Category: Animal ethics

Over 60% of mammals on Earth are farmed animals, vastly outnumbering their wild counterparts. A common question that arises is: what do vegans think of carnivorous animals? The answer lies in distinguishing between human moral agency and the amoral, instinct-driven behavior of wild animals.

While over 6% of adults in the United States identify as vegetarian, many are perplexed by the practice of consuming chicken eggs while avoiding fish eggs. The core difference comes down to the ethical and biological sourcing of each product.

Recent scientific studies confirm that fish are sentient beings capable of experiencing pain and fear, challenging long-held assumptions. This recognition forms the ethical foundation for why vegans extend their philosophy to include fish, citing cruelty, environmental devastation, and serious health risks as reasons to exclude them from their diet.

The majority of vegans abstain from consuming eggs because they are a direct product of an animal. This decision is rooted in the core principle of veganism, which seeks to avoid the exploitation and cruelty inherent in animal agriculture. While some might question the ethical implications of eggs from backyard hens, the broader commercial egg industry presents undeniable issues for animal welfare.

According to the Vegan Society, veganism is a way of life that seeks to exclude all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals as far as is possible and practicable. While many assume that avoiding eggs is about preventing the consumption of an unborn chick, the primary reasons why vegans are against eating eggs are far broader, rooted in animal welfare, ethical exploitation, and the harsh realities of the commercial egg industry.

Over 85% of human milk consumption comes from cows, yet the production process involves significant animal exploitation. For vegans, dairy products are fundamentally non-vegan because they originate from and involve the exploitation of animals. Understanding the core ethical principles of veganism reveals why dairy is excluded from a vegan lifestyle.

A single bee will produce just one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime, a fact that sheds light on the immense effort and resources involved in its production. This reveals a core ethical reason why honey is not vegan friendly, as the harvest prioritizes human desires over the needs and welfare of the bees themselves.

According to The Vegan Society, honey is one of the most common products mistakenly thought to be vegan-friendly. For individuals following a vegan diet, the choice to abstain from consuming honey is a direct result of their core ethical belief system, which seeks to exclude all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty.

According to the Ontario Beekeepers' Association, it takes 556 bees to produce one pound of honey. This astonishing labor is at the heart of understanding why is honey not vegan in Peta's view, as the organization classifies the extraction of honey as a form of animal exploitation.