Many Hands (and Voices) Make Light Work

This widely used expression is as true today as it was centuries ago. When there are lots of people helping to get something done, they will achieve more and with less stress on each individual. But it doesn’t have to be only physical tasks that get easier with extra helpers!

Many of us these days could be accused of being “lazy” vegans. It’s easy to become disillusioned and get tired of explaining veganism over and over again to people, so instead we simply stop educating. But our responsibilities to animals do not end with our own decision to go vegan.

Just as having many people undertake a physical task can help get the task done more efficiently, having many people talk about veganism can help spread the word more quickly and save more animals.

The first thing to remember is that even if someone asks a question about your eating habits that seems stupid or even offensive, he or she has still shown enough interest to ask! When faced with the standard question “So what do you eat?”, try and avoid the temptation to answer with a sarcastic or aggressive retort. Yes, we have all been asked this question a million times, but the person asking this time may never have met a vegan before, and therefore he or she may be rightly curious. So speak up for the animals’ sake.

And even if the question is more hostile or aims to scrutinise our beliefs or habits, we can still respond pleasantly and informatively. We know why eating meat is wrong, we know how non-humans suffer at the hands of humans and we know how to change our lives to help animals. So be confident and proud to share that information with people, even if they appear unlikely to change.

Remember: most of us were not born vegan, and many of us have someone to thank for educating us about this amazing way to save lives. Although it can be frustrating to be asked the same question by a thousand different people, always focus on the fact that if just one of those people is encouraged to give up eating animals, 100 more lives a year will be saved.

If every vegan in the world were to sit back and believe that his or her job were done, how would we be able to inspire others? Imagine if every vegan in the world instead managed to show just one other person the benefits of a cruelty-free lifestyle. The world would change quickly, and our job would be easy!

Posted by Claire Fryer