What Kind Of Person Am I? – VEGAN VOICES writer Jesse Tandler

Next in our series on the writers of “VEGAN VOICES –  Essays by Inspiring Changemakers”, is Jesse Tandler.  

A writer, academic, and educator for over a decade and a half, Jesse Tandler began teaching high school students about the ethics of our food culture in 2008.  During his PhD work, he continued to include our treatment of animals on the syllabi of his undergraduate classes at the City University of New York, where for five years he taught philosophy, literature, writing, and rhetoric. In 2017, he moved to Los Angeles to apply his years of research and educational experience in the nonprofit sphere. He also teaches food politics at UCLA.  

 

Extract from his essay in VEGAN VOICES:

“When confronted with any moral decision, I’ve learned to ask myself, “What kind of human do I want to be?” In response, I do my best to be the kind of human who is honest and generous toward my tribe and others, toward children of humans and children of other animals. Because I no longer can imagine any intrinsic difference between murdering a dog and murdering a pig or a fish or a human, I choose to be the kind of person who eats plants – nutritious, bloodless plants. No other decision in my life has given me such a sense of strength or harmony.” 

 

Review of Vegan Voices by Bruce Friedrich, Co-founder & Executive Director, The Good Food Institute:

“There are as many reasons to be vegan as there are vegans, as this lovely anthology makes clear. So many of my heroes in one place—what a treat. Read it and be inspired.”

 

Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers
Available at Lantern Publishing & Media
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-59056-650-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-59056-651-0