Gary Francione, Esq., Animal Rights/Vegan Activist,
Animal Rights: The
Abolitionist Approach
(1954 - )
"A favorite refrain: 'morality is subjective.' Nonsense. No one really believes that. We all believe that there are things that *are* wrong. Example: I have never met anyone who thinks the torture of a small child is just a matter of what you think. We all recognize that harm requires a justification. We may disagree about whether the justification has been provided. But we agree that the justification is needed."
"Every sentient being values her/his life even if no one else does. That is what is meant by saying that the lives of all have inherent value."
"If you care about animals, there is one and only one choice: go vegan. Can you choose not to be vegan? Sure. You can choose not to care."
"There is veganism and there is animal exploitation. There is no third choice."
"It's wrong to use animals. Being fair means going vegan."
"To say that a being who is sentient has no interest in continuing to live is like saying that a being with eyes has no interest in continuing to see."
"Veganism is not a sacrifice; it is a joy."
"Animal welfare reforms are not baby steps, the are big steps in a backward direction."
"If you are a feminist and are not a vegan, you are ignoring the exploitation of female nonhumans and the commodification of their reproductive processes, as well as the destruction of their relationship with their babies; if you are an environmentalist and not a vegan, you are ignoring the undeniable fact that animal agriculture is an ecological disaster; if you embrace nonviolence but are not a ...vegan, then words of nonviolence come out of your mouth as the products of torture and death go into it; if you claim to love animals but you are eating them or products made from them, or otherwise consuming them, you see loving as consistent with harming that which you claim to love."
"Stop trying to make excuses. There are no good ones to make. Go vegan."
"There is veganism and there is animal exploitation. There is no third choice. If you are not vegan, you are participating directly in animal exploitation. If you are not vegan, think about whether your comfort, pleasure, amusement, or convenience is worth anyone’s life. If you conclude that it is not, go vegan. It’s easy, better for your health and the environment, and, most important, it’s the morally right thing to do."
"They are nonhuman persons. They are not food. If animals matter morally at all, there is one and only one rational response: go vegan. Everything else is just participation in animal exploitation."
"Ethical veganism results in a profound revolution within the individual; a complete rejection of the paradigm of oppression and violence that she has been taught from childhood to accept as the natural order. It changes her life and the lives of those with whom she shares this vision of nonviolence. Ethical veganism is anything but passive; on the contrary, it is the active refusal to cooperate with injustice."
"The best justification we have for inflicting pain, suffering and death on 10 billion animals a year is that they taste good. I regard that as moral schizophrenia.”
"The most important thing anyone can do is to become vegan and to educate others about why taking animals seriously means being vegan. As more and more people become vegan, demand drops and consciousness about the immoral and unjustifiable nature of animal use is raised. I regard veganism as the most important form of activism for nonhuman animals. Veganism is the principle of abolition applied to the life of the individual."