Lead the Change! - By Audrey Henri

Why Activism Is Important

On September 27, it was no less than 300,000 people who were walking for the Earth in Montreal, asking the government for change to ensure a better future. And yet, millions of plastic bottles end up in the oceans each year, food waste is still a major problem and people don’t want to lift a finger to reduce their meat consumption. This raises an important question: is activism making a difference?

“Walking with Greta Thunberg won’t change the world” some say. They are right in a way, but it is worth asking what they do to change it. This is where I think activism is important. Activism in itself won’t have any direct impact on the cause we’re fighting for, but it has the power to spread the word about what we care about and make some people understand, in this case, that we are reaching the point of no return.

What I find interesting is the great difference between environmental and vegan activism. While a lot of people participating in climate marches tend to minimize their impact on the environment and won’t put in much effort to reduce their carbon footprint, the vegan movement is a lot more centered on the individual. I have participated to a vegan march myself and noticed how few we were. Vegans usually make efforts on their own, but won’t put too much time in activism, maybe because it gives bad press and because the majority doesn’t see the importance of animal welfare yet.

Today, young people are involved in activism more than ever and I think their point of view is worth being listened to, especially regarding the animal cause. I find it so hard to make people see all the suffering there is sometimes in their plates, and vegan activists who succeed at getting footage in slaughterhouses are for me the way towards change. Although I’ve only participated to a single march for animal rights and I’ve devoted myself to help some organizations that promote veganism or take care of animals, I understand that, sometimes, acting against the law (doing what we call civil disobedience) and taking risks are effective ways to influence others to make the moral choice, the one that seeks animal liberation as much as possible. Without undercover investigations, protests, marches and actions to raise awareness, the vegan movement wouldn’t be on the rise as it is today.

                 Montreal Animal Rights March 2019. Photography by @alexandrabandeanphoto

-Audrey Henri