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From Today's New York Times

Animal Ethics

What would the cost of a hamburger at Burger King or McDonald’s be if the meat were to come from Ms. Can anyone in good conscience be complicit with the unnecessary suffering and slaughter of another sentient being? Niman’s ranch and others using comparable methods? How many people would be able to afford the price?

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Moral Vegetarianism, Part 11 of 13

Animal Ethics

The Argument from Human Grain Shortage All of the clearly moral arguments for vegetarianism given so far have been in terms of animal rights and suffering. New moral vegetarianism, however, rests on moral arguments couched in terms of human welfare. It is argued that beef cattle and hogs are protein factories in reserve.

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Prima Facie vs. Ultima Facie Wrongness

Animal Ethics

He clearly thinks that it is wrong to cause animals to suffer unnecessarily, but he appears to be somewhat ambivalent about killing animals (provided the killing is carried out humanely). Of course, when hamburgers aren't at stake, most of us think that it would be morally wrong to kill an animal for no good reason.