Therefore, veganism does not make sense for someone aiming to maximize their EU. … The only other factor stopping me from eating meat was a deontological side-constraint.
It looks to me like you’re not including some other pretty important ways veganism can increase expected utility beyond the direct impact of reducing the suffering caused by your diet. For example, it’s a clear signal to other people that you think animals matter morally and are willing to make sacrifices for their benefit. And it helps build a norm of not harming animals for human benefit, reducing the risk of locking in speciesist values. I think there are many EAs who wouldn’t make the sacrifice to be vegan in a hypothetical world where no one would ever know their dietary choices, but who think it’s a very important thing to do in the world we do live in.
I believe that honesty and acting according to your values is more important. If your value is EU maximization, then your actions and opinion should reflect that. I didn’t appreciate that I learned veganism through EA only to discover that it may be an order of magnitude less effective than animal welfare donations. I think EAs should also not forget they need to signal to each other. I think many EAs have been given the message “go vegan to reduce suffering,” but not “animal welfare is the most effective way to help animals.”
Sorry! I’ve edited my comment to make it clearer that I’m trying to say that suffering caused by eating meat is not the only factor you should weigh in estimating expected utility.
(For what it’s worth I do still think it’s likely that, taking these other benefits into account and assuming you think society is seriously undervaluing the moral worth of animals, veganism still doesn’t make sense as a matter of maximizing utility.)
It looks to me like you’re not including some other pretty important ways veganism can increase expected utility beyond the direct impact of reducing the suffering caused by your diet. For example, it’s a clear signal to other people that you think animals matter morally and are willing to make sacrifices for their benefit. And it helps build a norm of not harming animals for human benefit, reducing the risk of locking in speciesist values. I think there are many EAs who wouldn’t make the sacrifice to be vegan in a hypothetical world where no one would ever know their dietary choices, but who think it’s a very important thing to do in the world we do live in.
I believe that honesty and acting according to your values is more important. If your value is EU maximization, then your actions and opinion should reflect that. I didn’t appreciate that I learned veganism through EA only to discover that it may be an order of magnitude less effective than animal welfare donations. I think EAs should also not forget they need to signal to each other. I think many EAs have been given the message “go vegan to reduce suffering,” but not “animal welfare is the most effective way to help animals.”
Sorry! I’ve edited my comment to make it clearer that I’m trying to say that suffering caused by eating meat is not the only factor you should weigh in estimating expected utility.
(For what it’s worth I do still think it’s likely that, taking these other benefits into account and assuming you think society is seriously undervaluing the moral worth of animals, veganism still doesn’t make sense as a matter of maximizing utility.)