Comments | vegan_talk: Go eco, go vegan

toodlepipsky in vegan_talk

Go eco, go vegan

Nov 19, 2009 22:24

As a part of my zoology degree, I've been running a research project on people's emotional attachment towards animals and the general human capacity of empathizing with emotions of non-human animals. The more I read into cases of animal abuse, people's rainbow of attachment to their pets etc. the more I realize it might not be natural for all of us ( Read more... )

Comments 9

mildmag November 20 2009, 00:10:21 UTC

First, this is an interesting theory. It would explain a lot.

While I agree that not everyone will care about animals' suffering at all, I think even fewer would care about overpopulation or greenhouse gases. Those are even more abstract problems for a human mind, and, personally, I find them less convincing than stopping suffering.

But I've never tried those arguments in conversation, so this is just me guessing.

toodlepipsky November 20 2009, 06:24:45 UTC

It seems people do care if you shift the focus of veganism from the animals to people, the core of the argument can then be simplified until anyone can understand it.

fabricdragon November 20 2009, 14:47:39 UTC

it may be less direct, but it also isnt nearly as defense causing, or upsetting....

when you basically tell someone "YOU are doing something HORRIBLE... look at how horrible YOU are" they stop hearing you unless they already believe that.

tell them "you can HELP! you can make things BETTER!" and you dont trigger the same hostility

toodlepipsky November 20 2009, 19:30:21 UTC

Exactly!

suraineko November 20 2009, 02:54:40 UTC

It would be easy to assume that everyone working in the meat-production industry are psychopaths (lacking compassion). However I don't think that's the case. Just like the meat eaters who deny there is a problem though their belief that animals are meant for food, I believe many meat-production employees have created defense mechanisms to protect them from the horridness of it all ( ... )

toodlepipsky November 20 2009, 06:28:55 UTC

Compared with the rest of the population, the workers of the animal products industry and a bit on the rare side and the chances of running into one are not very high. Obviously, people have defence mechanisms, these exact defence mechanisms are the ones that make people walk away from the vegan propaganda booths with the bloody pictures.
However, if you shift the argument from animals and guilty humans to humans working for a better, cleaner future and the environment, the guilt factor is gone and so people listen more.

why people dont believe the protestors fabricdragon November 20 2009, 14:44:34 UTC

several points to consider ( ... )

Re: why people dont believe the protestors toodlepipsky November 20 2009, 19:33:40 UTC

You've hit the hammer on the head right there. I go to this vegan restaurant in Tel Aviv and 90% of the people there are these activists type. People respond badly to a person going to length to look different, because the caveman inside is is basically xenophobic, that's just not the way to get the messege through.
You have no idea how many people told me I don't look the 'vegan type'. Access to the community is just what we need.

yh_tac November 24 2009, 07:53:37 UTC

My experience accords with what you say. My original reason for going vegetarian/vegan was the environmental one. Even now, when I'm explaining to people why I eat how I do I instinctively place more emphasis on the environmental factors. It feels somehow less... shameful? Not exactly. It feels less crazy, less like people are going to give me weird looks. Not a good reason, necessarily, but hey, whatever.