Veganuary is with us again, the annual reminder that veganism is now mainstream. But us steak-dodgers still face a fair bit of curiosity and scepticism about our lifestyle choice. One question is particularly familiar: ‘Oh, but I hope you’re not a preachy, judgemental vegan?’ we’re asked. Well, it’s funny you should ask because that that’s exactly what I am and you can emblazon it across my headstone: I’m a preachy, judgemental vegan.
Let’s have a good old-fashioned debate and each drop our respective truth bombs
Why would I not be? I think it would be really odd to be so opposed to animal slaughter that I’ve taken the drastic step of stopping eating meat, fish, eggs and milk, but then to say I’ve no issue with other people consuming those things. You either think a thing is wrong or you don’t.
It’s become very trendy to reject the idea that there are any universal or absolute moral principles. But when it comes to eating animals there’s an obvious problem with the ‘personal choice’ mantra: paying people to kill animals for your dinner may be your personal choice but what about the personal choice of the animals to not be abused and killed?
For a long time, people didn’t think much about how animals are treated in farms and abattoirs, and vegan options were rare in shops and restaurants. But these days, the media regularly publishes undercover horror stories from farms and slaughterhouses and there are countless delicious plant-based alternatives. So if you’re still eating meat in 2025, I do indeed judge you a bit for that.
And yes, I’ll preach. Preaching has become a dirty word for some but a lot of the good in the world came about after people advocated passionately for it. I think that as long as what you’re advocating for is noble and your lifestyle matches your words, then you should preach.
So here’s some of that preaching now: more than 92 billion land animals are killed each year for their meat, usually at a tiny fraction of their natural lifespan. Around 85 per cent of the UK’s farmed animals endure their short lives in industrial factory farms. Most pigs are killed in gas chambers. Many male chicks are tossed into grinders by the egg industry and dairy cows have their babies torn from them after birth.
I think that calling for an end to all that is a noble cause and my lifestyle matches my message, so why wouldn’t I preach? If my words make you uncomfortable, then perhaps that’s only because you secretly agree with me.
I know it’s hard to come to terms with what goes on behind the deliberately high walls of factory farms and abattoirs. As a result, all too often people’s defences shoot up. They try and make the person pointing out the suffering – not the suffering itself – the problem.
All of this comes with important caveats. What we eat is only one aspect of our morality, so although I think that not eating meat is absolutely morally superior to eating meat, I don’t think it makes me a better person than you. That’s a bigger and more complex question.
Also, while I think vegans have a right to speak up, there are obviously times where it’s inappropriate. So don’t worry, I’m not going to turn up to your dinner party with a PowerPoint presentation or bring a loud-hailer to your wedding.
And just as I reserve the right to be preachy, I hope non-vegans will speak up too. Deep down, lots of you think that we’re weird or sanctimonious. Deep down, lots of us judge you. This silent standoff is just boring so let’s have a good old-fashioned debate and each drop our respective truth bombs.
If mine make you uncomfortable then all the better: maybe I’ll make you so uncomfortable that one day you’ll stop paying people to kill animals.
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