I just wonder why there was any debate about being vegan at their functions? Why would animal products be ok in any situation? There is nothing clear about saying non-vegan stuff is ok and that we should worry about accommodating carnists and vegetarians, food wise. Promote veganism and don't be wishy-washy because it doesn't help animals.

If you properly define veganism and be confident about it people will take you seriously and want to know more. When we make excuses for people and call them vegan when they aren't there yet it makes a joke out of it and hurts animals in the end and people give up easily but if we are honest we will be better off.

VSDC has had a 100% vegan policy for many years.

Back when I wrote the review and updated in 2013 they did not have a vegan policy (there is no percentage in veganism you either are or you aren't). Dieting is fine, if people want to do that and promote that but not putting animals first is poor policy. Being vegetarian even by the original definition is OK it is better than not but it still leaves a lot of beings to be exploited. I hope they have actually gone vegan and are fully promoting veganism in it's proper form (not just a diet or hey call yourself vegan just to have the word out there even if meaningless).

Veganism means at its absolute core no use of any animals for any reason at all unless you can get positive consent which is hard when you cannot effectively communicate with someone (animals have voices we just don't understand them). If you fail at that you have failed the animals and are simply not vegan. It is tough to break the cycle of speciesism because it is so prevalent and ingrained in our culture on this world but we must do it and an organization that fought hard at least in the past to appease those who actively harmed animals is just the wrong thing to do.

I truly hope they are vegan now. Which is an on or off switch and if you ever turn it off it just means you never turned it on and maybe were a casual vegetarian for a bit. I say that harshly because what happens to the animals every single day is so abhorrently terrible we cannot just use a term so lightly just because it makes us feel good. If you are vegan it is something you are till you leave this mortal coil otherwise you are just in it for some label to be cool and nothing cool about harming animals.