A moral case for veganism in green political theory and animal advocacy
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2023-06-23
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en
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Veganism, a lifestyle consisting of the non-use or consumption of any animal products as far as is practicable, is an increasingly popular lifestyle, especially among younger and more progressive people. Its impact in political theory seems to be limited, however, despite seemingly fitting into both green political theory and animal advocacy. In this thesis I aspired to test to which extent veganism would hold up as an imperative in both these sub-topics of political theory, by examining whether the aims and rules of veganism follow logically when incorporated into different approaches of these two theories. I found that veganism is hard to justify as moral imperative under green political theory and ecologism, while being morally praiseworthy at best as a sound strategy to achieve the aims of environmentalism. Furthermore, it is also morally praiseworthy to achieve goals of the animal welfare approach, Singer’s utilitarian animal advocacy, and Regan’s animal right theory, which all aspire to minimize animal suffering, while being a moral imperative if one believes all sentient beings deserve a ‘right’ not to be property and be used exclusively as a resource. Finally, I discuss some assumptions and exceptions to keep in mind even when one does believe veganism ought to be a moral imperative, as well as highlighting opportunities for future research, and political and societal implications.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen