{"quotes":[{"text":"Veganism is an act of nonviolent defiance. It is our statement that we reject the notion that animals are things and that we regard sentient nonhumans as moral persons with the fundamental moral right not to be treated as the property or resources of humans.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","wisdom"],"id":16314,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"The universe is not for man alone, but is a theater of evolution for all living beings. Live and let live is its guiding principle. 'Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah' - Non-injury is the highest religion.","author":"Virchand Gandhi","tags":["ahimsa","compassion","evolution","inspirational","jainism","live","living-life","motivational","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace","religion","universe"],"id":19027,"author_id":"Virchand+Gandhi"},{"text":"I reject animal welfare reform and single-issue campaigns because they are not only inconsistent with the claims of justice that we should be making if we really believe that animal exploitation is wrong, but because these approaches cannot work as a practical matter. Animals are property and it costs money to protect their interests; therefore, the level of protection accorded to animal interests will always be low and animals will, under the best of circumstances, still be treated in ways that would constitute torture if applied to humans.By endorsing welfare reforms that supposedly make exploitation more “compassionate” or single-issue campaigns that falsely suggest that there is a coherent moral distinction between meat and dairy or between fur and wool or between steak and foie gras, we betray the principle of justice that says that all sentient beings are equal for purposes of not being used exclusively as human resources. And, on a practical level, we do nothing more than make people feel better about animal exploitation.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","wisdom"],"id":142236,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"You cannot live a nonviolent life as long as you are consuming violence. Please consider going vegan.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","vulnerable","wisdom"],"id":165557,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defense of these uses is our pleasure, amusement, and convenience.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","wisdom"],"id":184851,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"To say that a being who is sentient has no interest in continuing to live is like saying that a being with eyes has no interest in continuing to see. Death—however “humane”—is a harm for humans and nonhumans alike.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","wisdom"],"id":224341,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"If you are not vegan, please consider going vegan. It’s a matter of nonviolence. Being vegan is your statement that you reject violence to other sentient beings, to yourself, and to the environment, on which all sentient beings depend.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","wisdom"],"id":269405,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"Animals are property. There are laws that supposedly protect animal interestsin being treated “humanely,” but that term is interpreted in large part to mean that we cannot impose “unnecessary” harm on animals, and that is measured by what treatment is considered as necessary within particular industries, and according to customs of use, to exploit animals. The bottom line is that animals do not have any respect-based rights in the way that humans have, because we do not regard animals as having any moral value. They have only economic value. We value their interests economically, and we ignore their interests when it is economically beneficial for us to do so.At this point in time, it makes no sense to focus on the law, because as long as we regard animals as things, as a moral matter, the laws will necessarily reflect that absence of moral value and continue to do nothing to protect animals. We need to change social and moral thinking about animals before the law is going to do anything more.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","wisdom"],"id":310871,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"The rights paradigm, which, as I interpret it, morally requires the abolition of animal exploitation and requires veganism as a matter of fundamental justice, is radically different from the welfarist paradigm, which, in theory focuses on reducing suffering, and, in reality, focuses on tidying up animal exploitation at its economically inefficient edges. In science, those who subscribe to one paradigm are often unable to understand and engage those who subscribe to another paradigm precisely because the theoretical language that they use is not compatible.I think that the situation is similar in the context of the debate between animal rights and animal welfare. And that is why welfarists simply cannot understand or accept the slavery analogy.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","education","exploitation","francione","inspirational","justice","life","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","sentience","slavery","veganism","wisdom"],"id":355291,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"},{"text":"Veganism is not a 'sacrifice.' It is a joy.","author":"Gary L. Francione","tags":["abolition","abolitionist","ahimsa","animals","francione","inspirational","joy","justice","life-lessons","nonviolence","nonviolence-jainism","peace-making","peace-movement","peace-on-earth","rights","veganism","vulnerable","wisdom"],"id":360245,"author_id":"Gary+L.+Francione"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":12,"pages":2,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}