Aliens, Antispeciesism, and Vegan Advocacy

“Imagine that very powerful and intelligent aliens invade Earth and choose to feed on human flesh.” This thought experiment is frequently used by animal advocates to undermine speciesist prejudices and encourage people to turn to a vegan diet. However, an examination of certain aspects of the history of ideas and a number of science fiction stories leads to the conclusion that activists may be deluding themselves about the effectiveness of this approach. Not only that, but the “alien invaders” scenario can also be used to highlight weak or unclear aspects of the anti-speciesist argument. All things considered, “smarter” aliens (i.e. types of superhumans) are not the ideal auxiliaries for the animal liberation movement, as they lack the characteristics that would awaken our interest in and empathy towards nonhuman animals.