By Lee Hall
Part 12 of a Series
Sustainable Development Goals: They’re a major topic on social media. But if humans want to be sustainable, we’ve got to get serious. We must divest from customs and businesses that treat animal life as commodities. This blog entry is the twelfth in a series, as we look at each of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The twelfth goal is “Responsible Consumption and Production.”
If we’re striving for an ethic of responsible consumption and production, we should challenge the assumption that other beings are put on this planet as our resources.
By definition, veganism would reintegrate other animals “within the balance and sanity of nature.” Animal husbandry — “whose effect upon the course of evolution must have been stupendous” — would become “almost unthinkable.”
What a refreshing change that would be. Animal ag is based on complex, highly profit-focused international feed markets. It’s tied to deforestation for feed crops and for grazing. In contrast, a vegan commitment values everyone’s basic right to sustenance, and to a respectful relationship with Earth’s biological communities.
This is responsible consumption and production.
Lee Hall is a member of the Speakers Bureau of the American Vegan Society. Lee’s entry on “Nonhuman Rights and Human Sustainability” appears in the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Springer). Lee holds a Master’s degree in environmental law with a focus on climate change from Vermont Law School, and has taught environmental law at the University level.
