Are all Quakers Vegan?
Many Quakers are already vegan, and we wish to encourage those who are vegetarian or omnivore to go further, towards a vegan position, where all animal products are declined because of the inherent harm to animals caused by intensive farming. A more plant-based way of living would protect our planet and celebrate its wealth of environments, biodiversity and ecosystems.
We do not seek to impose such a discipline upon others, only to point out the benefits of such a choice through discussion and example. A vegan way of living is not a goal but a path. Even one person taking one small step along this path helps the entire world.
Our concern touches many areas of our lives so we shall present it in the context of the Quaker values or Testimonies.
Simplicity
When we consume animal products, entire crops are grown just to feed those animals. That is costly and wasteful in terms of land and water usage. It would be far better for the environment, as well as being more efficient and economical, if we consumed plants, grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables directly, as many of us are beginning to do.
There may be some for whom such a change might present difficulties, but for most people, who are convinced and motivated, a shift to a more vegan lifestyle is a feasible option.
There is sound information available about how to switch to a healthy plant based diet, and one of Hampstead’s members, for example, has brought up two healthy children on a vegan diet who are now healthy vegan adults.
Integrity and Sustainability
Many would agree that we have a collective responsibility to care for the finite resources of our finite planet, which entails caring for other species as well as our own. There now exist over 7 billion human beings, and more and more of them are opting, when their income allows, to consume eggs, dairy, meat and other animal products.
As a recent article in the Guardian observed, the one single action that we can each take as individuals to help preserve our planet is to forgo meat, eggs and milk. Animal farming takes up 83% of the world’s agricultural land but delivers only 18% of our calories.
We believe we need to ask ourselves how to move to a kinder way of living and one that sustains the cycle of life. Such initiatives are not new to Quakers. Paragraph 40 of Advices & Queries asks us to consider refraining from alcohol, tobacco and other habit-forming drugs because of the harm that can be done.
