A question. Would you rather be born and live for thirty years and then be executed, or never be born at all?
To me, the answer depends on how I was going to live those thirty years. Well fed and sheltered while hanging out in a great open space with a small community of peers? That sounds pretty good to me. Locked in a tiny box with no stimulation? Quite possibly not. (I have a really strong desire for my own existence, even in the face of that existence being terrible, but I generally treat that as a weird quirk of my own mind.)
Regardless of one’s answer, it’s not relevant, unless you’re talking of humans and not cows, what is relevant however is a question like this:
“Do you support bringing cows into existence, regardless for the fact that the majority will be inflicted with unnecessary suffering?”
“Do you support bringing cows into existence, though they will be executed in 30 yrs?”
A cows well being is an assumption, will the cow be more or less likely to be miserable for those 30 years?
Using your cognition in the position of a human is incorrect when talking of cows, a cow in the position of a cow is correct. Anthropomorphism I would consider a human bias. Human in the position of a cow is better as it might lead to a conclusion to not inflict unnecessary suffering, but it’s also a bias, so it’s a question if the means justify the end, whereas the means in this case is the argument and any hesitation is rationality.
By being vegan, you are not supporting lives. If everyone in the world went vegan tomorrow (or more realistically if a perfect vat-grown beef substitute was released) what would happen to the animals on a nice free-range cruelty-free farm?
How many cows march on cruelty-free farms and how many march on non-cruelty-free farms?
Many questions are raised which means more data to conclude a meaningful answer or ethics.
I am anthromorphizing, but I don’t know what it’s like to think like a cow. Actually, I’m doing more than just anthromorphizing- I’m (for the moment) assuming cows think like I do, as opposed to how some generic human might. While this is imperfect, assuming someone thinks like I do tends to be my first step in trying to empathize with them. I do try and modify how I’m thinking about this to match the cow as much as I can (for example, I would become unhappy if I never got to read books, but I don’t think I need to leave a library in the pasture!) but the core of my empathy is based on how my own brain works.
How many cows march on cruelty-free farms and how many march on non-cruelty-free farms?
Offhand, I’d guess half a percent of all cows that wind up as hamburger are on a cruelty-free farm. If when ordering a hamburger it was completely impossible to determine where the meat was coming from, then this would be an important point. Since I can find out where the meat is coming from, I can buy from the half a percent that is.
Regardless of one’s answer, it’s not relevant, unless you’re talking of humans and not cows, what is relevant however is a question like this:
“Do you support bringing cows into existence, regardless for the fact that the majority will be inflicted with unnecessary suffering?” “Do you support bringing cows into existence, though they will be executed in 30 yrs?”
A cows well being is an assumption, will the cow be more or less likely to be miserable for those 30 years?
Using your cognition in the position of a human is incorrect when talking of cows, a cow in the position of a cow is correct. Anthropomorphism I would consider a human bias. Human in the position of a cow is better as it might lead to a conclusion to not inflict unnecessary suffering, but it’s also a bias, so it’s a question if the means justify the end, whereas the means in this case is the argument and any hesitation is rationality.
How many cows march on cruelty-free farms and how many march on non-cruelty-free farms?
Many questions are raised which means more data to conclude a meaningful answer or ethics.
I am anthromorphizing, but I don’t know what it’s like to think like a cow. Actually, I’m doing more than just anthromorphizing- I’m (for the moment) assuming cows think like I do, as opposed to how some generic human might. While this is imperfect, assuming someone thinks like I do tends to be my first step in trying to empathize with them. I do try and modify how I’m thinking about this to match the cow as much as I can (for example, I would become unhappy if I never got to read books, but I don’t think I need to leave a library in the pasture!) but the core of my empathy is based on how my own brain works.
Offhand, I’d guess half a percent of all cows that wind up as hamburger are on a cruelty-free farm. If when ordering a hamburger it was completely impossible to determine where the meat was coming from, then this would be an important point. Since I can find out where the meat is coming from, I can buy from the half a percent that is.