Reaching a Tipping Point: Moving from a Catch-22 to a Virtuous Cycle

The next few years are going to be important ones for those of us involved in vegan advocacy. Veganism is on the verge of a "tipping point" that we need to push past in order for our movement to be as successful as it can be. Too often we suffer from a "catch-22", in that it is hard to convince businesses to carry vegan products because there is not a large enough market, while at the same time it is difficult to convince people to adopt a vegan lifestyle because not enough businesses carry vegan products.

However, we are very close to the point where a virtuous cycle can be established; where more and more businesses begin to carry vegan products, and as a corollary, more and more people begin to adopt a vegan lifestyle. While most vegans know that adhering to a vegan lifestyle is not in any way difficult, it is not perceived that way among meat-eaters. While there are many psychological issues that play into an individuals decision to eat meat, the perceived difficulty of a vegan lifestyle is certainly a large factor.

However, we can not become complacent. As our side gains in adherents and momentum, we need to realize that the industries that rely on animal abuse for profit will not sit idly by. The rhetoric that they deploy will become more strident, and the measures they adopt to deal with vegan advocates will become more draconian. We know that the animal abuse industries have strong political ties, and are willing to spend millions to get their way. We need to establish ourselves in the political arena if we hope to have a future. They have the advantage in money, we need to use our advantage; the untiring desire that truth and justice will win out.