Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

For an explanation of this feature, click on “Moral Vegetarianism” at the bottom of this post. I have argued that there is no incompatibility between being a nonvegetarian and advocating the painless and humane treatment of animals. People who do not eat meat for moral reasons tend to be less brutal than people who do eat meat.

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Morals Inhumane Meat 40

Animal Person

AUGUST 16, 2011

Hal Herzog’s “ Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat ” (Harper 2011), though fascinating, is ultimately depressing for vegans and animal rights activists. Over at Animal Rights and AntiOppression , we’ve been discussing tactics and sharing our thoughts and experiences about what works and doesn’t work when it comes to advocacy.

Vegan 100

Vegan Morals Animal Rights Advocacy 100

Animal Person

JULY 3, 2009

" Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals ," By Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce, is the most recent (for me) book that debunks myths about the differences between human and nonhuman animals. Also, Bekoff and Pierce present a descriptive view, not a normative view of morality. There are no judgments.

Morals 100

Morals Mammals Humane Emotional 100

Animal Ethics

JUNE 17, 2008

What the utilitarian who defends human carnivorousness must say, then, is something like this: that the amount of pleasure which humans derive per pound of animal flesh exceeds the amount of discomfort and pain per pound which are inflicted on the animals in the process, all things taken into account. Is this plausible?

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Morals Vegetarian Cooking Slaughter 40

Animal Ethics

MARCH 3, 2008

Its validity is limited by other moral imperatives. And I believe that in most cases man is morally justified in thus reducing the satisfactions of the food animals. The moral issue, when a man eats lamb chops, is not: Does he gain more value than the lambs have lost by dying so young? But few people do this.

Lamb 40

Lamb Fowl Morals Animal 40

Animal Person

JUNE 20, 2009

While plenty of people pay attention to the question of what it means to raise an animal humanely, far fewer stop to consider the notion—and the ostensible paradox—of humane slaughter." The animal is an "it," but I wouldn't expect anything more in this type of article. To treat animals fairly, he needs to treat his workers fairly."

Slaughter 100

Slaughter Slaughtered Cows Meat 100

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 14, 2009

I foresee a day, perhaps not far in the future, in which it is illegal to raise cows, pigs, and other animals for food. The ground for this will not be animal welfare, as you might expect, but environmentalism. The natural environment, unlike individual animals, is inanimate, unconscious, and insentient.

Meat 40

Meat Animal Welfare Vegetarian Protecting Animals 40