AEF Robert Jones

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY  ·  APPLIED ETHICS FORUM

‘Veganism and capitalism’
Robert Jones (Cal State Dominguez Hills)
Tuesday 11 April 2023  •  5:00pm–7:00pm  •  AS–242

Abstract: What is the proper moral response to the egregious cruelty and suffering animals endure in industrialized production facilities? The global numbers of people adopting a vegan diet are on the rise. However, the status of veganism as a consumer movement has given it an ambiguous—and perhaps even contradictory—status within capitalist relations of production. I argue that, seen as a boycott, this kind of market-based moral response raises several questions. For example, conceiving of veganism as primarily a form of consumer boycott leads to formidable challenges surrounding causal inefficacy. I argue for an alternative conception of veganism—a political veganism—grounded in anti-speciesist, anti-capitalist commitments.