International Women’s Day 2014: Inspiring Change (and Why Veganism Is the Key)

By Published On: 8 March 2014Last Updated: 17 January 2017

Living a vegan lifestyle is a direct opportunity to reject a system that exploits the reproductive systems of females, while at the same time making a better world for all women everywhere.

What's in this post

 

Even though there have been gains, women are still fighting for equality all around the world.  International Women’s Day celebrates the social, political, and economic achievements of women while also reflecting on the past.  And most importantly, focusing world attention on areas where inequality still exist.

It may not seem evident but veganism can have a strong positive impact on women all over the world.  It is incontrovertibly a part of the solution to end the exploitation of all beings- human and non-human alike.

Last year we talked about how our very food choices can effect women globally.  After all, one third of the total human population goes hungry every single day, and according to The Hunger Project, 60% of those hungry are women.  Population control is commonly cited as the source of global hunger, but too many ignore the larger role of resource consumption.  Animal agriculture uses an unsustainable about of resources, with resource scarcity in poorer regions of the world.  We also cannot ignore what happens when factory farming begins to invade developing nations.  Surviving off the land and subsistence farming, of which women are a large part of, becomes difficult if not impossible.  In fact, giving women farmers more resources could bring the number of hungry people in the world down by 100 – 150 million people.

Eating a vegan diet is a direct opportunity to reject a system that only increases global hunger and disempowers women.

Everyday billions of female non-humans are exploited for their reproductive capabilities.  They are enslaved, repeatedly impregnated, and repeatedly denied access to their children.  Eventually, when their bodies have worn out from the constant cycle of creating life, they are slaughtered.

This reproductive exploitation extends beyond our farms, it also extends to the undomesticated free-living animals as well.  Now there is talk of contraception in deer and other undomesticated free-living animals.

It’s time to stop mistaking human control for humane treatment. – Lee Hall

Not only are these vegan issues, they are feminist issues.  Traditionally, feminism has always referred to humans, but the exploitation of female reproductive capabilities shows a clear intersect with the plight of global women.  If we are to oppose the exploitation of all women, then that should include nonhuman female animals.

Inspiring Change is the 2014 theme for International Women’s Day and it couldn’t be more perfect.  Living a vegan lifestyle is a direct opportunity to reject a system that exploits the reproductive systems of females, while at the same time making a better world for all women everywhere.  And a better world for women (females) is a better world for us all.  Let’s use veganism to inspire change.

Leave A Comment

HELLO! I'm KD Angle-Traegner.

Writer, activist, and founder of Four Urban Paws Sanctuary. I’m on a mission to help people live a vegan life. Read more about KD…

SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST