The ethics of eating meat is a engaging and controversial topic. The debate, despite a lively one, has often tilted towards the vegetarians. This has prompted NY Times to hold a contest earlier this year on why eating meat is ethical . In response, Our Hen House, an animal advocate group, launched its own contest asking for submissions on why eating meat is unethical.
Without bias to the order of presentation, here are the winners of the respective contests:
Give Thanks for Meat
Jay Bost
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/magazine/the-ethicist-contest-winner-give-thanks-for-meat.html
As a vegetarian who returned to meat-eating, I find the question “Is meat-eating ethical?” one that is in my head and heart constantly. The reasons I became a vegetarian, then a vegan and then again a conscientious meat-eater were all ethical. The ethical reasons of why NOT to eat meat are obvious: animals are raised and killed in cruel conditions; grain that could feed hungry people is fed to animals; the need for pasture fuels deforestation; and by eating meat, one is implicated in the killing of a sentient being. Except for the last reason, however, none of these aspects of eating meat are implicit in eating meat, yet they are exactly what make eating some meat unethical. Which leads to my main argument: eating meat raised in specific circumstances is ethical; eating meat raised in other circumstances is unethical. Just as eating vegetables, tofu or grain raised in certain circumstances is ethical and those produced in other ways is unethical.
What are these “right” and “wrong” ways of producing both meat and plant foods? For me, they are most succinctly summed up in Aldo Leopold’s land ethic: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” While studying agroecology at Prescott College in Arizona, I was convinced that if what you are trying to achieve with an “ethical” diet is the least destructive impact on life as a whole on this planet, then in some circumstances, like living among dry, scrubby grasslands in Arizona, eating meat, is, in fact, the most ethical thing you can do other than subsist on wild game, tepary beans and pinyon nuts. A well-managed, free-ranged cow is able to turn the sunlight captured by plants into condensed calories and protein with the aid of the microorganisms in its gut. Sun > diverse plants > cow > human. This in a larger ethical view looks much cleaner than the fossil-fuel-soaked scheme of tractor-tilled field > irrigated soy monoculture > tractor harvest > processing > tofu > shipping > human.
While most present-day meat production is an ecologically foolish and ethically wrong endeavor, happily this is changing, and there are abundant examples of ecologically beneficial, pasture-based systems. The fact is that most agroecologists agree that animals are integral parts of truly sustainable agricultural systems. They are able to cycle nutrients, aid in land management and convert sun to food in ways that are nearly impossible for us to do without fossil fuel. If “ethical” is defined as living in the most ecologically benign way, then in fairly specific circumstances, of which each eater must educate himself, eating meat is ethical; in fact NOT eating meat may be arguably unethical.
The issue of killing of a sentient being, however, lingers. To which each individual human being must react by asking: Am I willing to divide the world into that which I have deemed is worthy of being spared the inevitable and that which is not worthy? Or is such a division hopelessly artificial? A poem of Wislawa Szymborska’s, “In Praise of Self-Deprecation,” comes to mind. It ends:
There is nothing more animal-like
than a clear conscience
on the third planet of the Sun.
For me, eating meat is ethical when one does three things. First, you accept the biological reality that death begets life on this planet and that all life (including us!) is really just solar energy temporarily stored in an impermanent form. Second, you combine this realization with that cherished human trait of compassion and choose ethically raised food, vegetable, grain and/or meat. And third, you give thanks.
As a vegetarian who returned to meat-eating, I find the question “Is meat-eating ethical?” one that is in my head and heart constantly. The reasons I became a vegetarian, then a vegan and then again a conscientious meat-eater were all ethical. The ethical reasons of why NOT to eat meat are obvious: animals are raised and killed in cruel conditions; grain that could feed hungry people is fed to animals; the need for pasture fuels deforestation; and by eating meat, one is implicated in the killing of a sentient being. Except for the last reason, however, none of these aspects of eating meat are implicit in eating meat, yet they are exactly what make eating some meat unethical. Which leads to my main argument: eating meat raised in specific circumstances is ethical; eating meat raised in other circumstances is unethical. Just as eating vegetables, tofu or grain raised in certain circumstances is ethical and those produced in other ways is unethical.
What are these “right” and “wrong” ways of producing both meat and plant foods? For me, they are most succinctly summed up in Aldo Leopold’s land ethic: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” While studying agroecology at Prescott College in Arizona, I was convinced that if what you are trying to achieve with an “ethical” diet is the least destructive impact on life as a whole on this planet, then in some circumstances, like living among dry, scrubby grasslands in Arizona, eating meat, is, in fact, the most ethical thing you can do other than subsist on wild game, tepary beans and pinyon nuts. A well-managed, free-ranged cow is able to turn the sunlight captured by plants into condensed calories and protein with the aid of the microorganisms in its gut. Sun > diverse plants > cow > human. This in a larger ethical view looks much cleaner than the fossil-fuel-soaked scheme of tractor-tilled field > irrigated soy monoculture > tractor harvest > processing > tofu > shipping > human.
While most present-day meat production is an ecologically foolish and ethically wrong endeavor, happily this is changing, and there are abundant examples of ecologically beneficial, pasture-based systems. The fact is that most agroecologists agree that animals are integral parts of truly sustainable agricultural systems. They are able to cycle nutrients, aid in land management and convert sun to food in ways that are nearly impossible for us to do without fossil fuel. If “ethical” is defined as living in the most ecologically benign way, then in fairly specific circumstances, of which each eater must educate himself, eating meat is ethical; in fact NOT eating meat may be arguably unethical.
The issue of killing of a sentient being, however, lingers. To which each individual human being must react by asking: Am I willing to divide the world into that which I have deemed is worthy of being spared the inevitable and that which is not worthy? Or is such a division hopelessly artificial? A poem of Wislawa Szymborska’s, “In Praise of Self-Deprecation,” comes to mind. It ends:
There is nothing more animal-like
than a clear conscience
on the third planet of the Sun.
For me, eating meat is ethical when one does three things. First, you accept the biological reality that death begets life on this planet and that all life (including us!) is really just solar energy temporarily stored in an impermanent form. Second, you combine this realization with that cherished human trait of compassion and choose ethically raised food, vegetable, grain and/or meat. And third, you give thanks.
Why It’s Unethical to Eat Meat
by Alan W. Peck
+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.ourhenhouse.org/2012/04/announcing-the-winner-of-our-essay-contest-why-its-unethical-to-eat-meat-congratulations-alan-w-peck/
When I first met my best vegan friend, I said to him, half serious and trying to be funny, “Almost all of my friends are Mexican, so I don’t think I could live my life without carne asada.” And… crickets. He just looked at me, and started talking to someone else.
Wounded by the awareness of my own bullshit, I went home that night and proceeded to scour the internet, fully determined — since I considered myself an ethical person — to find an ethical argument for eating meat.
Well, I failed… miserably. In my research I came across a simple yet devastatingly bulletproof argument against eating animals and their bodily secretions, using ethics and simple logic. It goes like this:
Can humans survive and thrive on a plant based diet?
- Well I hadn’t really thought about it before, but despite some shady articles by the dairy industry slandering soy, apparently so.
Does all production of animal products, factory farmed or otherwise, cause suffering?
- After a lot of research and reading too much on the internet about bees… yes.
Do I believe that willfully participating in unnecessary suffering is unethical?
- Of course. I’m not a monster.
Given that humans can survive and thrive on a plant based diet, isn’t the suffering caused in the production of animal foods unnecessary?
- Oh boy… I guess so but –
Well then if willful participation in unnecessary suffering is unethical, don’t you think you should put down that sausage?
- Fuck. I can’t do this anymore.
And that’s how, midway through my standard American breakfast on November 12, 2010, I became vegan.
Admittedly, it did take me a few months after my exposure to the facts to come to terms with them, so I empathize with people who “most certainly could not live without cheese.” But given that you are a decent person, you owe it to the animals — and to yourself — to not remain willfully ignorant, or block out the truth you already know for the satisfaction of your taste buds… And honestly, given how much delicious plant based food there is in the world, flavor and texture, along with emotional comfort and family tradition, are nothing more than hollow excuses. You’re better than that.
When I first met my best vegan friend, I said to him, half serious and trying to be funny, “Almost all of my friends are Mexican, so I don’t think I could live my life without carne asada.” And… crickets. He just looked at me, and started talking to someone else.
Wounded by the awareness of my own bullshit, I went home that night and proceeded to scour the internet, fully determined — since I considered myself an ethical person — to find an ethical argument for eating meat.
Well, I failed… miserably. In my research I came across a simple yet devastatingly bulletproof argument against eating animals and their bodily secretions, using ethics and simple logic. It goes like this:
Can humans survive and thrive on a plant based diet?
- Well I hadn’t really thought about it before, but despite some shady articles by the dairy industry slandering soy, apparently so.
Does all production of animal products, factory farmed or otherwise, cause suffering?
- After a lot of research and reading too much on the internet about bees… yes.
Do I believe that willfully participating in unnecessary suffering is unethical?
- Of course. I’m not a monster.
Given that humans can survive and thrive on a plant based diet, isn’t the suffering caused in the production of animal foods unnecessary?
- Oh boy… I guess so but –
Well then if willful participation in unnecessary suffering is unethical, don’t you think you should put down that sausage?
- Fuck. I can’t do this anymore.
And that’s how, midway through my standard American breakfast on November 12, 2010, I became vegan.
Admittedly, it did take me a few months after my exposure to the facts to come to terms with them, so I empathize with people who “most certainly could not live without cheese.” But given that you are a decent person, you owe it to the animals — and to yourself — to not remain willfully ignorant, or block out the truth you already know for the satisfaction of your taste buds… And honestly, given how much delicious plant based food there is in the world, flavor and texture, along with emotional comfort and family tradition, are nothing more than hollow excuses. You’re better than that.
The discussion on this topic cuts down to the ideological, which brings out the important points of discussion in the topic of the ethics of eating meat: Humane form of raising, rearing, and killing animals; Animals with no central nervous system; The animals right to live and continue living; Historical evidence of human being surviving on non-meat diet; Biblical justification for eating meat; Environmental consequences; and a lot more.
Where do you stand on this issue?
Poll: Eating meat is:
Ethical (1177)
85%
Unethical (205)
15%
1382 total votes
Unethical (205)
1382 total votes
Your vote: Eating meat is:
Additional Resources
Peter Singer on Equality for Animals
Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma
BBC Ethics Guide: Eating Animals
M. Ghandi: The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism
M. Joy: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism