The title is presumptuous and does not encourage a healthy debate.
Historically, etymologically, are bivalves vegan? No, they are obviously not. But are you vegan because you are a linguist? Or are you vegan because you want to minimise the harm that you cause while continuing to live and thrive as a moral person? Limiting veganism to simplistic, poorly considered ideas such as what kingdom of organism they fall into is lazy and ill-considered. Like every other word in the English language, veganism is not bound to its original meaning.
I researched bivalves some time ago and decided, personally, that there just wasn’t enough information (that I could interpret) available to me to determine whether they experienced pain, suffering, or any form of higher thought process. I decided that I would refrain from eating bivalves, as I just wasn’t sure.
However, there are plants out there that are more sophisticated, and seemingly more intelligent, than organisms in the Animalia kingdom (e.g. most jellyfish).
I don’t eat bivalves because I am unsure. I don’t eat jellyfish because they taste like nothing. I don’t eat honey, because bees clearly have some level of sentience. Idgaf about what some person in 1944 decided as the meaning of the word ‘vegan’ (though I respect the intent).
Many of the comments in this thread are criticising solely on the etymological basis of the word ‘vegan’ rather than the actual ethical consideration of the issue.
The question for these people, ‘are you vegan because you genuinely care about the impact you have, or do you care more about rigid definitions with little consideration of the actual meaning?’
Is it an animal? Is it, it’s by products or the products of it’s abuse in this food? Yes? Not vegan.
Vegans who decided that eating murdered animals that and up looking like boogers is legit cause they have a different form of living, are just doing the smae thing that vegetarians do about milk and eggs. Which believe a something to feel good about their chocies that are made solely for their pleasure.
Okay, let me be clearer since you took this to the obviously ridicules extreme.
“As long as you have a choice” this is the missing part. You can argue about what constitutes as a choice, but at the end of the day no one can truly do no harm, we can make the best choices we can to reduce harm.
Eating an oyster is probably a choice, which could have been avoided easily.
Eating vegetables is not something you can avoid while reducing harm.
I’m not a vegan or vegetarian, but I can agree with not eating any of the disgusting creatures that come from the water.
I bet she eats other meat too and has some even less convincing loopholes to explain how its still vegan.
What a fucking idiot…
