Thank you! This is helpful, Professor Francione. I’m grateful you made your writing available here on Medium.

I have had similar thoughts about people saying they can’t “force” their vegan beliefs. A distinction should be made between beliefs, and actions that directly harm others. People so often engage in discussion around veganism that center our human freedom to do whatever we want and feel good about it, while totally ignoring that animals are being forced to suffer. We have a moral obligation not to harm others whenever possible. As Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has said, “Your right to swing your fist ends at my nose.”

The part where I am unsure is that many products we buy and consume involve some degree of harm. I don’t know where all my food comes from, so I end up feeling uncertain and unconfident about how much I can “enforce” my imperfect veganism. Certainly plant foods that are brought inside the house still involve injury or death to wild animals, as well as human inequality. It’s just generally LESS harm when it’s a vegan product, and at least we’re not rearing a cow only to slaughter them, deliberately suffocating schools of fish, or keeping a pig inside a factory farm.

How would you incorporate concerns about the ethics of plant-based goods into your argument? Thanks again for pushing us towards the more ethical future we need.