consumer choices

I'm going to be buried under my book for the next few days as the Adapting-In-Place book finally goes to my editor, but I did want to respond to this email, or rather, get my readers to respond. Gwen writes: "I just lost my job, and after a lot of late nights and panicked budget making, we think we can get along on just my husband's income, but it will be very tough and there will be no money at all for extras of any kind. We've always used our discretionary income to support things we care about - in the last few years this was local farmers and craftspeople, and making ethical choices…
I take it that a good number of animal rights supporters feel that their position is philosophically well-grounded, intuitively appealing, and compatible with the flourishing of humans as well as of non-human animals. As such, I would argue that animal rights supporters can, and should, advance their position without resorting to tactics that depend on harassment, intimidation, or violence. (At least some animal rights supporters agree.) Especially since the hope is to win the hearts and minds of the larger public to the cause of animal rights, supporters of this position might want to hold…