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Considering that vegans think that humans are animals, and vegans are against deriving benefit from animals, especially those who are abused who didn't agree to work for whoever is benefitting from them, then would a vegan be careful not to eat any food or use any products that are made through human slavery?

(For example some factories in China, and even products made in USA prisons where the workers don't have a choice to work or not)?

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  • Products from USA prisons are not slave labor. The work they do there - whether in the kitchen, the laundry, the farm, the manufacturing facility - is all voluntary and is more like a skill development program. The first intent is they have a skill and are used to employment so they don't come back. The second intent is to give them something productive to do when they're in prison for years, decades or life. American prisoners are not at all like Uyghurs in China.
    – user6686
    Commented Mar 31 at 15:39
  • Stating that "vegans are against deriving benefit from animals" is inaccurate. Some vegans may make that choice, but certainly not all do. I think it is fair to say that most vegans do not want to harm animals, and there are a multitude of ways to derive benefits from animals without harming them. Similarly, animals can derive benefits from humans. Or, if one chooses to not differentiate animals and humans, it becomes even simpler: the choice to not harm others.
    – Amazon Dies In Darkness
    Commented Apr 2 at 4:07
  • @user it is most definitely NOT voluntary.. even under constitutional law prisoners are LEGALLY considered slaves
    – Yaakov Yitzchak ben Moshe
    Commented Dec 1 at 13:47

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There is no official rule book for being a vegan and certainly no police force who will prosecute you for claiming to be a vegan while breaking one of the rules. So, a vegan who knowingly consumes the products of slavery is not impossible.

Nonetheless, I would be surprised to meet a vegan who knowingly and happily consumed the products of slavery.

Sadly, sometimes compromise is necessary to interact with society. C.S.Cameron gives a good example of license plates. Do you refrain from driving, drive illegally, or reluctantly accept it.

Some vegans (and many other groups) don't check the rules too hard. I know some who check most products carefully but forget to check beer and wine.

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    Driving with a license plate made by an inmate in an American correctional facility is not an ethical concern at all. Not a comparison to slavery in any form. But I agree with the rest of your answer.
    – user6686
    Commented Apr 1 at 0:33
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    I borrowed the example but I'll try to think of a better one.
    – badjohn
    Commented Apr 1 at 6:32
  • There are, in fact, laws for veganism. And there are courts that will enforce those laws (usually with fines given to companies who label something as vegan if it's not compliant with the laws). See Which countries regulate use of the term "vegan"?
    – Michael Altfield
    Commented Aug 2 at 16:29
  • Yes, there may be laws about accurate labelling of products; I'm not saying there isn't. I'm taking about the self-labelling of people. If I call myself vegan despite eating steak, will anyone prosecute me?
    – badjohn
    Commented Aug 2 at 22:37
  • @user prisoners are legally classified as slaves in American law
    – Yaakov Yitzchak ben Moshe
    Commented Dec 1 at 13:48
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Facts:

  1. Humans are animals.
  2. Vegans, by definition, try to avoid the exploitation of animals.
  3. Slaves, by definition, don't consent to their labour. This is exploitation.

Therefore, vegans would try to avoid goods made with slave labour.

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Would vegans wear clothing or eat food made from human slavery?

How would the average Vegan, (or Ethical Vegetarian), know that their food or clothing is made using human slavery?

I have not seen a label on food or clothing stating "Made using Forced Labor".

Just because a shirt is cotton, does not mean that it was harvested by an Arkansas chain gang. Should we refuse to use license plates on our cars?

It is said that Jain are taught that karma is associated with unintentionally harming a being. Buddhists are taught that karma is only associated with intentional actions.

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  • On one hand, I would agree with you. I don't think the average person doesn't read labels on clothes, food, or whatever. But if a person goes to the trouble of trying to determine whether or not Bayer Aspirin is "vegan," they're not average. Slave labor products simply are not the average vegan's hot button. To them, slave labor is just a milk cow.
    – user6686
    Commented Mar 31 at 15:33
  • The Arkansas chain gang is movie fiction. If an inmate makes a license plate, it's because 1) He volunteered for the job, and 2) He is paid for it, albeit an extremely low wage. But not even remotely like the forced/coerced labor of oppressed people who are also paid a paltry wage to make your electronics or clothes.
    – user6686
    Commented Apr 1 at 0:31
  • I do see labels in the EU that indicate something is made with GMOs. I don't see such labels all throughout the US -- but only because attempts to establish such laws failed. One day, I hope, we will have laws that require goods and services to clearly state that they're provided with unpaid or underpaid prison labour.
    – Michael Altfield
    Commented Aug 2 at 16:37
  • They can just look up the company, like they used to do for all products to determine if they're vegan before the labels were invented
    – Yaakov Yitzchak ben Moshe
    Commented Dec 1 at 13:50

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