If eating meat is wrong because animals suffer, is it bad to eat animals that don’t suffer? (...) modified animals to eliminate pain. Would meat eating then be less immoral?
You probably know The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. There, the food presents itself before committing suicide to be eaten later. Nice thought, though as I think currently I would disapprove of creating a sentient being that wants to kill itself. But maybe that’s just me.
However, I would rate it as much less bad to kill a no-suffer animal, as I already disapprove much less of killing insects than of fish.
Dairy cattle and chicken cannot survive without human assistance.
Well, most of humans could not survive with other humans assistance either… I for instance would definitely not survive on my own.
I suspect that hanging a moral issue on meat eating because of suffering is anthropomorphic to some degree.
Not eating meat is often anthropomorphic too. Try killing a kitten on the streets to eat it by yourself. Even better: Buy a dog, go out, kick it. You will be charged with cruelty to animals (at least where I live, and I support that charge).
All things die and become food. Even me.
Most people here want that to be changed. Some people here, EY for instance, even simply want to change it, if it just would be so simple...
My impression is that as economies have grown and more meat has been added to the diet that overall morbidity decreases.
From statistics within industrialized countries we know that not eating meat does not cause earlier death. So I would cancel the meat out of the causality loop here. There is lot of protein deficiency in the 3rd world. Meat is one way to solve that issue, but not the only. Depending on the natural givens around, local food production may even depend on it.
Fact is that domestic animals have better lives and better deaths then any of their wild fellows enjoy.
Well, only partly agree. Even in Austria (with relatively high de-facto standards for farm animals) wild animals do not live worse, and for pigs, for instance, the standard for farm animals is horribly low. Cows, in general, die very painlessly. There are some farmers who even shoot the cow while on the grass, to reduce any pre-death stress to practically zero.
Fact is that a meat eating diet improves the overall health of developing nations.
Well, taking the correct amount and relations of macro- and micronutrients is healthier than incomplete diets. Meat is a (health-wise) good possibility, but not the only option.
Vegetarianism is a choice but it is not a moral choice.
Well, I am glad you explained my moral system to me.
Well, you start with an interesting tidbit:
You probably know The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. There, the food presents itself before committing suicide to be eaten later. Nice thought, though as I think currently I would disapprove of creating a sentient being that wants to kill itself. But maybe that’s just me.
However, I would rate it as much less bad to kill a no-suffer animal, as I already disapprove much less of killing insects than of fish.
Well, most of humans could not survive with other humans assistance either… I for instance would definitely not survive on my own.
Not eating meat is often anthropomorphic too. Try killing a kitten on the streets to eat it by yourself. Even better: Buy a dog, go out, kick it. You will be charged with cruelty to animals (at least where I live, and I support that charge).
Most people here want that to be changed. Some people here, EY for instance, even simply want to change it, if it just would be so simple...
From statistics within industrialized countries we know that not eating meat does not cause earlier death. So I would cancel the meat out of the causality loop here. There is lot of protein deficiency in the 3rd world. Meat is one way to solve that issue, but not the only. Depending on the natural givens around, local food production may even depend on it.
Well, only partly agree. Even in Austria (with relatively high de-facto standards for farm animals) wild animals do not live worse, and for pigs, for instance, the standard for farm animals is horribly low. Cows, in general, die very painlessly. There are some farmers who even shoot the cow while on the grass, to reduce any pre-death stress to practically zero.
Well, taking the correct amount and relations of macro- and micronutrients is healthier than incomplete diets. Meat is a (health-wise) good possibility, but not the only option.
Well, I am glad you explained my moral system to me.