreal. But in the context of our own society, it is incumbent on those of us in privileged positions to seek out injustice and to leverage all the opportunities we have to educate others, raising awareness about Darfur, urging the reduction of activities that contribute to global warming, to help them widen their circle of compassion, encompassing as well nonhumans held captive in factory farms to be converted into food for still more privileged people.”

2. What have you done for animals lately? – We can all find some time to get active.
   

   “Prioritize your discretionary time based on a future self looking back at whether hours of your life vanished into thin air or whether they accumulated into achievements you’ll be proud to remember. That might prompt a rather profound rejiggering of your schedule! The amount of time freed up when we prioritize around what matters can be rather substantial.”

   I’ll second that and add something: prioritize not just your time, but also your money. When you look back on your life, be proud of how you’ve spent your time and your money. Take care of yourself first, but use the left-over wisely.

3. Getting Active – Some starter tips for becoming an animal advocate.
   

   “Find what excites you or plays into what you already enjoy, and adapt it to your compassion for animals. In my case, I’ve long been involved in writing, filmmaking, public speaking and organization, so what follows is a natural extension of interests I’ve had since well before embracing vegan principles.” Likewise, I enjoy creating websites and writing so much of my activism takes place on the web.

4. Opportunities for activism, part 1 – Learn to cook, wear vegan clothes with vegan slogans, donate time and money to animal organizations.
5. Opportunities for activism, part 2 – Tried and true method of media activism: “Whether writing letters, blogging, posting at social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace or even at YouTube, there are many ways to take a high profile media story and leverage it on behalf of animals” and other activism ideas.
6. Opportunities for activism, part 3 – Some ideas include a vegan make-over: “Encourage someone to go vegan for a week, or for 30 days, and make that person your project” and health education: “there’s little disputing the science indicating that, overall, a plant-based diet is the healthiest way to eat if you’re a human being.“
7. Don’t just do something – Define your goals before beginning activism. If the goal is true animal rights then activism that promotes veganism and encourages others to become vegan is worthwhile. A long time ago I learned a technique that applies to all activism, here it is:
   Step 1 – Define your goal.
   Step 2 – Determine who can make that goal happen.
   Step 3 – Determine how to best motivate the person or group of people.
   Step 4 – Motivate that person to make your goal happen.
   All serious activism begins at the end. The end does not justify the means, but the end determines the route. You wouldn’t just drive around aimlessly if you wanted to drive from Los Angeles to New Orleans, you’d get a map and plan a route, probably the route that’s most direct. The same goes for animal activism. If the goal is animal rights, you don’t wander around aimlessly promoting ‘happy meat’, you go vegan. You take the direct route or direct action, the one that ends in the desired goal.
8. Exploring the domination dynamic -
   

   “By going vegan, we have aligned our behavior with this belief, which is a profound step in and of itself. Because it means being the change you wish to see in the world, veganism is the practical, everyday application in our own lives of the understanding that animal exploitation is unnecessary and wrong.” [...] “The primary focus of our activism as vegans, then — if we are to strike at the roots of this systemic problem — must be to transform the widely held human view that animals are ours to do with as we please. We must employ our various tactics (tabling, leafleting, etc.) to educate those in our sphere of influence in such a way that we help them understand how views they already hold about some animals — like cats and dogs — apply to all sentient beings.“

Lastly, let me end with a recommendation for Prescott’s article, The Language of Liberation, where he reflects on the power or words to shape consciousness. Indeed, language is a powerful tool of liberation. Most people cannot understand something that they cannot name, label, or explain. They need words in order to make sense of it. This is why philosophers and scientists will create new words to describe new theories and discoveries. A common language is necessary to communicate ideas.

In Prescott’s article he says,

“In our advocacy, it is essential for us to carefully choose words that paint a vivid impression of nonhuman animals as morally relevant, morally meaningful beings. As the use of our non-speciesist language takes root, it will expose the injustice of speciesism, and rational humans will eventually come to recognize the inherent cruelty of using other beings as resources for their own purposes.”

This is why wee must use pronouns and names to describe animals. This is why we must be clear about who we’re talking about when we talk about animals. This is why we must use words like “flesh” instead of “meat” and why we must say “land animals” instead of “read meat” and “birds” instead of “poultry.” We must reconnect our language to the natural world and undo the disconnect that animal exploiters have created.

So, please, take time to read these nine articles from Eric Prescott to educate and invigorate your vegan animal activism.

Sections: Vegan Activism, Vegan Resources, Vegan Theory
Topics: aafl, activism, resources, Theory, veg, Vegan