Tag Archives: moral choices

On ‘personal choice’ and trying to be a ‘popular’ vegan

Posted on November 13, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I’m sure we’ve all heard – or maybe even used at some time – the tired old assertion about ‘my personal choice’? My first hearing was when it was actually snarled at me through gritted teeth by a former … Continue reading →

Posted in Awakening to veganism, consumer demand, Global disasters | Tagged animal rights, climate disaster, diet, disaster, ecological disaster, end of life as we know it, extremism, famine, fire, flood, Flooding, food shortage, human superiority, justice, moral choices, personal, personal choice, planetary collapse, plant-based, speciesism, truth, victims, violence, wildfires | 5 Comments

Learning lessons

Posted on September 19, 2020 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Recently, someone died; someone who was everything to me. ‘How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand… there is no going back? There … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, dairy, Eulogies, Health and plant based eating, Speciesism | Tagged advocacy, animal rights, breast milk, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, Grief, harm, health, heartbreak, human superiority, loss, misery, moral choices, motherhood, veganism | 23 Comments

Chickens and eggs – what about the males?

Posted on June 1, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I find my thoughts returning frequently to chickens; these wonderful, gentle, friendly little birds whose species bears the brunt (in terms of sheer numbers) of our own species’ arrogant delusions of entitlement and staggering ignorance about necessity. I’ve written many … Continue reading →

Posted in Chickens and eggs | Tagged advocacy, chickens, Chickens and eggs, commodification, consumer demand, culling, dairy, egg-laying hens, ethics, harm, health, humane, justice, macerating, moral choices, resources, respect, rights, sentience, slaughter, Statistics, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence, welfare, well-being | 19 Comments

Making up labels to hide behind

Posted on April 26, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Here’s someone with a lovely face. His name was Rannoch. In this photo he was watching the track to the house, waiting to catch sight of me. He would wait there all day, if that’s what it took. Some might … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Nonhuman family members, Speciesism | Tagged bred for eating, bred for fur, Chickens and eggs, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, harm, milk, moral choices, respect, rights, slaughter, vegan, veganism, victims, violence, welfare | 6 Comments

We’re so vain – thoughts on intelligence

Posted on April 17, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Another comment that often appears amongst the arsenal of tired old excuses that humans cling to in their attempts to justify the use of members of other species, centres around presumptions of superior intelligence when compared with every other species … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, FAQ, Speciesism | Tagged advocacy, awakening, Chickens and eggs, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, death, Earth day, harm, human superiority, intelligence, moral choices, resources, rights, sentience, speciesism, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 7 Comments

Thoughts for another Mother’s Day

Posted on March 5, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Every specially designated ‘day’ presents a shameless commercial opportunity to flood the market with consumer goods and Mother’s Day is no different. Shops and online commercial enterprises are filled with items targeted at those who gladly embrace this annual occasion … Continue reading →

Posted in Chickens and eggs, consumer demand, dairy, Festivals | Tagged chickens, Chickens and eggs, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, emotion, harm, health, human superiority, love, milk, moral choices, mother, motherhood, mothering, resources, respect, rights, sentience, slaughter, vegan, veganism, victims | 4 Comments

Obscene phrase of the day: ‘bred for eating’

Posted on January 31, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Originally posted 1 September 2014, revised and links updated 31 January 2018 ‘bred for eating’ (variation: ‘bred for food’) ‘But surely you realise that they were ‘bred for eating‘?’ It’s a sentence frequently uttered triumphantly by those seeking to justify eating … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, Terminology | Tagged brutality, commodification, consumer demand, decency, enslavement, entitlement, harm, human superiority, humane, justice, moral choices, necessity, ownership, resources, respect, sentience, speciesism, superiority, Torture, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violation, violence, vulnerable | 8 Comments

‘There’s an Elephant in the Room’ – why this title?

Posted on January 15, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

‘Elephant in the room’ is a metaphorical idiom for something obvious that is either being ignored or is not being addressed. It is based on the idea that an elephant in the room would be impossible to avoid noticing; with … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Speciesism, Terminology | Tagged Chickens and eggs, consumer demand, dairy, death, harm, milk, misery, moral choices, nonviolence, sentience, speciesism, Torture, vegan, veganism, victims, violation, violence | Leave a comment

What we ask for, what we get ….

Posted on October 23, 2017 by There's an Elephant in the Room

… and what on earth has this to do with vegan advocacy? The subject of ‘what we ask for’ versus ‘what we get’ is one that every single one of us is familiar with. Casting my mind back to my … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Harm reduction | Tagged advocacy, baby steps, commodification, compromise, encouragement, harm, Harm reduction, health, moral choices, nonviolence, promoting harm, resources, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 5 Comments

For Earth Day: thoughts about speciesism, biophilia and veganism

Posted on April 22, 2017 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Recently, I was introduced to a new word. Finding this one gave a name to a notion that has become more acute in my recent years as an advocate, prompting thoughts that I’d like to share in recognition of Earth … Continue reading →

Posted in Festivals, Global disasters, Speciesism | Tagged advocacy, awakening, biophilia, catastrophe, climate, climate change, commodification, destruction, disaster, Earth day, ecosystem, entitlement, environment, ethics, extinction, harm, health, human superiority, justice, love, moral choices, planetary collapse, pollution, resources, respect, sentience, slaughter, speciesism, truth, tyranny, vegan, veganism, victims | 5 Comments