Is It Vegan to Kill Insects?

If you're vegan or vegetarian, chances are you've been deemed 'hypocritical' at some point in your life. It's usually non-vegans who are the hypocritical ones - so why would we ever be labelled as such? Well, perhaps we've swatted a blood-sucking mosquito. Perhaps we've bug-sprayed a large spider infestation (yeah, they're technically not insects, but we'll consider them for argument's sake). Perhaps we've stepped on an ant while trotting down the side-walk.

All of these scenarios are probable. It's likely they've happened to you. I know for sure that I've dealt with all of these scenarios, and I've been vegan all the while. Some non-vegans (some vegans as well, probably) may look upon these acts as cruel and therefore not vegan. I, however, disagree.

"As vegans, perhaps we've swatted a blood-sucking mosquito. Perhaps we've bug-sprayed a large spider infestation. Perhaps we've stepped on an ant while trotting down the side-walk."

Let's start with the blood-sucking mosquito scenario. In most cases, I would consider the murder of any sentient being completely unacceptable, but there are some exceptions to this rule. Baseless, senseless and unnecessary killing, in my opinion, is always wrong. Occasionally, however, you must kill for self-defence. You may feel remorseful for doing so, but sometimes, it's your only option.

In most cases, it's best to shoo the bothersome insect away before resorting to killing it. That's usually my choice of action. If you live in an area where mosquitoes are renowned for carrying infectious diseases, however, it's better to rid of them as swiftly as possible. To reiterate - this is an act of self-defence rather than callous greed, so it is not cruel. It is not anti-vegan.

Taking care of a spider infestation is a similar act of self-defence. If these potentially venomous creatures have invaded your home, ridding of the danger as soon as possible is the safest option. In the case of a very large infestation, poison is the simplest, safest and quickest way to remove the danger. Protecting yourself and your family is, again, not anti-vegan.

"Always and only choose the 'kill-method' as a last resort. If any other viable option exists, choose it."

Always and only choose the 'kill-method' as a last resort. If any other viable option exists, choose it. Unfortunately, we don't always have this luxury, so we must choose another course of action. If there are a manageable amount of spiders in your home, and you're certain they pose no threat to your health, safely and carefully move them outside. Use humane spider traps, catchers and repellents if possible. You can purchase an innovative 'no-kill' spider catcher here.

If any larger animal posed an immediate threat to us, our homes, or our families, we would take care of the imminent danger as soon as possible through any means necessary. I believe we should use the same approach when dealing with the smallest of critters. After all, we can make a much larger impact on the world while we're alive than while we're ill or deceased!

Regarding stepping on ants: this is something I'd call an accident. An often regrettable and dispiriting accident, but an accident nonetheless. I would never, ever go out of my way to kill an ant. I'm saddened when I watch people purposely step on them, especially children. I see it as a sign of a complete lack of respect for life.

Compassionate people go out of their way to avoid injuring all creatures, ants included. Sometimes, however, we make mistakes. Sometimes we don't see the tiny critters. Sometimes we misstep. Completely unintentional harm is not comparable to the intentional harm of paying for animals to be killed and eating their dead bodies - as such, it is not 'unvegan'. 

What about termites? Again, this is a case of home-invasion. If a rogue creature has entered your habitat with the intent of destroying it, you must do whatever's plausible to rid of the problem - as any animal would do. Sometimes, sadly, the only plausible option is to kill.

"Completely unintentional harm is not comparable to the intentional harm of paying for animals to be killed and eating their dead bodies - as such, it is not 'unvegan'."

All of this is only my opinion, and vegans have differing views on the matter. I don't speak for all vegans and vegetarians. Some don't agree with killing in any way, shape or form; and believe it is better to sacrifice our own lives than those of other sentient beings. I respect this opinion, but to me, it's unrealistic. No matter how heart-wrenching taking another life may be, it's unfair to beat yourself up. Our lives are important too, and - as aforementioned - we can't make a real impact while we're dead. Respect your own life and do whatever you can to preserve it, so long as you're trying your very best to avoid harming others. That's called being vegan.

7 Inspiring Vegans Over Sixty

Remaining completely healthy, energetic and youthful past the age of sixty seems like an unachievable dream for many people. I don't blame them - many people who reach this older age generally do suffer from health problems, reduced energy and declining cognitive ability. Not all, though. It doesn't have to be that way. If you want to feel energetic, happy, healthy and youthful well past the age of sixty, veganism is the way to go.

Despite what meat-enthusiasts tend to say, most vegans know for sure that there's nothing unhealthy or damaging about the vegan lifestyle. In fact, many see it as the healthiest possible way to live. I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? Living compassionately, caring for others and helping the environment as much as possible is bound to have a positive outcome for all involved.
In this post, I've compiled some fantastic examples of wonderful, compassionate people who have lived the vegan lifestyle for a great number of years and reaped the benefits. Please enjoy their stories. If these seven people don't inspire you, I don't know who will.

Dr. Ellsworth Wareham 

If anyone can convince you that living a vegan lifestyle is incredibly beneficial for your health, it's Dr. Ellsworth Wareham. He's been vegan for nearly forty years. At 99 years old, he barely looks a day over 70, and is wonderfully articulate and witty for his age. He spent the majority of his life working as cardiothoracic surgeon, stopping just four years ago, at age 95 - now, that's what I call inspiring! If anyone ever tells you that vegans don't get all the nutrients they need to live a full and healthy life, tell them about Dr. Ellsworth Wareham. There's no way they could rebut you. He's a heart doctor after all, and knows what's good and right for our bodies.

Dr. Warehouse credits his good health and longevity partially to his vegan lifestyle, as well as his dedication to maintaining a stress and worry-free state of mind. Many of us, including myself, could learn a great deal from this inspiring man.

Watch an interview with him here.

Jim Morris 

Jim Morris is 70 years old and his well-built physique is more impressive than that of your average 20-something. He has been vegetarian since 1985, at age 50, and vegan since 2000, at age 65. He has a 30-year competitive body-building career under his belt and owns his own gym. He has maintained his muscular, sculpted physique since very early in life, and his health has only improved since becoming vegan.

Before adopting his new lifestyle, Morris suffered from debilitating arthritic pain every night. Since become vegan, his pain has completely diminished. He also attributes an improvement in eyesight to his plant-based diet and compassionate lifestyle.

You can visit his website here.

Mimi Kirk

Mimi Kirk, once voted America's Sexiest Vegetarian Over 50 (and you can see why), is 71 years old. She has been a raw vegan since age 69 and a vegetarian since her early 30s. Interestingly, she was influenced to stop eating meat when she accidentally bit the back of her hand while eating a roast beef sandwich! This encouraged the sudden realisation that roast beef is animal flesh, and she vowed never to eat meat again. And what a great vow to take. It's clearly paid off wonderfully for her, and for the animals as well.

Kirk demonstrates an excellent attitude towards life and older age. Despite being 71, she claims to feel as fresh, free and energetic as she did at 20. Kirk's story is a wonderful example of how living compassionately can improve every aspect of your existence.

Check out Mimi's website here.

Annette Larkins

Annette Larkins looks fresh, healthy and stunningly beautiful at 72 years old. She lives a highly dedicated, raw vegan lifestyle and eats directly from her own home-grown garden. She became vegetarian in the 60s, and has been eating a completely raw diet for over 27 years. She refers to her garden as her 'fountain of youth', and it's easy to see why.

Her husband, who is an omni (and looks 30 years older than Annette), now wishes that he had decided to make the same lifestyle change as his wife. He is bombarded with questions about his partner when out in public - people often ask if Annette is his granddaughter!

Her mind is as functional as ever - Annette spends her free time building computers, sewing her own clothes and gardening. She can also speak three languages!

Larkins's website is available here.

Janette Murray-Wakelin and Alan Murray

I saw Janette Murray-Wakelin and Alan Murray at the Vegan Festival in Adelaide this year. They both looked fantastic and their wonderful speech was very inspiring - they have set the bar incredibly high for people their age. At age 64 and 68 respectively, Janette and her husband ran 365 marathons in 2013. That's a marathon every day for a year without a single break - an achievement most people half their age could only dream of.

Janette and Alan are both raw vegans. They love their fruit and often consume over 30 bananas per day, along with fruit-and-veg-laden green smoothies. They promote kindness to all life - including animals, of course - and attribute their astonishing fitness levels to their compassionate lifestyle.

Check out their website here.

Storm Talifero 

Storm Talifero is a 64-year-old raw vegan (I'm starting to see a pattern here...) He has followed his healthy, cholesterol-free lifestyle since 1972 - and looks just like he was born then! Like the other raw vegans in this post, Talifero credits his youthful appearance, energy and happiness to his fresh, delicious and completely unprocessed diet. He has written his own book, "The Garden Diet" (doesn't that sound much more appealing than "The Dead Bodies Diet"?) and produced "Breakthrough", a documentary about raw veganism.

Storm believes that following a raw vegan lifestyle is the best way to slow down the ageing process, living by the motto "fresh is best". He's a living manifestation of this belief.

His website can be found here.