By this argument a fireman could be at a burning building about to go in and save a baby but then he realizes that there’s also another person in there that he can’t save. So he decides that since he cannot save both, there is no point in saving either of them and leaves the baby to burn to death.

What this argument really boils down to is intention. When we buy animal products we are intentionally paying for someone to exploit and kill an animal, when we buy plants we are not. If an animal dies in the production of plants that is unintentional and as we can all agree, entirely regrettable.  →

Where this argument falls apart is that it is used to suggest that if you can’t be 100% vegan there’s no point in trying at all, or more to the point because animals sometimes die in crop production it is therefore acceptable for us to breed, raise and kill animals intentionally.

One of the biggest points of veganism, is that we don’t need to eat animals or their secretions to live, hence why we don’t. The reason that insects and small animals die in crop production is not because we all want to eat them but because we do need to eat plants in order to sustain a healthy life.

Ultimately, veganism is about minimizing the damage done to animals as much as is possible and practicable, it’s not about being perfect.  Veganism is not a pursuit for perfection, as that makes it completely unobtainable, idealistic and not grounded in reality. →