It’s easier for me to be consistent about not eating other meat when I can fall back on fish (especially at restaurants—it’s hard enough to find places where I can have a nice meal out with friends, since I don’t like salad. If I couldn’t just order the salmon at a steakhouse it would be harder.)
My objections to meat-eating on the basis of health and animal suffering are greatly diminished in strength when I take the case of fish and clams and the like: they’re healthful (omega-3 fatty acids and that sort of thing) and not cognitively sophisticated enough to make me worry very much about hurting them. For many species, efficiency is also not a concern (for instance, tilapia can be raised in rice paddies eating waste vegetable matter—they aren’t eating food that could be used to feed people directly). The environmental impact of the fishing industry is acknowledged, but alone isn’t strong enough to make me stop eating fish.
I enjoy fish (and clams in clam chowder) a great deal more than I ever enjoyed other meat.
It’s easier for me to be consistent about not eating other meat when I can fall back on fish (especially at restaurants—it’s hard enough to find places where I can have a nice meal out with friends, since I don’t like salad. If I couldn’t just order the salmon at a steakhouse it would be harder.)
My objections to meat-eating on the basis of health and animal suffering are greatly diminished in strength when I take the case of fish and clams and the like: they’re healthful (omega-3 fatty acids and that sort of thing) and not cognitively sophisticated enough to make me worry very much about hurting them. For many species, efficiency is also not a concern (for instance, tilapia can be raised in rice paddies eating waste vegetable matter—they aren’t eating food that could be used to feed people directly). The environmental impact of the fishing industry is acknowledged, but alone isn’t strong enough to make me stop eating fish.
I enjoy fish (and clams in clam chowder) a great deal more than I ever enjoyed other meat.