The department of "shows how much I actually know about anything": Veganism is an ism that is not so much a dietism but a philosophical ism that leads to a lifestyle ism. It's not just about food and vegetables and respecting animals it's about a whole (holistic) approach to living. I thought leather seats on cars, industrial farming methods and fur coats were the nadir. A quick Google might have saved me from ignorance some time ago but you know how hard it is to work Google these days. So one thing I now know is that some (maybe not all) vegans are against the keeping of pets ... for our pleasure and self gratification, pets = playthings. Now I know that the genie is out of the bottle on this one, there's no quick fix ... but pets. When I think of pets (other than crazy dog breeders, spider nuts and reptile keepers) I'm thinking of animal friends, companions, helping the lonely, illuminating childhoods and transfixing young minds as they learn and respect how animals are up close. That's not exploitation, that's a two way street. So I'm cool with pets. I'm also cool with protection from cruelty, securing wildlife habitat, the greater green issues and generally not fucking about with animals in a bad way. Trouble is some of them taste quite nice (just not the pets) but I'm open to persuasion. There's the conflict.
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