Apparently, Vegans do Swallow. #nottaboo

Ethically, it’s actually an interesting question. Of course vegans can swallow, my friends tell me, when I brought this up the other day, seeing it joked about on twitter.

Why? Because, of course, it’s consensual.

But if then it’s not about avoiding the eating of all products derived from any sentient being, but rather about whether you have loving permission to do so, or not, then is this wrong?

Excerpts:

“I imagine that it is a place where tall trees grow and the deep green rolling pastures are dotted with flowers. Fat sleek calves frisk on the sunny hills and draw sustenance from between the massive hind legs of their mothers, their bags laden with rich milk.”

…“He’s a country boy. No one had any conversation with him about sustainability or hormones — he just all of a sudden announced he was going to do it grass-fed and old-fashioned…

…If you’ve been to the farm — and they encourage visits, like the busload of overexcited kindergartners who were there when I was, fewer than half of whom raised their hands when asked if they knew where milk came from — you’ll recognize the scents of field and beast as you raise the old-fashioned glass bottle to your mouth….for the rest, click over to The New York Times.

Look, I’m not spoiling for a fight with my vegan brothers and sisters. I just have a serious, open question here. Is it really not possible to have a loving relationship with ones farm animals? If you’re inclined to answer no, righteously, is your answer based on PETA videos (which are, admittedly, horrrrrrrrible) or an actual visit to a “mindful” dairy farm?

Is the solution, then, no farm animals? Wouldn’t that mean, with the exception of goldfish and cats and dogs…no more animals?