Veganism is far from perfect, of course, too. I don’t care about perfect. But you should know free range is a sham, grain and corn feed is painful for cows, etc etc…and big dairy is horrendous. Small farms are the answer, and they’ve been getting killed off.

When we’re not vegan at restaurants that do not meet our otherwise-commendable standards, we’re supporting factory farming. Which, as many of us now realize, is torture. That word may be intense, but it’s not offered as an accusation. None of us are perfect. Veganism isn’t perfect.

As I took care to say above, hunters and fisherpeople kill, but do so more directly. Local eggs are great, truly, but the male chicks are still all killed. Same with dairy. Realizing that eating vegetarian is still killing made me go vegan.

Also, as a meat eater for many years, I grew more curious about the facts of my actions than the delivery of the PETAs of the world. I’d encourage all of us to care less about tone and more about our own actions, and their effects, for which we are directly or indirectly responsible.