...Eating meat has become a ritual since mankind was created. Hunting to survive and to feed, or in other words our ‘survival instinct’ is one of the few traces that our ancestors have left the modern mankind today. Although mankind are not carnivores per say, we have evolved into thinking so. The majority of us have been brought up eating meat and presumably, have never questioned it. Taking these into account, how ethical is meat eating? One can argue that non-human animals also have the same rights and killing them for food and using them as a mean to human gratification, does not treat them respectfully. The fact that one has been raised to eat meat is cannot be an explanation of why mankind started eating meat and it cannot justify the claim that eating meat is ethical. Yet most of us have no idea that when we eat meat, we are in fact making a subconscious choice. When we were growing up, forming our identity and values, it is fair to say that generally our parents decide on whether we eat meat or not and opposed to making our own choice. We were never asked to reflect upon this daily practice that has such profound unethical dimensions and personal implications. Eating animals were just a given; it was just the way things were. However, this kind of argument allows us to eat human flesh all that required is that one is raised in a cannibalistic tradition, because then we can say that ‘this is the way that things are! But what if in a culture eating human was ethically...
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...Eating meat is unethical In this few pages I’m going to discuss the topical subject of vegetarianism, whether it is or it isn’t a life choice to consider and why. I invite you here to consider that we have conscience of our acts and therefore we know the consequences they have in ourselves and the world; also we can live healthy, full lives without eating meat and finally it is not coherent or logic to defend certain animals while killing others. In a society where the constant battle is for freedom and rights of living creatures, I believe these aforementioned issues are things we should each consider seriously since they say a lot about ourselves; they are in the very core of who we are and the actions we are willing to take to build a better, more compassionate society. I’m going to defend why eating meat is unethical, not something entirely natural nor something we should encourage. To begin with, let’s clarify the concept of ethics. There are way too many definitions of this term, but I’m going to work with the one that is taken from the word ethos (Greek) which means “character” or “custom” and defines some appropriated morals (norms) to follow in a society, but also as individuals; they define what is virtuous and good and what is not in some way (not to be confused with rules and laws, which involves more of a legal and inflexible context). There are several fields of application for ethics and I’m going to support what I say by bringing up the utilitarian and environmental...
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...Has there ever been a time in your life were you question if your truly right minded by eating and/or enjoying meat? Knowing that you have contributed to the slaughter of an innocent animal all because of your self-centered desires? Then your most likely a righteous person.I know i've certainly asked the question before,but what is truly the best answer? In my opinion the best choice is that eating meat is totally ethical. First of all,eating meat is very common in nature,it's seen just about everywhere.Creatures that eat meat,carnivores,have the raw instinct to eat other animals.These creatures include coyotes,ferrets,weasels,lions,bobcats,hyenas and many other species.Some of which eat the exact same things we eat,for example,wolves and grizzly bears eat cows and chickens are eaten by bobcats,raccoons and foxes.Although animals do eat other animals it doesn't humans should do the same.People have demonstrated that you can live a life without eating meat but it isn't as easy and effective as just killing another animal to survive.Also,some people physically can't find any other sources of protein in places that are destitute or poverty ridden so sometimes the only option is feeding off animals....
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...Hidden Wonders of Meat in Corporate America I believe that people should eat meat over being vegetarian since it can greatly benefit the economy and makes billions of dollars every year supporting a huge amount of jobs. Meat greatly aids one’s personal health as well, you can only get the amino acids to synthesize the protein from meat. As a matter of fact, in America its easier to find a meal with meat than without. For thousands of years we have had no problem in finding ways to make a meal, with meat or without. Until now. In 1847 the idea of vegetarianism came upon us, but until 1971 it didn’t take much authority in America. This new healthier lifestyle introduced to the growing corporate America made us question how we ate, and if it would affect our personal health, and future wellbeing....
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...At first, many people were hesitant to wrap their heads around the fact that the food that was being transported to them from far away could be producing something harmful to the environment. Flash forward a couple of years and environmental impact is now one of the biggest arguments in the debate regarding the ethics of eating meat. Such discoveries are backed up by writers like Brian Henning, who writes about how meat production has negatively impacted the environment locally. In his journal, "Standing in Livestock's Long Shadow: The Ethics of Eating Meat on a Small Planet," Henning mentions how the production of meat has led to a concerning amount of water waste. The alarming rate in which this is occurring has led the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to believe that by the year 2050, the individuals living in water-stressed populations will rise from 1.5 billion to 3-5 billion (NAO). Unfortunately, meat production is not the only food that pollutes the Earth. Horticulture, the practice of garden cultivation, is not far behind meat regarding pollution. During the 1990's, there was a demand for healthier and more organic foods as consumers became more conscious on what they ate (Fig. 1). Randy Stringer's journal shows how the over-cultivation of Australian land began to contaminate the land with excessive water, fertilizer, and chemical use. Soon enough, environmental problems became linked with the over-farming...
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...Brittney DeBaugh Scales Ethics May 13, 2013 Is Eating Meat Morally Permissible? It has been argued that meat has high sources of energy, minerals, and proteins in the human diet. It is rich in proteins which have shown to have a high energy unit as compared to other food types. Proponents of meat consumption support its consumption as it has a greater nutritional value and is good to the test buds. Apart from the nutritional reasons, it is also thought meat consumption maintains the ecosystem at equilibrium. If meat consumption was to stop, it is thought that animals like cattle, sheep, goats and poultry will multiply to levels that are ecological disastrous. As most of these animals are herbivorous, their uncontrolled increase would exert extreme pressure on vegetation. This may cause wanton destruction to vegetation that may destabilize the ecosystem. In as much as these arguments appear logical and plausible, they still do not give any moral permissibility of eating meat. Just like any reason in support of unacceptable practice, proponents of eating meat do not give any solid ethical justification why humans should continue killing animals to please their test buds. There is no moral justification whatsoever to rationalize the eating of meat. Meat is said to contain some very essential nutrients that may not be found in plants and vegetable. This is however no moral justification of killing animals to obtain meat yet there are more reliable sources of proteins and...
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...unable to move so that they become overweight and we can enjoy their meat more. Pigs lay in the darkness side by side , getting sick and spreading diseases to each other. Waiting for their deaths! Animals are just like us they feel pain , when you kick a dog u can see it whimpering or even crying. Animals have emotions and set goals in life.So why take them away from their natural habitat and slaughter them. Our group strongly believes that eating meat is murder. For these main reasons one animals have rights two we cause animals unnecessary pain and three there is other viable alternatives. I will be speaking about the first two. My first point is that animals have rights just like people. Its against the law to murder or torture humans so why do we do it to animals if they are so much like us.They are living and breathing .They suffer, feel pain ,experience loss, have families, can be depressed or happy . Lobsters let out screams when there bodies are boiled to death. Elephants get sad and cry when they come across another dead elephants body.How would you feel if some one came and murdered your pet and then ate it so why do it to other animals.For these reasons and many more I think animals have rights. On to my second point which is animals are objected to unnecessary pain. Cubs are beaten to death because when they are beaten they get scared and there is more bloody pumping through their body so the meat we eat is more juicer and animals are kept in small crates which...
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...When you eat a hamburger, you aren’t just causing a cow to suffer; you are also supporting an industry that is rapidly destroying our water, air, soil, and forests. It takes an estimated 4.8 pounds of grain, 390 gallons of water, and .25 gallons of gasoline to produce a pound of beef. Livestock production requires 10 to 1000 times more land, energy, and water than is necessary to produce an equivalent amount of plant food. The Earth could support a vegetarian population many times its present size. But the current world population could not be sustained on meat-based diets. Non Government Organizations (NGOs) such as Green Your Plate social media campaign, raises awareness surrounding livestock contributions to climate change. Ironically the way that factory farming is done today poses tremendous risks to climate change. This stems from a reliance on corn for feed, pooling manure into stagnant lagoons that release methane, use of petroleum-fueled machinery, and pollution to air and water which have unknown consequences for global warming. Two issues exacerbate the global warming issue. These are the corn and manure problems. The Corn Problem The US corn industry is the most heavily subsidized farm crop of all, and so we have a huge excess of corn. A good chunk of that corn does not taste good, has low nutrient value, and is meant to be used as livestock feed. However, cows have special stomachs meant to eat grass, not corn. This is explained in detail in this New York...
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...What would you do if you saw someone harming an animal? Most of you here probably would have no clue what to do. I am here to talk to you about animal welfare and vegetarianism. First I will talk about what it means to be a vegetarian and the benefit it has on animals. Following this I will explain the impact of animals being used for human consumption. Finally I will explain the impact that eating meat has on your body. Becoming vegetarian majorly reduces animal suffering. Eating meat supports cruelty to animals. In factory farms these days animals are kept in cruel, crammed and brutal conditions. Killing animals promotes violence and not global peace. Mahatma Gandhi and Thich Nhat Hanh have argued that a vegetarian diet is only for people who want to make the world a peaceful place. I've heard people say that animals are killed humanely. Killing a living creature humanely, how does that work?...
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...One of the most religions plays influential roles in the selection of foods choices and consumed in certain societies. For example, in the Hindu and Buddhist religions the consumption of both pork and beef is frowned upon. This is because it is considered to not be clean meat. Also, Hindu people are prohibiting the eating of these meats. As a result of this the large majority of 90% Hindus and Buddhists people are refuse to eat any meat and chicken at all and they are totally vegetarian. Islamic and Judaism religion people are not eating pork and beef. However, all other meats consumed in these religions must be halal and kosher respectively. This means that special prayers are performed in order to make the eating of these animals acceptable....
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...living exclusively on vegetables, fruits, grains, cereals and not including meat is known as vegetarianism (Beardworth, 2005). Vegetarianism has been practiced for various reasons. They may be ethical, austere or health reasons. Vegetarians do not include any kind of meat in their diet. Studies have shown that well organized vegetarian diets are good for the human health. Most of the vegetable diets fulfill daily requirements that are needed for the human body to stay healthy. A person living on vegetable diet has low risks of fatal diseases such as cancer. The life of an individual practicing vegetarianism also increases and also helps in obesity. With the alertness of role meat in contribution to obesity, heart diseases and cancer, many people have embraced vegetarianism as a precautionary medication. Although, meat is easily available in various forms in the western society but people are moving towards a vegetarian diet. They prefer to have vegetables rather than meat. Many vegetarians are individuals who have the knowledge and understanding to play a role to make a society as peace as possible along with the elimination of aggression and hostility that lives in the human heart. It is not in the nature of human beings to be meat eaters. Instead, the human body is structured to eat vegetables. Vegetarianism is the healthiest way of eating. The use of chemicals, preservatives and additives in meat is harmful for the human body. Another reason to op for vegetarianism is because...
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...Arguments for Vegetarianism.” His arguments focus on different audiences, but they all come down to caring for oneself, caring for others, or sometimes both. He does specify, however, that these arguments do not apply to fish or “other organisms whose sentience is doubtful” (Pg. 201), nor do they apply to communities that need to hunt to survive. The first argument that Stephens mentions is the argument from distributive justice. This argument states that when one consumes meat from factory farms, one indirectly harms other people, specifically hungry and starving people. For instance, it takes anywhere from 16 to 21 pounds of edible vegetation to produce one pound of beef. When one takes into account the amount of grains and vegetation required to raise beef, pork, and poultry, which could otherwise be used to feed those who are starving it seems pretty obvious how indirectly harmful raising livestock can be for other people, Stephens puts the point as follows: “if Americans were to reduce their meat consumption by only 10 percent for one year, it would free at least 12 million tons of grain for human consumption – or enough to feed 60 million starving people” (Pg. 204). The second argument he makes is the argument from environmental harm. This argument is directed at people who care about the environment, whether for themselves, others, or for the environment itself. It brings up the fact that sheer number of cows, sheep, and goats are very harmful to the environment, either...
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...anyone’s overall life. Health should be a considerable priority in every individual’s life and vegetarians are proven to be healthier than carnivorous humans in various ways. First, medical studies show that a human being’s body was not made to be carnivorous (for example; humans have no fang s or claws) and because are digestive system was not made to digest meat, a vegetarian diet is much easier and healthier for our bodies. Secondly, as known around the world, the most common cause of death is heart attack and the average man is at a 50% risk while a vegetarian man is at a 4% risk. Another fact most don’t think about is that every one out of three chickens is infected with salmonella bacteria. Speaking of bacteria and disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture implies that it protects meat-eaters through regular and thorough meat inspection while in reality, fewer than one out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues. As a matter of fact, breast milk of a meat-eating mother versus a non meat-eating mother is 35 times higher for contamination of milk due to pesticides found in meat. Vegetarianism also prevents cancer by 50%, and prevents heart disease, lowering blood pressure, gallstones, kidney stones, osteoporosis and can even...
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...Eating Wild Game Hunting meat for the dinner table builds confidence in your abilities and it gives you an overwhelming sense of accomplishment akin to having a bountiful harvest from your backyard garden. Butchering and processing your own game is a skill well worth having especially once the SHTF. Some hunters take their game to a butcher shop, but can you be assured of the quality and expertise of the butcher, who may or may not be accustomed to processing wild game, and some hunters have been shorted on the weight, so you do have to choose carefully where you take your game. Wild game is free range, organic and leaner than domestically raised stock. Moreover, wild game has what most people call a gamy flavor, which is what avid hunters seek. The flavor of the meat comes from the varied diet of the animal, and because they are typically older at the time of death. Wild game is not pampered. It works hard to feed itself every day, unlike farm-raised animals, so the meat is leaner, and thus, healthier....
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...consumed meat at least once in our life whether on purpose or on accident. The passage, “Against Meat” by Jonathan Safran Foer, is about how eating meat should give the ability to refrain from eating meat in public and only eat it behind closed doors. The author struggles with the choice of being a meat eater or being a vegetarian. Foer goes back and forth as a vegetarian and a person who eats animals He has had listen to his grandmother’s food which he had loved and decided to become a meat eater. His Grandmother also said that “The fatter a child is, the fitter it is - if it’s a boy. He also claims to be very ignorant about the world and is not actually aware of what he is eating. It was not until the author became a philosopher...
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