this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2023
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definitionally you aren't vegan if environmental impact is your terminal goal. It would be like saying you're Christian for the cathedrals or something.
Veganism is a philosophy and life practice of trying to minimise harm to other earthlings. It can involve environmentalism as an instrumental goal, that is protecting the environment to avoid mass suffering, but a world of perfect environmental preservation where all ants have depression would be unacceptable to a vegan but not to an environmentalist.
Many people with environmental goals adopt a plant based diet and/or lifestyle.
veganism isn't inherently utilitarian. some vegans would be fine with a world full of depressed ants.
The definition privileges action, which is why vegan philosophy is generally fine with stuff like foxes hunting birds but not humans hunting foxes to save birds.
Taking action to depress ants to save others would go against the ethos as defined: