07.02.2026

The Importance & Positive Impact of Veganism:

Sandra chats with Maeve Halpin on Dublin South Radio

“You don’t think there is anything wrong with the way you’ve grown up and how you have treated others until you learn information that contradicts what you previously believed. Yes, it causes pain to realise that we may have been racist, or ageist, or sexist. I would say that same applies to veganism. Going vegan is the process of confronting your own speciesism which is discriminating against other animals on the basis of their species membership. It is undoubtedly painful but you owe it to yourself to face up to the facts the industry has carefully kept hidden from you.”

In this wide ranging interview our Director, Sandra Higgins, chats with Maeve about the birth and evolution of Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary and how it inspired and informed our vegan education work at Go Vegan World.

Sandra discusses how veganism is not simply a diet but a new way of relating to other animals as individual rights bearers who share our capacity to feel and our fundamental right to autonomy, liberty and life. She explores with Maeve how the concept of animal welfare is so damaging to the rights of other animals because it lulls the public conscience into believing that animal use and animal products are somehow beneficial to the victims of exploitation when they carry labels indicating that the standards of exploitation are acceptable (e.g. free range or organic). In fact, animal welfare guidelines prescribe how to breed, exploit, mutilate, confine, own, and kill animals whose right it is to live completely free of human oppression, whose right it is not to be owned, used, harmed or killed by us.

“It’s a dreadful thing to take the life of another being and turn their entire life, from the day they are born (or prior to being born), to the day of their death, into a resource for us.”

Sandra describes how sanctuaries exist to help those fortunate enough to escape the animal exploiting industries, and to provide the ‘scaffolding’ of their basic needs. But we cannot claim credit for how they heal. Once we provide their basic needs, they control their own rehabilitation and usually go on to live lives where they treasure every minute of their day.

Sandra adds that although the work of sanctuaries is vital for the individuals who are rescued and live on them, they cannot possibly mop up the mess of the animal exploiting industries. The numbers alone are staggering with over 90 billion land animals being slaughtered annually. It is vital that sanctuaries use the knowledge of the histories and personalities of the animals in residence to educate others on the importance of veganism. Sandra mentions some of the intersectional human benefits of transitioning to plant-based production and consumption, but the essence of veganism and the work of Go Vegan World, is to confront the status quo of animal use that is predicated on thinking of other animals as inferior to us, to a new way of relating to them that recognises that they are unique individuals with minds and feelings and they share our right not to be used or killed. Vegan education does not begin with behaviour change: it begins with confronting the thoughts and feelings that are the root cause of non-veganism. Once we encounter information that challenges our speciesism, we actively seek new ways of living that avoid exploiting and harming others. Veganism is the manifestation of the belief that it is wrong to own, use and kill other animals and the behavioural changes involved in going vegan are only sustained when the underlying beliefs are cemented. The change can happen very quickly and easily, as long as it is motivated by the animals for whom we live as vegans.

This is a very refreshing interview largely due to the interviewer lacking the defensiveness and disrespect that characterises much of mainstream media coverage of veganism and animal rights. The interview is interspersed with three pieces of music that were Sandra’s choices for the show.