Veganism may be defined as a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
Veganism is therefore neither a food choice, nor a personal preference.

People often take different paths towards becoming vegan.
Because a plant-based diet is healthy, tasty and nutritious, some people are motivated by health reasons. Others will be drawn to veganism for environmental reasons. As they learn more about veganism, they also learn about respect, justice and compassion for all sentient beings.

Vegan Ireland welcomes everyone who follows a plant-based diet and encourages them to go beyond personal health motivations and environmental reasons to eventually recognize and embrace veganism as a moral objection to oppression, exploitation and the violation of rights.

Veganism is a principled position, arguing that humans have no right to exploit other animals (human and nonhuman) for our own ends.

It is an ethical position against all forms of oppression inflicted upon any sentient being. A vegan will, then, be opposed as much to speciesism as to racism, sexism, ageism, classism, etc, since all forms of oppression have the same roots: "prejudice, ignorance, and generational transmission through the institutions of society."

Because speciesism is deeply ingrained in the fabric of society, most of us have never really thought much, beyond the concerns of traditional animal welfare, about our use and treatment of nonhuman animals for our desires and interests.

But if we believe that it is wrong to force animals into lives of servitudes for our interests, going vegan becomes then a powerful statement since the vegan philosophy opposes this system of exploitation and oppression. By no longer participating in it, individuals will help create a social structure based on respect, justice and compassion for all sentient beings.

Vegans will oppose the use of other animals for food, but also for …

Millions of animals are exploited so we can wear parts of their bodies, such as fur, wool, feathers, skin (leather) or so we can use the product of their labour (silk).

Whether it is the fur industry, the leather industry, or the wool, silk, down, feathers industries, all of them are based on the oppression of nonhuman animals, on the violation of their basic rights, and on the belief that their lives have little value, except a price tag. These industries will imprison, mutilate, torture and murder nonhumans every single day so we can use what belongs to them.

Nowadays, it is very easy to avoid these products as there are many materials suitable for vegans. Non-leather shoes, belts, bags can be bought on internet websites specializing in vegan footwear. Shops also carry a good range of shoes which are not made of leather. Just look out for the diamond symbol in the label, or phrases like, "all man made," which means that it is non-leather material.

Make sure the jacket, sleeping bag, pillow, duvet you are buying does not contain “down”, which are the soft feathers of ducks and geese. Also, on a purely practical level, synthetic materials perform better at blocking the cold than feathers.

When buying clothes, check out that they are not made of wool. Warm and fashionable clothes made from cotton, fleece, acrylic, hemp, linen, microfibre and other materials are readily available. For cold winters, acrylic not only looks very similar to wool but is as warm.

Rayon and nylon are great materials to be used rather than silk, which is the shiny fibre that worms will produce to make cocoons.

Animals used in zoos or circuses are either taken from their homes or bred by humans for the sole purpose of entertaining us.

Their lives are considered of little value outside the money their exploiters make from their misery. When they are of no use, they are discarded, killed, sold to another exploiter, etc.

Never in their lives do nonhumans used for human entertainment have a choice.

Humans control every aspect of their lives, from the moment they are born or taken into captivity until the day they die.
No matter how nicely or "humanely" nonhumans are treated, they are considered property and their lives will depend on the “goodwill” of their enslavers. Members of other species are also chased and hunted.

We not only control their natural habitat but also their population and use the euphemism “Culling” to justify the killing of a part of their population. If this was applied to humans, it would be called “genocide”.

Animals used in the name of science are also used for humans’ interests. Vivisectors claim that we can “learn” from nonhuman animals. By “learning”, they mean use, torture and murder millions of sentient beings.

Nonhumans will be caged, mutilated, poisoned, tortured, burned, and killed in the name of a fraudulent science based on rights violations (human and nonhuman). Vivisection is a human rights violation since side effects of drugs are one of the main causes of mortality worldwide.

Vegans want a modern science that is based on respect and ethics and that advances the wellbeing of all sentient beings through modern technology, a modern science that will not sacrifice some to save others.

Cosmetics, personal care products and household products from many mainstream companies also have been tested on animals.