Lawrence Crocker wrote:If I were asked to judge the debate so far, I would have to give the palm to the vegetarians.
The argument that the pain of animals bred to be food doesn't count morally invites the objection that second and third generation slaves were bred to be slaves. They would not have existed but for slavery. Still we don't think this justified their being held in servitude.
The vegetarian is at least justified in asking whether non-existence is better than existence as a factory chicken.
Excellent point, Lawrence1
I am not sure there is anything inconsistent morally in not being a consistent vegetarian. One might believe that killing a chimpanzee for food was worse than killing a cow which is worse than killing a fish which is worse than killing a snail which is worse than killing a locust. Our theory of levels of consciousness of animals may be a little crude, but it is surely onto something. Nature of pain felt, length of time it is appreciated, ability to anticipate it all seem to be morally relevant variables.
That's also a valid point, however there is even more to it than that. Morality aside, humanity should have evolved beyond its primitive animal nature by now. We pride ourselves on our scientific and technological accomplishments, feats that no animal can rival. The technology of manufacturing meat in modern factories is available now, yet we don't use it at all.
Instead the meat industry is cannibalizing millions and millions of animals daily!!! In medieval style torture chambers, on an industrial scale. How primitive is that? How icky esthetically? When we could have clean, sophisticated modern factories producing all the meat easily, cheaply for the whole world, we are torturing animals needlessly.
Consider just the environmental impact of the meat industry and its contribution to climate change alone!
The meat industry is of course digging in their heel, protecting their vested interest in true capitalistic fashion (just like the oil and coal industry, the tobacco industry, etc., etc). However, it is unfathomable that most meat eaters are violently against the most sensible change, even though they would have to give up nothing, because manufactured meat could taste just as good as the animal flesh they are used to.
Eventually, the change will happen, however slowly.
In the meantime more and more people select the vegetarian lifestyle in protest against the barbaric practices of the meat industry.
