Vegans Of Color have already addressed Renee at Womanist Musings, as have I in the past, but it’s time for a fresh look. Here, I shall dissect her latest blog post that lists her excuses for not going vegan:

Renee claims: “I am not a monster and would certainly not support intentional animal cruelty but I am a meat eater.  I have always been a meat eater and will always be a meat eater.”

My rebuttal: I’ve never met Renee in real life, but I’ve read enough of her blog posts to grant that she is not a monster. She genuinely cares about other people and actively tries to make the world a better place. She has good intentions when it comes to animals.

The problem is that animal agribusiness is so often and so routinely cruel that it’s impossible to “not support intentional animal cruelty” while also eating animals. The notion of humane meat is a myth.

Jonathan Safran Foer explains this in his interview on Ellen. He says, “You have to ask yourself, does this thing I’m holding in my hand correspond with reality?”:

Beyond that, Renee claims that she “will always be a meat eater.” It’s such a ridiculous claim! How can she see into the future and know for certain what lies ahead?

Why does she include “meat-eater” as a part of her identity in the same way that she includes her gender? Does she really think she’d be a completely different person if she refrained from eating animals? Does she truly believe there is something about being vegan that will make her act like her worst vegan enemy?

Next Renee claims: “veganism is not sustainable unless you consume imported food.”

Let’s start with this: Even if Renee can’t yet fathom how she could be a vegan, and even if she thinks that the only kind of vegan worth being is a locavore vegan, that doesn’t mean she can’t begin to try. But first she’ll have to drop the meat-eater identity. She’ll have to allow herself to explore new foods and new ideas without  prejudice. I suggest she start by going veg one day a week:

Next, Renee worries about worker’s rights: “When you buy a bunch of bananas for 50 cents a pound, do you really believe a worker has gotten a fair return on their investment?”

I will absolutely grant that farm workers deserve more rights and better working conditions. But that’s not a good reason to eat animals! That’s a good reason to purchase fair trade items, to grow our own food, to buy organic, to consume less, and to vote for worker’s rights. Veganism fits with these values, not against them.

Moreover, has Renee forgotten about the slaughterhouse workers? Does she really think she shouldn’t slow the line? (click here for more information on animal agribusiness workers.)

Renee then talks more about local eating, to which I respond: Please read The Myth Of The Locavore.

Finally, she says, “There are certainly POC that advocate for veganism/vegetarianism but just like any other social justice movements, their voices are not the ones that are being centered.  The debate is most certainly controlled by White middle to upper class women.”

I agree with Renee, in part. The animal movement doesn’t pay enough attention to the diversity of its membership. It’s something we should work on improving by becoming better allies with people of color.

However, none of that should matter in Renee’s decision to eat animals. The cows and chickens and fish don’t care about racism, classism, or sexism within the animal movement, they just want freedom from suffering for themselves. How can someone who claims to care about animals overlook the animals’ needs and instead focus on the animal movement’s imperfections? Eating animals in order to spite privileged people doesn’t do anything good for anyone! It’s just mean.

Ultimately, Renee’s entire article is more an exhibition of her ignorance about animal exploitation than a criticism of veganism or the animal movement. To that end, I suggest Earthlings:

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Sections: Vegan Theory
Topics: earthlings, exploitation, nonvegans, oppression, racism, renee, sexism, speciesism, womanist musings