I often come across posts as well as irl conversations that talk up flexitarianism and promote it as a better alternative to veganism because it doesn't strictly bound people, and that eating less meat and choosing vegan/vegetarian alternatives (I know the clubbing of the two is complete nonsense) most times is still making a difference and still better than eating meat all the time. But at the same time, I find it to be an excuse that people make so that they don't have to make a solid effort. However I find it difficult to form a strong argument against it because I do get what they're saying but it still has carnist implications. How do you handle narratives like this?
I think that there is a balance to be struck between wanting to maintain that veganism is the minimum moral baseline that everyone should work towards (to the extent that they're able to), and avoiding framing veganism as if it is an all or nothing ideology which invites no compromise.
If somebody has made it absolutely clear that they have no interest in giving up cheese, for example, but they are sympathetic to the need to reduce animal suffering and are concerned about the environmental impact of meat, it is counterproductive to tell that person that they must go vegan and that nothing else is good enough.
Often times it absolutely will be an excuse, you're right about that. But the fact that they are willing to make that excuse in the first place means they are resistant to veganism. So what do we do with that? If we're trying to do what is effective rather than what is ideologically pure, we work with them to come up with ways that they can reduce the harm and exploitation they are contributing to, within the limits that they themselves have identified.
We need to be clear that reducing animal product consumption is objectively a good thing, there is really no good argument against doing that. What we would then hope for is that as they do dip their toe into reduction, they will realise that it is not all that difficult, and that cheese doesn't hold the same power over them that it once did. Even if they never do, someone who only eats cheese is a lot less harmful to animals and the planet than someone who eats cheese and every other animal product as well.
If you're interested in how I frame this myself, I wrote an article on it recently here:
“I would go vegan, but I could never give up…” Variations on this sentence are a familiar refrain for any vegan; in fact it is often offered
