Oxford Union Society Motions “Aye” to Veganism, Part 1 of 2

The Oxford Union Society stands as the prestigious debate society in the world, persistently championing free speech, broadening intellectual horizons, and fostering dialogue among diverse peoples, cultures, and societies. December 2023 saw a momentous event take place as veganism was the topic with two teams presenting arguments. The event was organized by a student’s collective under the auspices of GenV, a non-profit organization advocating veganism as the key solution to the climate crisis. “For some reason people seem to think that cows just magically keep producing milk. They don’t. […] We do not need to eat meat or dairy, and all it does is bring more suffering, not only to ourselves, but also to the environment, and also, to the poor animals who are going through this.”

Dr. Sailesh Rao emphasized that humans must become a homo ahimsa species, a climate-harmonizing caretaker species. “Animal agriculture is the only major activity in which we destroy forests. By going vegan, we can give nearly 40% of the land area of the planet back to nature, as well as the entire ocean. Scientists have identified nine planetary boundaries that we must stay within for the sustainability of life on Earth. The good news is that when we go vegan, we help resolve all six of them. That’s the power we have as individuals to reverse our existential crisis.” After the debate concluded, the audience cast their votes and the pro-vegan team secured the winning position with 112 votes! During the interview with UnchainedTV, Dr. Sailesh Rao, shared the positive feedback he received after the debate. “For me, the debate was a turning point. It’s a debate [that] was like a mainstream affirmation of what we have been saying. So, these are the students from Oxford, and they actually came to me after the debate, and they told me that the speeches from the proposition side gave them a lot of hope that there is a future on this planet for them.”