“What if you were trapped on a desert island?” Nonvegans ask vegans about this scenario an astounding amount of times, believe it or not. So let’s talk about it honestly, so that we can all come to a mutual understanding. 

The question

   To answer your question a bit snarkily, I’d probably die. If I was stuck on a deserted island by myself I probably wouldn’t survive for very long, but maybe not for the reasons you’re thinking. I probably wouldn’t last very long for the same reasons a lot of modern people wouldn’t. I’m not very well-versed in outdoor survival-type things. I mean, sure, I can camp. But being stranded with just the shirt off your back is a different thing. 

   I don’t know a lot about foraging or water collection or shelter building. And yes, for that reason, I probably wouldn’t last very long. But I know that when nonvegans ask me this, that’s not what they’re getting at. They want to know what I would do to get food. Would I hunt for meat? If I found eggs, would I eat them? 

My real answer

   I don’t know, honestly. I’m not trying to dodge the question, either. I’m just not sure what I would do. After being vegan so long, I would have a really hard time (both emotionally and physically) stomaching the body of a dead animal. I don’t know how long it would take me to feel desperate enough to try and hunt for meat. And, to be honest, I’m not super confident in my abilities to hunt for meat in the first place, even if I really needed to. 

   If I were to be stranded on an island somewhere and in need of food, I don’t know how much hunting would really be able to help me get my intake in. I’m not saying I wouldn’t. I simply don’t know. And maybe this answer isn’t super satisfying for you, but it’s the truth. 

   I’m not the kind of vegan who is going to tell you that even in a life and death situation, I would choose death over meat-eating. I personally think that doesn’t give credence to the gravity of the situation posed. You can say whatever you want about yourself. But in my opinion, you don’t know what you’d do unless you’ve been there before. You just don’t. 

As far as is practicable…

   So, we come back to this definition a lot on this website, but it’s because it’s important. The official definition of veganism is as follows: “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” To learn more about the vegan society and this definition, visit their website here.

   So, when we look at this definition, there’s a very important part. “As far as is possible and practicable”. And I bring this up to make the claim that if someone says they would rather starve to death than eat meat, that’s not actually veganism, that’s something more. And furthermore, someone saying that they might eat meat if they were starving to death doesn’t make them any less vegan. Nothing in veganism says that you must die for your belief that eating and using animals is wrong. 

   If you’re using this question as a sort of “gotcha” for vegans, you’re achieving nothing, even if they admit they’d rather eat meat than die. It’s kind of like asking most people how they feel about violence in self-defense. Most of us believe that violence is wrong when used as an attack or to simply get what you want. But in the scenario of self-defense, most of us find it, well, defensible. And veganism, as a philosophy, is the same. If your life depends on it, using or consuming animal products is understandable and no less vegan. 

Why it’s irrelevant

   The thing is, as a question about veganism, I find this pretty irrelevant. Because what I may or may not do if I was starving on a desert island has no bearing on what I choose to do when I am living my regular life and have access to multiple grocery stores to get my food from. And to be honest, what I may or may not do in a dire situation has nothing to do with what you decide to do at the grocery store either. 

   I know a lot of people used to ask me this question as a sort of defense. (Which has substantially gone down in the last few years, actually.) Like, “See? If you were starving, you would eat meat. So my eating meat isn’t so bad.” And I get it, you don’t want to feel like you’re doing something wrong. But what you would do if your life depended on it is not the same as what you do when you have a choice, even if you perceive the choice as inconvenient. 

   If these worst-case scenarios are keeping you from deciding to go vegan, I want to let you know that being vegan doesn’t have to mean you’d starve to death before eating meat. Ultimately, it’s about choosing better when you can, in order to contribute to less harm and death towards our fellow animals. 

Other thoughts

   There really isn’t one single answer to the vegan position on desert island meat-eating. As many vegans often point out in response, it’s unlikely that you would be on an island with no plants on it (because that’s not often how nature works), and if you were, it really calls into question how these mysterious animals would be alive. If there are no plants whatsoever, the animals would also die quite soon because either they or their food would not be fed. In this case, there would still be no renewable food source, so you’d likely not last very long. (Although I do realize the nuance of this. Just because there are plants the animals can eat doesn’t mean they are edible to humans. I get that.)

   I also think that this is a pretty average case of people thinking they know more about things than they really do. Most of the people who ask vegans about this know just as much as the regular modern person about surviving off the land, which is to say, not much. And to be honest, that lack of knowledge can kill you a lot faster than refusing to eat meat in some scenarios. Having been asked this question so many times over the years really makes me think I should learn a lot more about outdoor survival. Not to prove nonvegans wrong or anything like that, but with the constant reminders of it as a concept, I realize that in an emergency, those skills would be super handy. 

Getting to the point

   At any rate, I might eat meat if I was starving to death and had no other option. If I was really that desperate and close to death, I probably would. You haven’t tripped me up by asking. I’m still vegan. And no, that doesn’t mean I’ll make an exception for your barbecue this weekend. It’s all about what I choose to consume when I have that choice. 

   Thank you for reading my thoughts. If you are interested in more vegan content, consider subscribing to the blog for email updates when a new post it up. And if you want to read more questions for vegans, check out this post where I have a whole list of them. As always, have a great day!