Were you to see a dog being beaten on the street outside your home ...

Were you to see a dog being beaten on the street outside your home right now, you wouldn't go hand the person beating the dog a Why Vegan pamphlet, you would intervene. And then you would give him a Why Vegan, of course. Point being: you can do both. ~ Peter Young

It is not the property status of animals as a legal construct that is preventing their ...

It is not the property status of animals as a legal construct that is preventing their better treatment, but rather a more general ideology that regards intervention to restrict what owners do to animals as illegitimate. It is not the case that animals are regarded in law as mere things. All animal welfare statutes in the Western world recognize the intrinsic value of animals. Insofar as these statutes aren’t enforced, the explanation doesn’t lie in the property status of animals per se but rather in the wider political, cultural and economic climate in which they operate. ~ Professor Rob Garner

Much of the global environmental problems we have today come from ...

Much of the global environmental problems we have today come from the decisions and actions of 'educated' humans. Until we have a learning process that values our relations with the other we will not progress on the topic of animals either. ~ Prof. Steve Garlick

I believe that until we awaken to the larger picture of interconnectedness we are going ...

I believe that until we awaken to the larger picture of interconnectedness we are going to continue to scatter our message to the wind and few people will get what veganism is about.  ~ Harold Brown

We currently live in a society where the violent exploitation of animals is considered ...

We currently live in a society where the violent exploitation of animals is considered as normal as drinking water and breathing air. In this context, even non-violent property destruction is viewed as absolutely crazy by the vast majority of people. Consequently, property destruction has the effect of making abolitionist vegan education (directed at the public) more difficult ~ Jeff Perz

You or I may not find the concept of vegetarianism "extreme" but to approximately ...

You or I may not find the concept of vegetarianism “extreme” but to approximately 98 percent of the U.S. population—the meat-eating majority—it certainly is. And you and I have an idea of what “animal rights” means that, I can assure you, is quite different from that of the average American. So if I want to reach people...I need to communicate in a way that they can hear. ~ Dr. Melanie Joy

What I do know is that consumption and capitalism are not going to create the kinds of ...

What I do know is that consumption and capitalism are not going to create the kinds of changes that we wish to see. Getting someone to stop consuming animal products doesn’t necessarily save lives. It stops the breeding of animals, which is wonderful. However, when we are talking about 10 billion land animals in the US (55 billion globally), getting a few people to go vegan is not going to make any significant damage, particularly when we factor in increases in animal consumption in China and India and population growth around the world. ~ Gary Smith