Veganism is a social justice issue. It is also based on love and compassion for all expressions of life. Veganism is also connected to every other issue. No issue or sentient being is ever separate. Everything is interconnected and interrelated in some way. There is, however, a tiny percent of vegans who tend not to include certain humans, or every human, in their sphere of kindness. And even though The Vegan Society defines veganism to only include animals (nonhuman that is), Those Crazy Vegans includes all sentient beings in the context of veganism and this site.

Therefore, we must understand what the core issue of every oppression is. May that be, women’s rights, black rights, LGBTQIA rights, or environmental rights, they are all cut from the same cloth. All tyrannies are intricately linked to one another and are not separate issues. There is only one underlining cause to all of the world’s problems and every social justice issue, which we are, or have been faced with. But it is not that simple to recognize and awaken to the interconnectedness of all life and how it directly relates to human wrongs. It is because we are all programmed since birth to view animals as food and property, which goes against our heart’s values of loving-kindness. Because we were taught as young children to consume the flesh and secretions of brutally tortured animals, we tend to exhibit the same violence and terror either internally, on ourselves, to other beings, or both. Though not everyone who consumes animal-based foods will cause direct harm to another being, pre-vegans (or non-vegans), tend to foster more negative emotions such as anger, jealousy, judgment, fear, illnesses, hate, etc., within themselves.

All over the world, wars are raging, racism and oppression abound. If we take a close look at the oppressors and see what they eat, they virtually always consume animal-based foods of some sort. You will hardly ever see vegans causing harm or supporting wars and destruction. It is because veganism is love, and if we want to live in a world of love, we must embrace this caring way of life.

But what does veganism have to do with human rights? Are Those Crazy Vegans really up to something?

When a person ceases to exploit animals and stops eating and using them, they become a highly spiritual being, who no longer wishes to harm anyone, human or otherwise. When we feel love for all expressions of life, we easily acknowledge that we must strive to cause the least harm that we possibly can. Of course, none of us are perfect, and there will be times when we inadvertently cause some harm, but we must understand that we need to continue improving and attempt to cause less violence. As more of us become vegan, there will be fewer people who will be oppressed. The only way to create a true world at peace is when we all work together to end every form of oppression. It starts with each one of us, therefore, making veganism the ultimate protest to a better world for all.