Let’s say that someone argued to you that many efforts to improve animal welfare through individual dietary change has proven ineffective:
Only a small fraction of the population is vegetarian/vegan and this has been constant for years
Efforts to promote individual dietary change can be confrontational and aggressive, and consumes a lot of willingness/attention/sympathy of animal welfare. Combined with issue 1 above, this is actively harmful.
Questions:
Do you find the above plausible or not?
Do you think it is plausible there a large supply of efforts like yours in the past or not? If so, do you think your efforts are unique or have some special character?
Under what conditions or what evidence would you need to change your mind about the above? Or would you never change your mind?
yupp. i fully agree with part 1, disagree [in part] with part 2. the point of the Pledge (imo) is to stigmatize the consumption of eating animal-based foods, not to create vegans (per se). the Pledge doesn’t ask that we only eat with vegans.. it asks that we refuse to tolerate those around us not eating vegan around us.
yes, i do think the Pledge is unique (to the point of warranting publishing a journal article on it). i think the Pledge transforms the discussion in really important ways (the topic of parts II and IV of the article).
i’m always open to changing my mine (e.g., when i first heard about the Pledge i was openly against it). if i heard a compelling argument or saw reliable data against the pledge, i’d like to think i’d change accordingly (e.g., in the same way i came to eventually support the Pledge).
Let’s say that someone argued to you that many efforts to improve animal welfare through individual dietary change has proven ineffective:
Only a small fraction of the population is vegetarian/vegan and this has been constant for years
Efforts to promote individual dietary change can be confrontational and aggressive, and consumes a lot of willingness/attention/sympathy of animal welfare. Combined with issue 1 above, this is actively harmful.
Questions:
Do you find the above plausible or not?
Do you think it is plausible there a large supply of efforts like yours in the past or not? If so, do you think your efforts are unique or have some special character?
Under what conditions or what evidence would you need to change your mind about the above? Or would you never change your mind?
hey Charles. thanks for the Qs
yupp. i fully agree with part 1, disagree [in part] with part 2. the point of the Pledge (imo) is to stigmatize the consumption of eating animal-based foods, not to create vegans (per se). the Pledge doesn’t ask that we only eat with vegans.. it asks that we refuse to tolerate those around us not eating vegan around us.
yes, i do think the Pledge is unique (to the point of warranting publishing a journal article on it). i think the Pledge transforms the discussion in really important ways (the topic of parts II and IV of the article).
i’m always open to changing my mine (e.g., when i first heard about the Pledge i was openly against it). if i heard a compelling argument or saw reliable data against the pledge, i’d like to think i’d change accordingly (e.g., in the same way i came to eventually support the Pledge).