There’s some interesting points here and I’d like to offer my view as someone who’s been vegan for thirteen years. Not to try and convert anyone or create any arguments around what’s right or wrong, just to clarify at least my view point on it. I always feel a bit anxious when publically talking about it because it can draw strong feelings and harsh debate, so I want to be clear that everyone’s ethics and opinions are their own, and these are just mine.

First, chicken farming. I hear a lot of people suggest that eating eggs that were from chickens they raised themselves would be okay. I would definitely consider this more ethical than getting them from a mass produced farm would be. It just wouldn’t be vegan because veganism doesn’t promote using animals for what they can do for us, marking that as exploitation. However I’d have a few questions around what happens to the hens if they no longer lay (do they get killed?) and where you got the hens from in the first place. For me, the worst part of the egg industry is how they breed and produce egg laying hens, not the consumption of eggs. Male chicks produced during this process are considered waste and treated horrifically, so unless my hens were rescues, I wouldn’t consider purchasing hens to lay eggs as a good alternative. It’s the same issue with dairy and what happens to male dairy calves and male chickens was one of the biggest factors that switched me from veggie to vegan, one that often gets overlooked by non-vegans.

Plastic vs animal is something I’ve considered before and is something I’ve found to generally be a major trolley problem with veganism when it comes to clothing. Do I kill one animal now for my boots or do I indirectly harm a lot more later by wearing plastic? I’ve yet to come to a satisfactory conclusion on it for leather, but there are some plant based leathers that are being produced that might offer a third route. Currently they’re a bit expensive. On wool, I did look at second hand wool to see if that was viable, but I found most wool I can afford is a blend of plastic and wool, which felt a bit like pushing my trolley down one set of tracks then reversing it to roll down the other side too for good measure. As a result, I still avoid wool at the moment.

I do think you’re right that a lot of online veganism that you see on TikTok or YouTube is posturing. However I think a lot of us are people with good intentions who really just don’t want cause harm to animals. Unfortunately this can go too far and as in all groups, people interpret philosophy in different ways. I’ve seen people argue for feeding cats a vegan diet supplemented by taurine, because they can’t justify harming animals to feed them a meat diet. This is one situation where good intentions are harmful, because cats are obligate carnivores requiring meat and they cannot digest plant based taurine well. Going wrong here can severely harm a cat as taurine is critical for their neurological function. I consider that unethical. So for me it’s more about avoiding harm where possible, avoiding exploitation where possible, and doing my best not to harm other living beings just to live. For me, that doesn’t include hurting my cat with a bad diet. So it’s best not to paint all vegans in the same brush because it’s a pretty diverse group.

Now, for the real reason I waded into this conversation… Agave and bats. I haven’t heard of this before, and I suspect a lot of vegans may be ignorant to it. When I googled, I only found stuff on it being used for tequila, which I don’t generally drink. Is agave syrup what they use to make tequila? I wondered if you had any articles on this or a source specifically on agave syrup that I can educate myself on. I don’t currently use it in my cooking as I don’t often bake but have used it in the past. If it’s genuinely harmful to bats, I think I can easily switch to maple syrup or another alternative to honey, so very keen to learn more. I love bats and have long considered them a favourite of mine so don’t want to harm them.

Did you know there are bees that produce milk?

They're called 

okay... this is gonna get a bit weird and wordy... but:

y'all remember "Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends"? Wait, WAIT! DON'T LEAVE!

Okay, so... do you know those stories where imaginary characters are abandoned because their creator grew up? Where they're thrown into another realm where they're forgotten? well, how about something like that... but with a twist? it's not just ANY made-up characters... It's our OCs! Yes, I'm talking about anything from your edgy Sonic oc you made when you were 12. Or even that one CaC OC who married Astarion that you made a year ago...

I was basically thinking of an rp which is basically a "panfandom" world. But for "discarded" OCs! Where no one is judged for writing "cringe" stuff. Where you get to explore the characters you may or even may not have made! In a sense, it's a mix of all sorts of ideas. Even Smash Bros or the Lego movies!

A rp where we can have adventures, mystery, and drama in a setting where new locations appear. There can be quests, maybe a simple store system, and awards to collect. Just a fun, engaging, but also chill, place where we can throw out our dumb ideas that either don't work anymore or you just haven't found a place for! It's not really a rp for characters we got rid of... But more like a place where they can have a second (or proper) chance!

tldr; let us be cringe and free and rp our dumb ocs on fun adventures!