Debate in the US on the failure to reject Proposition 8 in California that bans gay marriage interests the Grumpy Vegan and his study of social movements and political organizing.
For example, a recent NEWSWEEK article noted
One reason that tolerance for gay marriage and civil unions may be on the rise is that a growing number of Americans say they know someone who’s gay. While in 1994, a NEWSWEEK Poll found that only 53 percent of those questioned knew a gay or lesbian person, that figure today is 78 percent. Drilling down a bit more, 38 percent of adults work with someone gay, 33 percent have a gay family member and 66 percent have a gay friend or acquaintance.
In other words, the more that people know gay people the less likely they are to be intolerant of them.
This makes the Grumpy Vegan wonder why it is that, according to a 2008 survey published by the UK Food Standards Agency, 2% of respondents were found to be “completely vegetarian” and an additional 5% “partly vegetarian.”
Given the more than three decades of activity by the vegan/vegetarian animal rights/welfare movement it’s not unreasonable to ask why the number of vegetarians/vegans in the UK isn’t more? It surely can’t be because — unlike out gay people who appear to be generally well liked — out vegans/vegetarians are not liked?
Yes, there’s a complex bundle of issues here but it does make one wonder.
