Is veganism about reducing as much harm as practically possible to all animals?
Abstract: Veganism as an indiscriminate principle of harm-reduction to all animals (farmed and wild) is not supported by the VeganSociety definition of veganism, nor can it be inferred from the general behaviour of vegans. Instead it's an ethical stance against the exploitation/commodification of animals and a rights issue. I'm writing this only to address what seems like an unending critique of the way vegans express what veganism is about. Argumenting for veganism as minimization of harm to animals Here's a common line of argumentation: "But what about crop deaths? Surely rodents and other small animals are killed during harvest, bugs killed with pesticides to protect plants. To claim animals don't get killed for your food is simply false and dishonest." "We do acknowledge those deaths - but veganism is about reducing suffering as much as practically possible to animals. Currently, while vegans would not choose to do agriculture this way, it...