Why I Disagree With PETA’s Policy On Dining Out

Veganism Is About Changing Hearts and Minds, It’s Not Just A Numbers Game

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PETA do a great job… but it has to be said that they’ve been involved in some controversy over the years.

I don’t just mean that their pro-vegan and animal rights campaigns often rub meat eaters or animal-abusing businesses up the wrong way. That’s only to be expected, and is a sign they’re doing something right. I mean that their methods, strategies and policies have often rubbed fellow vegans up the wrong way, too.

Of course, vegans — even animal rights activists — aren’t some homogenous group. We don’t all think the same way. We don’t all hold the same philosophical views. We disagree with each other frequently, and as one of the largest campaigning organisations in the world, it’s perhaps inevitable that PETA would attract their fair share of disagreement and criticism.

But sometimes they still surprise me with how out-of-step they appear to be with the philosophies of veganism and animal rights.

I recently came across a page on their website entitled ‘A Note About Small Amounts of Animal Products in Foods’ where they actively discourage vegans from questioning waiters at restaurants too hard about what they call ‘micro-ingredients’ in…