Why there should be no black and white in veganism (if animal welfare is the priority)

How can veganism not be a black-and-white philosophy? After all, causing pain and suffering to animals is black and white — you either do or you don’t. You’re either vegan or you’re not.

This all-or-nothing premise was used by TV host Piers Morgan to attack environmental journalist, author and recent vegan advocate George Monbiot on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Monbiot was under the impression he had been invited to discuss the ethics and impact of animal farming. But Morgan clearly had other ideas.

Monbiot became a target for the pompous Morgan who delights in the sound of his own voice and the rising TV ratings he prides himself on. Morgan’s first round of ammunition was Monbiot’s Guardian article “Goodbye — and good riddance — to livestock farming.” In proposing a radical and controversial change in our food sources, he prompted defensive head-in-the-sand responses from meat-eating readers, as well as Morgan.

In his article, Monbiot suggests future generations will look back with incredulity at monstrosities such as slavery, genocide, the First World War, and the “mass incarceration of animals, to enable us to eat their flesh or eggs or drink their milk.” Armed with the false premise that Monbiot is undermining human tragedy by including animal…