It’s not a cop-out. It’s an attempt at an entry point into an
actual discussion between vegans and non-vegans about ways to
reduce negative human impact on the world … a discussion
which can never occur if vegans insist on maintaining that
anyone who is not a vegan is automatically some kind of monster
devoid of compassion, and that vegans are the only ones with
any real ethical standards. Why, just look at this very
comment of yours. In the space of just over 100 words, you
have managed, implicitly or explicitly, to accuse me of: 1)
insincerity (“cop-out”), 2) not wanting to make positive
changes, 3) being indifferent to cruelty, 4) making
excuses, 5) trying to undermine progress, 6) doing it all for
“sheer personal reasons”, 7) and finally, of being motivated
by nothing but greed. That’s the attitude I’m referring to:
the notion that if someone is not a vegan, then they just don’t
care about anyone or anything but themselves. If vegans would
just “get” that conscientious consumerism is not limited to
veganism, my respect for them would shoot up a thousand
percent. But as it is, trying to have a discussion about
ways to eat more humanely and sustainably with most vegans is
like trying to have a discussion about responsible sexual
practices with Fred Phelps.