Barefoot Vegan Mag Jan_Feb 2017

How are we going to convince others
that we're a social justice movement
if we promote violence and injustice
among ourselves? How can we be taken
seriously when we speak out against
violence towards non-human animals
while promoting or ignoring abuse
towards our fellow humans?
Just like veganism is an issue of justice and not merely an
issue of nutritional science, so too is the issue of
reproductive choice.
Another tenet of anti-natalism is that it's cruel to bring
other humans into this terrible world. If one believes that
living on this planet is a form of cruelty, I absolutely agree
that having a child may not be a good decision for them.
But many of us feel gratitude for each day that we exist on
this planet. Many of us are vegan because we believe that
being alive is amazing and no animal should be deprived of
this gift.
Yet another argument made by anti-natalists is that
there's no guarantee that a vegan child will grow up to be
vegan, and thus they will do greater harm. As a father of a 3
-year old vegan girl who just grilled all our neighbors about
veganism while trick or treating for Halloween, I call BS.
Our little girl is stronger in her vegan convictions than
many adults we know. When kids are not brainwashed to
do harm to animals, it becomes unthinkable to do so, and
it’s highly unlikely that anything is going to change that.
Having a vegan child has forced us to engage in vegan
education efforts in all kinds of spaces that we otherwise
would not have: with neighbours, pre-school, family, and
friends. If we truly want a vegan world, we need to raise
awareness everywhere, not only with those from a singular
demographic or lifestyle choice.
Our veganism has been strengthened by having a vegan
child. It was the impetus for starting a vegan-themed
publishing company with a mission to raise vegan
awareness. Our connection with our child has made the
bond between non-human animals and their babies
more real and personal for us. When we see a young non
-human animal in an animal use industry, we see them as
we see our own child and it pushes us to try even harder
to make a difference for animals. Our parenthood is a
fundamental part of our veganism.
That is just us, of course, and others will have a
different experience. I'm not trying to suggest that every
vegan should go out there and reproduce, but at the
same time, we should not gloss over the good that can
come from parenting and we should avoid thinking of
vegan babies as some kind of plague for humanity.
Before somebody blurts out "Just adopt!" they should
educate themselves on the difficulties and costs of the
adoption process. I wish this was a more accessible
option and I urge anyone with the inclination and the
means to please do so, but adoption of a human is simply
not the same as saving a companion animal, and I know
of no vegan anti-natalist who has actually adopted a
human child.
Since I've become more vocal against anti-natalism,
I've had several vegan mothers thank me and tell me
stories about how they've been bullied and abused by
others in the community, and how their "friends" have
failed to speak out for them. Many have also described
not feeling safe in the vegan community anymore
because of this. It should go without saying that this is
the opposite of what we should be doing. We should be
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