Vegan Washing Needs to Stop
Veganism is intersectional. I went vegan in 2010, and I didn't realize until way later on how shitty many so-called vegans truly are. My eyes started to actually open during the peak of the pandemic and during the Black Lives Matter movement.
I started to realize that there were very shitty human beings that claimed to be vegan who didn't give a fuck about other people. Veganism is a lifestyle that is chosen to not contribute to the harm or exploitation of living beings as much as possible.
When I say that there are some really shitty humans that claim to be vegan, I realized this first by seeing that they did not give a fuck about humans at all. Animals, people, and the planet are important. If you are a shitty human to other humans, your "veganism" doesn't mean shit.
I'm seeing this again. It is very prevalent when people care about the animals that are being murdered in Palestine, but they don't give a fuck about the people being murdered in Palestine and the catastrophic effects that this genocide israel is committing in Palestine has on the environment. These are the shitty humans I am talking about.
zionists do not deserve to experience life. zionists do not deserve to live. If you support israel, you are dead to me. If you advocate for animals, but don't say shit about people being oppressed, your "veganism" doesn't mean shit.
You can choose to not eat any animals, to not eat animal ingredients, and to not support animal exploitation and the use of animals in any way you possibly can, but real veganism is caring about people and caring about the planet as well as caring about animals. Period. Full stop.
Society is never going to progress, and this world is never going to get better if people leave caring about people and the planet out of their morals and "veganism." The fact is that this world doesn't just have animals in it. It also has people in it.
If you say that you're vegan, and you don't talk about the issues that are happening to people in this world, you're not shit. People are getting deported in the U.S., people are living in poverty and homelessness, people are dealing with gun violence, xenophobia, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and racism in the U.S.
There's a genocide that's happening to Palestine, Congo, and Sudan that also includes displacement, starvation, and apartheid in Palestine, slavery in Congo and displacement in Sudan. Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen are continuing to be bombed by israel with the help of the U.S.
Every single bit of colonization and imperialism has to stop for this world to be better. I mention the U.S. a lot because I'm American, and I currently still live in the U.S. It's all rampant here, and we all know by now that the U.S. was built on slavery, murder, genocide, rape, colonization, imperialism, and white supremacy.
Veganism is anti-imperialist, anti-capitalism, anti-ethnic cleansing, anti-racist, anti-colonist, anti-genocide, and anti-apartheid. israel is doing something that is called vegan washing. israel claims to be the most moral and the most vegan friendly, but that doesn't mean shit because of how they treat humans and how they treat the planet.
They say that they do so much for animals when in reality they don't at all. They are contributing to the death, trauma, and suffering of animals. They continue to do so, and they have been for decades and decades. There's an Instagram account called @vegansforpalestine, and they point things like this out and educate.
One of the most powerful things you can do is boycott. Boycott anyone and anything that supports israel if you care about Palestine, human rights, and the planet. As a vegan, you may use the brand Silk, Follow Your Heart, and So Delicious. Boycott them because their parent company is a piece of shit.
You have to understand that there are companies that own other companies. It doesn't matter if it's vegan and cruelty-free if it supports israel. It's useless, and has no place in my life. You have to pay attention to knowing where people stand, where companies stand, and what their values and morals are.
If they don't align with yours, you don't need to have any of it in your life. If there's not a clear answer, email someone within the company or brand and ask them. If you have doubts, just cut it out altogether. Sometimes, it's not clear. You have to go with your intuition.
Your voice, your attention, your energy, and your money are the most powerful things you have. You can use them to align with your ethics and morals, and you don't ever have to stray from that. No matter what.
You can also volunteer your time, knowledge, and skills. You can donate and protest. You can buy only refurbished tech (tvs, phones, tablets, computers, laptops, etc.) and no new tech because the mining of cobalt is causing slavery and murder in Congo.
You can support Palestinian, Lebanese, Congolese, Sudanese, Yemeni, and Syrian owned businesses and businesses that are pro-Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Congo, Sudan, and Syria. You can keep sharing about all of this — no matter how big or small your platform is. You can keep talking about it because these things need to be talked about.
Always listen to Palestinian, Sudanese, Congolese, Yemeni, Lebanese, and Syrian voices and all voices of the oppressed. Amplify their voices. Bear witness. There are some racist, ableist, zionist, horrendous, vile, didgusting, repulsive, disturbing human beings in this world that do not deserve to even be alive. Be aware of this, and always stand true to what your morals and ethics are.
You can follow @vegansforpalestine, @vegans4collectiveliberation, and @bds.movement on Instagram for more important info that you need to know.
Here are some posts to read.
6.) "The Vegan Capital of the World"
7.) Boycott Danone
8.) Boycott Vegan Brands Complicit in Genocide
10.) More About israel's Vegan Washing
11.) israel's Abuse of Veganism
The vegan washing has to stop. zionism has to be annihilated. It is crumbling, but it will never die until everyone who wants it to stop comes together and forces a permanent end to it.
Love,
Jessica