Unavoidable Compromises

When vegans have to make compromises that are not vegan, it is not about what is 'convenient' for us, as some nonvegans might suggest. It is not about what we 'prefer', or 'desire', or about self-indulgence. Any nonvegan situation or product we are forced to tolerate or use is considered (such as needing to have a car, or riding a bus with leather seats, etc.). We do not act by impulse, ignorance, or by convenience. We simply do our best every day to do the least harm possible.

Why would I harm anyone when I could so easily avoid *most* of it? In our current society – almost totally based on exploitation and violence – most of us are unable to live all-or-nothing (e.g. we must have cars to obtain food, etc.), but we do our best.

If we find out it is not considered vegan, and is avoidable, we avoid it. It is that simple.

I feel lucky and happy for every single day, always doing my personal best to act in a way that is consistent with my ethics. It is a GREAT way to live.

THINK. vegan.

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“People look at me as a vegan and conclude that since I stepped on a snail or because the vegetables I eat resulted in a tractor death for a squirrel somewhere in Paraguay that somehow vegans are hypocrites, which of course they're not since perfection is an unattainable goal and is something to be driven towards, never actually achieved. The difference between you and the vegan standing next to you is that while you're both going to step on a bug tomorrow, they've decided to dedicate their lives to do as little harm as possible, completely independent from what you do. So in no way does the protozoan life form they step on negate your responsibility for the lamb you're paying a stranger to cut tomorrow. And falling 1% short of an unattainable goal is really good when you're standing next to someone who won't even try.”
- Shelley Williams