Creating Vegans vs. Correcting Vegans: What Really Matters

Описание: Sometimes we feel the need to improve the advocacy of people who are already vegan. By “vegan,” I mean people who recognize animals as individuals and do not promote any form of animal exploitation, even for a so-called greater good. The problem is that we can end up spending our lives doing this, forgetting our own power to actually change the world.

Some vegan groups have turned this into full-time activism, falling into pure hostility, generalized suspicion, and endless wars over words. They forget what matters most: what they carry in their hearts, this immense power to change the world and to create new vegans. In the process, they end up living through the lives of others instead of building their own.

Don’t get me wrong. If someone does not clearly understand the definition of veganism, that is a problem. If someone does not understand why suffering is not the issue, but exploitation itself, that is also a problem. And yes, theoretically, such people are not vegan yet. We have to say it.

When I talk about different "types" of vegans in the video, I am referring instead to people who already understand these points but choose to use certain words or concepts in their vegan education that we personally might not agree with.

What I am questioning is whether spending any significant amount of time correcting someone who already does see animals as individuals and not exploit them (in their life or activism) is really the priority.

If people do not support animal exploitation, neither in their personal lives nor in their activism, and do not defend exploitation as a means to end exploitation (neo-welfarism), then I believe the priority should always be to create new vegans. Even if they support animal exploitaiton by their activism (new welfarism), most "vegans" are very hard to convince to stop believing in new welfarism and join vegan education only. When you start from scratch with non vegan people, you can directly make new vegan educators without any resistance due to activism myths.

Our time is limited. And time spent correcting others is a time not spent correcting ourselves, improving and creating new vegans.

I suggest that we spend less time living in the error of others and more time living in the solution we want to bring to the world.

Discussion with Andres Rafael in June 2025.
Edited by Sébastien Remy.