Abstract

This is a short piece offering a rarely-mentioned reason for ethical veganism, which applies to cases in which not consuming animal products makes no practical difference to the animals (say, they have been bought by someone else and would be thrown away). The reason for not consuming animal products, regardless of the magnitude of the impact, is that doing so would be a betrayal: a betrayal of the animal who had to endure physical and mental pain, or whose life was untimely ended, for making said ‘product’. This reason for not taking part in the consumption of animals, besides explaining these marginal cases, extends further and in fact contributes to the larger reason for veganism as such.