G'day from The Animalist / Friendly and Pragmatic Vegans and Vegetarians

[Vincent Berraud]

Hi, I've not really used this forum before and am not yet familiar with it.
I see that the "partners" are Vegan Strategist and Unnatural Vegan - they are easily amongst best vegan references in my opinion.

I have a blog, The Animalist: https://medium.com/@TheAnimalist and I created and help run Facebook group Friendly and Pragmatic Vegans and Vegetarians: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fapvv/
I was born and grew up in Paris, I am Australian and French and have lived in Melbourne for the best parts of the last two decades.

Have I always been vegan?

No, definitely not. I’m not even sure that I’m vegan right now — it’d depend on who you ask. I am an animalist: just like humanist but inclusive of animals. I care about animals because there is no rational and fair reason to systematically ignore their interests. So I eat a plant based diet and I avoid animal products such as leather or wool, and so on, as much as is practicable for my family and I.

I went vegetarian in 1992 when a friend of mine went vegetarian. I thought it was very silly of him and I was confident, in a typically arrogant fashion, that I could prove him wrong and make him realise how pointless vegetarianism was. To my surprise, his replies weren’t silly at all and actually made some sense. It was before the age of the Internet, and for weeks we had a back and forth conversation about not eating animals and about the way animals are treated. Needless to say: I failed dramatically at proving him wrong. The whole experience made me think things through and slowly but surely I became a vegetarian, and questioned the way we systematically ignore the animals interests and treat them like commodities.

Animals are used in a way that would clearly be unacceptable if the victims were dogs or other family animals we have learned to understand. About a year later I went “vegan”, then went back to vegetarian as I moved to various poorer countries, then back to vegan again. I do not care about the line between vegan and vegetarian, to be honest. I am opposed to the egg and dairy industries, for sure, they are inherently cruel and promote a vision of animals as commodities, but I am also opposed to exclusive, black and white thinking.

(Extract from Tips and quick chat on veganism, animals and small steps - https://medium.com/@TheAnimalist/tips-and-quick-chat-on-veganism-animals-and-small-steps-a8d3fe4e39a8#.7w5ksprmr)

[brimstoneSalad]

Welcome Vincent! Did you make your icon? It's cool.

I’m not even sure that I’m vegan right now — it’d depend on who you ask.

Why would you not be vegan now?
Do you mean like trace ingredients that PETA talks about here?
http://www.peta.org/living/food/making-transition-vegetarian/ideas-vegetarian-living/tiny-amount-animal-products-food/

Needless to say: I failed dramatically at proving him wrong. The whole experience made me think things through and slowly but surely I became a vegetarian, and questioned the way we systematically ignore the animals interests and treat them like commodities.

The power of rational discourse. It's amazing how many vegans today got into it by arguing against veganism (or vegetarianism in your case).

[Cirion Spellbinder]

Hello Vincent! What do you think about nuclear power?

[charlotte-reva]

Bienvenu!

[Vincent Berraud]

Welcome Vincent! Did you make your icon? It's cool.

No, Thrive Creative (http://thriving-creative.com/) designed it for me.

Why would you not be vegan now?
Do you mean like trace ingredients that PETA talks about here?

No, I mean that I am not always 100% as careful as I could be - but very close to 100% - plus I haven't found solid evidence not to consume farmed bivalves from time to time. I care about convincing meat eaters to make an effort and to care, I care about changing the laws and changing cultures, I don't overly care about the vegan bubble.

[Vincent Berraud]

Hello Vincent! What do you think about nuclear power?

Short answer: I used to be vehemently opposed to it not so long ago. Now, I think that it is necessary to promote it and further develop it in the short and medium term in order to combat climate change. Why did you ask?

Also, I'll be happy if this thread doesn't turn into a debate about nuclear energy - we could start a new topic about it if there isn't one already?

[brimstoneSalad]

I see what you mean. Yes, pragmatism in modeling approachable behavior is essential.

Hello Vincent! What do you think about nuclear power?

Short answer: I used to be vehemently opposed to it not so long ago. Now, I think that it is necessary to promote it and further develop it in the short and medium term in order to combat climate change. Why did you ask?

I think the question is a very good litmus test for education and critical thinking on environmentalism. Basically the eco-modernist position.

The bivalve question is another good one. It helps establish whether reason or dogma prevail.

Also, I'll be happy if this thread doesn't turn into a debate about nuclear energy - we could start a new topic about it if there isn't one already?

There are a few, but not really any debates on it.
There are debates on whether Sanders' opposition to nuclear power makes him worse than Trump, given Trump supports it, or whether Trump's other bad environmental and social policies outweigh his support of nuclear power.
Of course Hillary was the best of both worlds; sensible on nuclear AND not insane on everything else too.

If a debate happens organically we can always split the thread (The power of forums ).

[EquALLity]

Welcome to the forum!
What's it like in Australia?

There are a few, but not really any debates on it.
There are debates on whether Sanders' opposition to nuclear power makes him worse than Trump, given Trump supports it, or whether Trump's other bad environmental and social policies outweigh his support of nuclear power.
Of course Hillary was the best of both worlds; sensible on nuclear AND not insane on everything else too.

If a debate happens organically we can always split the thread (The power of forums ).

That's your opinion.

[Vincent Berraud]

Hard to answer the question about what it's like in Australia, really

As far as Animal Advocacy is concerned, we are the country of Peter Singer, so, yeah! Go us!!

We have Animals Australia, an outstanding charity as assessed by the Animal Charity Evaluators. We also have the Animal Justice Party growing fast at every election (and as we have preferential voting (http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/08/14/explainer-what-preferential-voting), one can vote for the AJP and then for the party of their choice and their vote counts twice!).

We also have world famous refuge Edgar's Mission!

Animal advocacy and veganism are growing fast but it's a country where people eat a lot of animals too.

Australian vegan Facebook groups almost all suck really bad, controlled by dogmatic vegans who don't understand small steps and care more about a rigid take and a fanatical focus on a definition rather than on the advancement of the animal cause.

I live in Melbourne, where I teach and live with my beautiful twin daughters.