Mouthing Off | Vegans spurning coronavirus vaccines would be taking an ideal to extremes
- Most vegans try to exist without harming animals or their habitat, but some take it too far
- These people replace leather with plastic and honey with artificial sweeteners. If they forgo Covid-19 vaccinations too, sorry but they are beyond the pale
Normally, I am very tolerant of people with different diets. If someone chooses to eat or not eat anything, that’s their decision. Your stomach, your choice. However, I am beginning to wonder if certain segments of the vegan community are becoming too extreme and radical.
My first thought was, “wow, that’s a hardcore ethical stance”. But if these ultra-pedantic vegans won’t take a vaccine because it’s not 100 per cent free from animal participation, I’ve decided they’re no different than a blindly partisan Trump follower who would rather harm their country than lose a political fight.
My understanding is vegans abstain not just from eating animal products but anything that uses and exploits animals in its production. In essence, it’s not just a diet, but a lifestyle. Naturally, there are different levels of strictness depending on how any individual chooses to express their beliefs.
In general, vaccines do not contain animal products, but they may be used in the development process. For example, early trial versions of medicine might be tested on mice and monkeys before humans.