Ethics

On dairy farms, calves are typically separated from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. On beef farms, it often happens later, after a few months. From an emotional perspective, many people wonder how this affects the cows. Do cows miss their calves? Cows seem to miss their calves for at least a day or … Read more

You’ve probably heard an argument go something like this… A vegan or animal rights activist says “Milk is cruel.” Then someone responds, “Cows need to be milked, or they could die.” They say, “Cows like being milked.” But is it true? What happens if a cow isn’t milked? If you don’t milk a lactating cow, … Read more

When you hear ethical arguments for veganism, the focus is usually on the evils of factory farming. And that makes sense, as factory farms are the main source of meat, dairy, and eggs eaten today. But what do vegans think about hunting and fishing? Most vegans view hunting and fishing as morally wrong, due to … Read more

A productive egg-laying hen can produce a new egg almost every day—around 300 per year. That’s a lot of egg-laying. It makes you wonder: Do they enjoy it? Or does it hurt, pushing out all those eggs? Chickens appear to feel some pain when laying eggs, but it’s not usually very bad for very long. … Read more

As a vegan, you’ll be hit with various questions and criticisms from non-vegans in your life. Some of these questions will be asked sincerely. Other will be said defensively. Some may even be meant to attack your diet and lifestyle choices. This post shares my personal answers to 60 common questions, objections, and critiques you’re … Read more

I could spend all day debating vegan ethics. There are many ethical reasons to be vegan, and they all have their nuances. But today I want to address a common question: Why is it okay to kill plants? Vegans justify killing plants by the fact that plants likely don’t feel pain like animals do. Plants respond … Read more

More and more people are trying to avoid cruel factory farms. Many are starting to choose “humane” milk and dairy. But how do you know if a product is really cruelty-free? What do all the labels mean? Can “happy milk” from “happy cows” be real? The best cruelty-free certifications for milk products are Animal Welfare … Read more

There’s a big debate around dairy right now. The global market is booming with dairy alternatives. The milk alternatives market alone is projected to hit 35 billion USD by 2026. So what’s so wrong with milk and cheese? Here are 6 common reasons why vegans don’t drink milk or eat dairy: Separation of mother and calf … Read more

When you go vegan, you may learn about all kinds of weird animal ingredients. One of the weirdest is castoreum. It comes from the “castor sacs” near a beaver’s tail, and it smells like “vanilla with a hint of raspberry.” Thankfully it’s not common in products today, but it does still see some use. How … Read more

Vegans don’t eat meat—but does that include human meat? What about in a hypothetical situation where someone told you, “Go ahead and eat my leg”… would that be vegan? What if they even said, “Please, I’m begging you to eat my leg”? Cannibalism is generally not considered vegan because humans are animals, and vegans do … Read more