Happy World Vegan Day!
In a just world, this day wouldn’t need to exist (it’s like saying we need an Anti-Women Abuse Day), but one day we will have justice for our fellow Earthlings.
Our Théâtre Luvière recently co-organized a remarkable street performance titled “Say Yes To Veganism”, a wedding action which captured the attention of hundreds of passers-by, both residents and tourists.
In front of cathedral St. Jean, one of Lyon‘s most famous landmarks, the activists celebrated not one, but two couples‘ commitment to ending their exploitation of animals and the transition from violence to peace towards our fellow Earthlings. At the end of the special vows that evoked the basic moral baseline of “do no harm“ and educated the public on veganism, speciesism and the notion of sentience, the activists said their fateful I Dos to lifelong engagement in the animal liberation movement, followed by other traditional wedding rituals such as cutting of the cake (of course, the cake offered a delicious vegan affair of the senses) and throwing the bouquet in a symbolic passing of the baton of veganism to others.
The event also served to further our efforts in putting the society‘s focus on animals and the necessity of respecting their fundamental rights to life, freedom of exploitation, and right to a safe habitat. In countries like France, which lags behind its other EU counterparts when it comes to animal rights and openness to abandoning barbaric acts of speciesism (see foie gras, corrida, etc), this and similar events serve as important steps towards outreaching the general public and pushing away harmful narratives that perpetuate the false notion of human supremacy.
“What do you support?” exclaimed a sign between two visual landmarks at the action: on one hand, a bloody table held a TV showing images from slaughterhouses, while on the other, videos from animals living a peaceful life at sanctuaries were shown to passers-by. The contrast was obvious, the message clear: we need to evolve from performing barbaric acts towards our fellow Earthlings and start respecting their rights and bodily autonomy.
Oceans of gratitude to all these fantastic activists who co-organized this action with me, developed together and made my idea a reality!
