Hardline is a deep ecology subculture that has its roots in the vegan straight edge hardcore punk scene. It is commonly seen as a more extreme version of straight edge. From its outset, Hardline adherents put out statements and literature pushing a biocentric view of the world, which advocated for militant veganism, animal rights, anti-abortion, anti-homosexuality, and a much more militant version of the straight edge philosophy, which advocates for a no alcohol, no drugs, no tobacco lifestyle. The Hardline worldview has been described variously as ecoauthoritarian and ecofascist in nature. Nonetheless, Hardline co-founder Sean Muttaqi adamantly rejected racism even while sending mixed signals about fascism.
Many hardline bands existed, the most well known of which were Vegan Reich and Raid. Earth Crisis were loosely aligned with the subculture, but were not necessarily a hardline band.
The heyday of Hardline was in the 1990s when Hardline chapters existed in a number of cities across the United States as well in the United Kingdom and Germany. However, by end of the 1990s the subculture had mostly faded out of existence.
The Hardline philosophy forbids its adherents from smoking or chewing any form of tobacco, drinking alcoholic beverages, and using illicit drugs or employing medicine. Hardliners (as they are called) are expected to follow a strict dietary regimen based on the above-mentioned pillars of respect for innocent life and the "natural order". Hardliners eat only foods that are vegan and relatively natural (e.g. brown rice over white, evaporated cane juice over granulated sugar, organic produce over conventional, natural oils over hydrogenated oils). Human rights issues are also factored into the movement's "food politics", and followers are urged to shun third-world cash crops such as coffee, chocolate, sugar, and most tropical fruits. Hardliners include caffeine in their stance on mind-altering drugs so the first two items are generally abstained from, but consumption of the last two is often given more leeway.