Why Would Vegans Support Anti-Cruelty Laws?
Some readers might respond that not every proponent of anti-cruelty legislation consumes animal products himself or herself. Many vegans, for example, supported and promoted California’s Proposition 2, which will prohibit the use of tiny cages for a variety of farm animals, starting in the year 2015. Why would a vegan support such legislation if its only purpose is to soothe the troubled conscience of the many? One answer is that some vegans take a “one step at a time” approach and believe, sincerely, that if the law requires the meat, dairy, and egg industries to make tiny, incremental changes for the better in their treatment of animals, then it might some day come to pass that there will no longer be meat, dairy, and egg industries. They may reason that, although larger steps might be desirable, such steps could not become law at this time, and prohibiting something is better than prohibiting nothing. At least those animals who will suffer horribly will now suffer slightly less than
