Thursday, October 4, 2012
Speciesism and Utilitarianism
According to Utilitarianism, we have to maximize happiness when deciding how to behave. The converse way of stating this principle is to say that we ought to reduce suffering as much as possible since this tends to increase happiness. Obviously it goes without question that humans are not the only beings that feel pain or suffer. We know from the whimpering, wincing and general pain-behavior that dogs, cats, etc. can also experience pain (even though they do not say, "ouch, that hurts.") Given this fact, are we morally obligated to reduce as much as possible the pain that animals endure? And if so, what does this reduction of suffering entail? Is it just the obvious that we cannot torment animals just because we can (e.g. beating a dog up because one may enjoy such brutality) or does a moral duty to reduce animal suffering mean much more than that?
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This is a hard question, of course, I would prevent any pain and suffering from my own animals, but I do hunt, and that is killing animals, any way you look at it. We have all killed flies, so even though my own "pets" are important to me and I feel morally obligated to treat them well, I can't say that with all animals. Animals that are used for science are not always treated humanely, but the tests run on these animals helps mankind. I feel animals feel pain, as we do. This is like the child in the pond story, we would help the child, but not necessary help end famine in other country's. So, this is another example of feeling morally obligated to our own animals, but not all animals, like we feel morally obligated to suffering we see or are connected to, but not to suffering we don't see or are not connected to.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that this situation goes hand in hand with the situation of the drowning girl and the children starving in other countries. I feel like I would prevent my pets from enduring pain before I would stop eating meat you in your case going hunting. We feel morally obligated to prevent suffering of an animal we are visible to than an animal we do not see go through pain, like the meat we eat.
Deletewhy is it that people think that their dog and cat should be treated with respect and dignity and a cow, chicken, and pig can just be treated as nothing... . Pigs very intelligent animals, yet people think that they can just be murdered for their pork or bacon....
DeleteI think you make a very interesting point bringing up the general social acceptability of deer, elk, moose and other game hunting being seen as moral, especially in Montana. I also am very guilty of feeling that my pets should be treated with the utmost care but that it is more then ok to shoot game when the meat is going to be used. I guess that is what has always made separated the two categories for me, I personally morally find it acceptable to kill wild game if their meat is going to be used for our own consumption, it also helps with population control.
DeleteI agree with you on the hunting. I think we have to hunt to get food but I think we should prevent all animals from suffering as much as possible. There are ways to kill animals without them suffering. Most hunters know what to do in those cases. I don't believe animals should suffer through testing. I know it has helped us humans out in many ways but I'm still very against it.
DeleteI believe that it is our morally obligation to reduce pain endured by animals as much as possible. Although I believe it is a moral obligation to reduce pain of animals, I do eat meat. The meat I am eating is from animals that have endured pain. I feel like this goes along strongly with the statement that we are fast to help someone we know or stop something bad from happening if we are visual to it, but we are not fast to help the children starving in other countries. In this particular case I believe it is a moral obligation to reduce pain endured by my own pets and my neighbors pets, but the animals getting killed for meat or the insects I kill in my house I do not feel moral obligation to prevent them from pain. I believe that animals should be treated with respect and not have to endure any pain, but it is the fact that animals are used by humans for so many different things and depending on the type of animal I think depends on the pain it endures from humans.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you i also see it as a chain, we put some animals through pain because we need to eat and i think its a chain while killings the bugs as well. I think we are morally obligated to not hurt the dogs, cats so on. I just think we are grown up in that matter! Your right tho!
DeleteRecently I have been very intrigued about finding where the meat that I consume comes from. What I have found is that nearly all of the beef I have been consuming comes from large feed lots where cows are treated horribly and fed corn diets. I'm really starting to see the importance of human treatment of our agricultural animals, even if it does mean paying a few extra dollars.
DeleteI believe we are morally obligated to reduce pain endured by animals. I am against animal abuse 100%. I do eat meat, so I cannot say I am against killing animals for meat. However, I don't think just because an animal is used for meat, it requires it being beaten or abused in any way.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, Rachels talks about scientists doing experiments on animals and using them as test subjects. One example Rachels listed was using chimps, monkeys, cats, dogs and rodents as a test subject for alcoholism. This is disgusting to me. To purposely get an innocent animal addicted to alcohol and then induce convulsions? I don't understand or agree with this in any way, shape or form for a couple of reasons. One, a human being that chooses to drink alcohol understands what he or she is getting themself into. The side effects of alcohol are well known. Two, a human being should expect such effects when drinking copious amounts of alcohol. An innocent animal who did not CHOOSE to drink alcohol, does not deserve any effects. It is innocent. That is a very distasteful experiment.
Just because an animal does not "speak" does not mean it does not have a heart, feel pain, and have a soul. I am against animal abuse whether it's just purposely abusing your pet dog because you want to, or abusing an animal for a test subject. Humans and animals are one on the same level in my eyes.
I agree that if people want to eat animals they should not have to endure any type of abuse during slaughter. However, factory farming only cares about profit. Therefore, they will put as many animals in a pen as possible and fatten them as quickly as possible with as few comforts as possible just to get the most return on investment. I wish people that eat meat only got meat from local farmers using humane killing methods because factory farming has actually put many farmers out of business while abusing animals. Besides this, meat from factory farms is full of nasty things like antibiotics because these animals are kept in such horrible conditions that they don't live without injections of various medicines.
DeleteYes Desiree, You are CORRECT!!!! Factory farms only care about profits... they dont care how they maximize their profits, even when its hurting the animals and the peoples health from eating these nasty toxins....soooo sad... if a person must be a meat eater--- the best place to buy the meat is from local farmers-- yes it may be more expensive, however,its not detrimental to the animals or the humans eating it.
DeleteBrittany I agree that the treatment of many test animals is beyond repulsive. I think that major feed lots are another great example of the abuse that farm animals are put through. Serena makes a great point about these factory farms being profit driven and not taking care of their animals health, wellness or pain levels, these animals have become a tool that is to be used in the most cost effective way.
DeleteI couldn’t agree with you anymore. I also eat meat, but I still don’t think that animals should be abused to feed humans. A couple semesters ago, I did a report and presentation on factory farms. The research was disturbing, and even lead me to make the decision not to eat meat for about 8 months. As I talked to people, and did more research I found alternative’s to factory farms. Now I eat meat that is local, organic, free range, cage free, and I never eat meat at restaurants in less it’s a high-end restaurant. Obviously this is more expensive, but it’s worth knowing that animals aren’t being tortured. It’s easy to look away when its not a pet, but all animals feel pain, and suffering. If more people spoke up, and bought local, organic meat, and foods, these factory farms would start to feel the effects.
DeleteAlso, animal testing is any composite is sick, and I disagree with it. To force an animal to drink, and endure the effects is horrible. Humans choose to drink, and mess their own bodies up.
I think that no matter what kind of animal it is, we as humans have a moral obligation to protect, and stand up for them.
I do not abuse animals and I do not like people who abusing animals, but this is limited usually with domestic animals. The only way that animals in which we receive our meat from are not going to suffer is if they are our "pets" and we kill them, because like stated above the cows that are sold at show are then taken to a plant where they are penned up with no room to move and fed and over fed so that the slaughter house can get more money for the weight of the animal they are selling to the animal processing plant.
DeleteFor the second part of this discussion where the concern for using animals for testing, isn't it a tricky subject, because it is not only alcohol they are using they are also using animals to help treating some cancers and long term diseases like M.S.(multiple scarosis) And yes there are some trial runs that do take human participants but those unfortuntly don't get to be done until after proven safe and that process includes the use of animals usually the white lab rats because they have the same DNA structual set up.
This is not saying that I like that fact that animals are used like this but they have helped us as a human race come along way and who know what we would be like today or what diseases we would have if someone wouldn't have tested out the shots/ medication first that we give our children, ourselves or our elders.
I am not for animal abuse but as I stated it is a tricky area with some grey in between.
My mother grew up on a farm with cows, horses, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, etc., and she taught me to always treat animals kindly. She has never tolerated any sort of animal cruelty and growing up with that moral has shaped the way I treat animals as well. I didn't grow up on a farm but I did grow up with cats, dogs, and fish. Anyone who has owned a pet knows just how smart animals are. Every animal is unique too. Each pet I've had has a different personality with different likes and dislikes and obvious intelligence. I absolutely cannot tolerate people who think animals are stupid and it doesn't matter how we treat them. I've found it says a lot about a person's morals by seeing how they treat animals.
ReplyDeleteI've been a vegetarian for almost two years now, which I know is sort of something to be made fun of in Montana sometimes so I don't tell people unless it comes up but I feel like it applies in this post. I grew up eating meat and honestly could not understand why someone would not eat animals because I liked the taste and didn't know much about factory farming. After one of my assignments I had to do my first semester of college, I realized how horrifying factory farming is. After learning how animals are really treated, I didn't feel right morally to keep eating meat. I couldn't justify to myself the small satisfaction I got from eating meat compared to the amount of suffering these animals go through. Aside from this, after I learned of the effects on health from eating meat, the effects on the environment from factory farming, and the effects on local farmers from factory farming, being vegetarian seemed like the right choice for me personally.
As for hunting, I've never liked it even when I did eat meat. I actually feel creeped out by taxidermy because it seems bizarre to me that people want dead heads as decoration. I really hate when people just hunt for sport. At least if someone wants to hunt, I hope they actually eat the animal. But, on the other hand, I don't get angry with people that hunt because I get it. Many members of my family do, and I understand it is a part of culture in places such as Montana and a source of bonding between family members.
Scientific testing on animals I think is wrong on all accounts. Testing on animals does not make much sense. First of all, animals being tested are different from humans physically. For example, morphine is a depressant in humans but a stimulant in cats, horses, and goats. No matter how many tests are done on animals, there will always have to be a first human test so what's the difference? Especially when the humans will probably have a completely different outcome anyway? The FDA has actually said that 92% of drugs safe in animals don't work for humans or are harmful to them.
Great post Desiree. I agree with you on testing animals, I believe that the ends don't justify the means. I too, don't understand the attraction of trophy's of dead animal heads on a wall. I think animals are a food source, but should be respected and treated humanely. To torture an animal for any reason is just wrong, morally, ethically, any which way you look at it.
DeleteI was grown up knowing we eat cows, we eat deer, we eat fish to grow healthy and that is just how most do it. I know there are vegetarians and i can totally see where they are coming from. Everybody can see this topic in many forms. Everyday we are connected to animals in some form. I think we have given little thought to what the animals actually endure and what we put them for today whether its for food, for clothes, for recreation, or experimenting. I see it as pets are our property and we should treat them equally. I don't think dogs should undergo being beat. It's sad! We can reduce the animal cruelty, i just do not see it as a major issue and maybe it should be brought up more and make it a bigger issue to let people understand. We should treat animals with respect
ReplyDeleteI agree I think that many people don't take the time to actually think about what we humans put innocent animals through. We should really become more caring to all animals, but I agree most people eat animals and have no problem with it. This is because while eating the animals we are not considering the pain they endured to become our food.
DeleteI agree with both of you on this issue. It is important to remember that animals are being treated inhumanely when killed for meat. Yes, they are grown as livestock for that purpose, but it does not give anyone justice to treat them with cruelty during this process.
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ReplyDeleteMorally, I think we all have an obligation to treat all animals humanely. I myself am an avid hunter and I kill deer, elk, geese, ducks, etc. all the time. When I shoot these animals I know that they do suffer, because well, I shot them. But I do my best, as every hunter should, (taught to us by a book called “Beyond Fair Chase. The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting” by Jim Posewitz in hunters education) to reduce the amount of suffering the animal endures as much as possible. I don’t hunt to torment animals or because I enjoy brutalizing animals, but for the sport, the hunt, and of course the meat. The animals I kill do experience pain but it is my obligation to make sure that they die as quickly and with as minimal pain as possible. Most hunters would agree with this. I know that many people have negative views towards hunting or hunters in general but in our defense I would like to say this. Hunters are nothing more than Wildlife Population Control Specialists. Without hunters, many wildlife populations would grow out of control and the end result would be depleted food resources, over population, disease, and eventually the loss of many species on our planet. The purpose of hunters is to maintain healthy population sizes in different regions and there are strict laws that regulate how many animals can be taken from those regions. Granted, there are people out there that poach and kill animals inhumanely that give us a bad rep, but these people only constitute for a small amount of hunters and are viewed negatively by the rest of us. So, before making any harsh judgments against hunters, please consider this.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think that it is our obligation to reduce the amount of suffering all animals endure if it is within our power. This goes across the board from livestock and slaughterhouse conditions, to household pet, and to animals subject to animal testing. Animal cruelty is a crime and no one has the right to treat animals in such a way. A compelling argument was raised by a friend of mine the other day regarding animal testing. We both think that it is wrong to make animals suffer by testing unfinished products on them, but he said would you rather have a product tested on an animal to ensure our safety or have untested products with possible dangerous side effects tested on the public? Is the suffering of a couple of animals worth it to ensure the safety of us human beings? I couldn’t take a side on the argument because I have mixed feelings about it but nonetheless it does have a valid point.
I agree! Although hunting to some people is cruel to animals there is a way to reduce the pain that that animal suffers after being hunted. It is our moral obligation to reduce the amount of pain all animals endure and I think in many aspects of hunting and experimently with animals we as humans can do this.
DeleteI agree with you as well. I do believe we shouldn't let animals suffer if we can help it. Keep in mind that when you hunt, the animals you shot don't suffer as much as the animals who live in slaughter houses. Hunting is a part of life and all animals hunt for food.
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ReplyDeleteIn any instance I believe that animal cruelty is wrong. It is an obligation to us as humans to minimize the pain animals endure. If it be domestic or wild animals, I believe that we should do whatever is in our power to help animals. Many customs are okay with shooting animals and using them for their meat. I personally cannot say I am against such actions because I do eat meat. But the process of raising animals to later slaughter, I believe that the conditions in which they are raised should be human. Tormenting animals is not right no matter what they are used for. Having a dog of my own I can say that I see animal abuse to be particularly immoral. A pet relies on its’ owner to feed and tend for them, not abuse and neglect. Any form of animal cruelty should be acted upon in a forceful manner. For example, if I were to come across a number of dogs chained up in a yard with visual signs of malnutrition or injury, I would without hesitation report the instance to an animal rescue service. The owners of dogs in such a situation should not have the dogs if they are not able to provide adequate shelter and food for them. They should be taken from the owners and the owners be charged for such a crime. Of course not all animals are going to be able to escape inhuman situations but I believe if at all possible, humans should try to help animals that are treated inhumanly.
I think helping ensure humane treatment for agricultural animals is a very important thing. The treatment some of these animals receive is beyond appauling. Federal regulation of animals conditions is something that I would very much like to see put in place.
DeleteI believe that any animal cruelty that is intended to torture and animal or put that animal into pain is wrong. As Morgan said above, if the animals are raised (such as cows or pigs) to later slaughter, then they should be treated humanely up until that point where it should then be a quick painless death, not slow or tourturous. Animals have feeling and can feel pain which is why the will yelp or whimper if they get hit, kicked, etc; or if they get in trouble you can tell the mood difference which signifies that they do indeed have feelings. Any people who practice animal abuse should be punished just as people who practice human abuse. Why is it any different really? If someone is meaning to torture a human or an animal for no reason or even a bad reason it should never be okay. People should try to help these animals as much as possible. My family had a dog that we rescued from the pound growing up because it was abused. It took a lot of work to even make him love us because he was abused so badly. It should be our moral duty if possible to stop this action from happening in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteyes I agree with you.... People should try to help these animals as much is possible... And it seems its easier for people to see this with the family pet such the dog or a cat.... However when they think of their bacon or milk or their steak- they think that those animals should be murdered. A person that is trying to spread the word of stopping the pain and suffering of all these animals is Gary Yourofsky--- here is a link you could check out intro video of his presentation-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ltzqj_fBTk
DeleteHe has traveled to hundreds and hundreds of college campuses around the country trying to educate people of the brutal harm that agriculture industry is placing on God's soul filled creatures..
(ps: some of the content can be very graphic--- but it's better to be informed than ignorant.)
I agree with you the animals raised to be eaten should be raised with out suffering and humanely. I think that depending on the type of animals it has a certain purpose to humans, but all animals should be treated well with little to no suffering.
DeleteRaising a few cows, horses and pigs, and where my husband used to haul livestock all over the US, I have been around livestock raised to slaughter all my life. Our animals are always treated humane, in my opinion. Recently we just has a horse "go down", meaning he was down and couldn't get up. He was 29 years old, which is old for a horse, not in good health, like someone in his 90's would be. We had to buy special "equine senior" feed, because hay just did not give him the nutrients he needed. We mixed molasses with oats every morning and night and feed it to him. When he went down and couldn't get up, we knew this was his last day with us. We had him for 27 years, all our kids and grandchildren learned to ride on him, he was one of our family. But as he lay there, we knew his body weight would begin crushing his organs, you see, horses are not made to lay for any length of time, that is why they sleep standing up. Should we have let him lay there as he slowly crushed his organs, which proved to be a very painful death? Or end his misery, and shoot him, as the closest vet was over an hour drive and couldn't get to us for two days. We did the humane thing and ended his life with a bullet. You see, to some, this would be totally inhumane, but to us, this was our only choice to show him our love and prevent his suffering, so what it humane?
DeleteI grew up knowing it was okay to hunt for meet. For many years that is the only way that we had me meet in our freezer. I do not think it is okay to go out and hunt for sport, or for the trophy kill, and let meet go to waste. I do believe however that if you are hunting it purely for the fact of filling your freezers that it is okay. I understand how many people can see that is animal cruelty, but I think it is crueler to go and buy me off in the store shelves. When you buy me off of the store shelf you are buying animals I have been sent through the slaughterhouse. When you purchase a feel off of the shelf you are buying an animal that has been confined to a cage that they cannot even turn to get the flies off of their backsides. I could never become a vegetarian, because I believe that meet is a vital part of our diet.
ReplyDeleteI can also say that when it comes to owning a pet such as a dog or cat there is no reason that pet should be Treated in an immoral way. I believe it is terrible what people do to dog species by training them to hurt each other or even worse to her humans. I believe somebody that is training a dog to do something like that needs to be able to fight that dog. No one comes to a pet being sick I think that is a different story you have to choose whether they continue to suffer or if they should be put down. I just went through this with my daughter and our dog goofy. When we got to the vet they told me that I could spend tens of thousands of dollars and we still may not know what is wrong with him; or I could put him down. To try and explain that to a six-year-old without her thinking that you are the worst person in the world is impossible. My daughter told me how Goofy was not mine and that it belonged to her daddy and I was not able to make that choice, I had to then explained to her that it is not fair for us to keep him alive when he is just suffering. In the end she finally understood what the right thing was to deal, and our family just has to heal from that pain. In the end there is a very fine line between right and wrong when it comes to animals it all depends on how you see it.
I do believe animals such as deer and elk, bear, Buffalo, were made for us to eat that is how our forefathers lived. When it comes to household animals you need to treat them like they are living human.
I can see where you're coming from.... But my question would be why we are considered herbivores?
DeleteUpon further research, there are many reasons why we're considered herbivores. there are five main reasons- the way our teeth are shaped, our colon, our stomachs pH levels, GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, and the enzyme in our saliva.
Here is a full explanation of these:
HUMAN HERBIVORES?
GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
The human gastrointestinal tract features the anatomical modifications consistent with an herbivorous diet. Humans have muscular lips and a small opening into the oral cavity. Many of the so-called “muscles of expression” are actually the muscles used in chewing. The muscular and agile tongue essential for eating, has adapted to use in speech and other things. The mandibular joint is flattened by a cartilaginous plate and is located well above the plane of the teeth. The temporalis muscle is reduced. The characteristic “square jaw” of adult males reflects the expanded angular process of the mandible and the enlarged masseter/pterygoid muscle group. The human mandible can move forward to engage the incisors, and side-to-side to crush and grind.
TEETH
Human teeth are also similar to those found in other herbivores with the exception of the canines (the canines of some of the apes are elongated and are thought to be used for display and/or defense). Our teeth are rather large and usually abut against one another. The incisors are flat and spade-like, useful for peeling, snipping and biting relatively soft materials. The canines are neither serrated nor conical, but are flattened, blunt and small and function Like incisors. The premolars and molars are squarish, flattened and nodular, and used for crushing, grinding and pulping noncoarse foods.
SALIVA
Human saliva contains the carbohydrate-digesting enzyme, salivary amylase. This enzyme is responsible for the majority of starch digestion. The esophagus is narrow and suited to small, soft balls of thoroughly chewed food. Eating quickly, attempting to swallow a large amount of food or swallowing fibrous and/or poorly chewed food (meat is the most frequent culprit) often results in choking in humans.
STOMACH
Man’s stomach is single-chambered, but only moderately acidic. (Clinically, a person presenting with a gastric pH less than 4-5 when there is food in the stomach is cause for concern.) The stomach volume represents about 21-27% of the total volume of the human GI tract. The stomach serves as a mixing and storage chamber, mixing and liquefying ingested foodstuffs and regulating their entry into the small intestine. The human small intestine is long, averaging from 10 to 11 times the body length. (Our small intestine averages 22 to 30 feet in length. Human body size is measured from the top of the head to end of the spine and averages between two to three feet in length in normal-sized individuals.).
COLON
The human colon demonstrates the pouched structure peculiar to herbivores. The distensible large intestine is larger in cross-section than the small intestine, and is relatively long. Man’s colon is responsible for water and electrolyte absorption and vitamin production and absorption. There is also extensive bacterial fermentation of fibrous plant materials, with the production and absorption of significant amounts of food energy (volatile short-chain fatty acids) depending upon the fiber content of the diet. The extent to which the fermentation and absorption of metabolites takes place in the human colon has only recently begun to be investigated.
full article can be read here: http://veganzeitgeist.org/2012/02/10/our-beliefs-meat-and-dairy-mad-consumers-the-facts-plant-based-diet/
Why would we want to consume something that actually hurts us --- that wasn't even meant for us-- just because our culture says so!!??
ps: I believe everyone has the right to do as they please--- in no way am I saying that anyone needs to change their actions--- these are just facts and information....
I for one am someone who disagrees with animal cruelty 100%. I have always grown up with dogs and cats as pets; I even had rats when I was young! I just adore animals and feel they should be treated just like any human being. It absolutely breaks my heart when I hear of animals being tormented or abused. Animal cruelty is so wrong and I have no respect for anyone who treats animals poorly. I don’t even like hunting, but I can understand t. I have many family members who hunt but I will never do it myself and I will never eat the meat. I’m not against it when it’s done for food, but I still don’t care for it.
ReplyDeleteI think we’ve all heard the saying that many serial killers start out with animals and then move on to humans. Tormenting any kind of creature is just unhealthy and can lead to bigger and worse things. Anyone who has the ability to beat animals has something wrong with their mental state. To me it’s just not normal and it’s completely wrong!
After reading about the way animals are treated for factory farming, I can completely understand why people are vegetarians. It’s just so sad to think of all those animals whose lives are pretty much over from the day they’re born, especially the poor calves that are killed at such a young age for their meat. I never have and never will eat veal. I guess living in Montana I've always seen the cows roam all over the land that I never thought about how they’re really treated when it comes to factory farming. It’s really sad to think about and I have a lot of respect for vegetarians.
Good point Kallie;I never thought about how deviant behavior can start out with mistreating animals! I have to admit, I don't "get" the whole rat thing lol, but I also think that our compassion and care of animals has to extend to all animals, and not just those we think are cute.
DeleteI agree with you both as well. There shouldn't be a defining between which animals we should treat with respect and which ones we shouldn't.
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ReplyDeleteWhy do humans think that they are far superior than animals? Somehow humans have come to think that we can dominate over animals and cause pain and hurt upon them Some try to pull out the Bible and say that God told us that we have domain over the animals. (Genesis 1:26~Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ) But is that really what the Bible is implying? Lets continue the review this passage and the verse continues:
Genesis 1:27-30:
27 And God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 Further, God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.”
29 And God went on to say: “Here I have given to YOU all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earth and every tree on which there is the fruit of a tree bearing seed. To YOU let it serve as food. 30 And to every wild beast of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving upon the earth in which there is life as a soul I have given all green vegetation for food.” And it came to be so.
Bible verses can be taken out of context if not looked at as a whole picture. As you can see some people look first at verse 26 to prove that we have ruling and domination over animals and as you look at verse 30 it clearly states that “I have given green vegetation for food.” How do Religious believers not see this clearly stated in front of them?
I wonder if people understand that the milk they are drinking was actually intended for a baby calf. The dairy producers have to keep shoving bull semen inside of the female cow- continually making her pregnant to keep producing more milk for humans. We have been trained to believe that there is more calcium in dairy milk than there are in seeds. Is this really true? Let's look at the facts:
Milk has 118 milligrams of calcium per 100 gram, sesame seeds have 1,160 milligrams of calcium per 100 gram. Sesame seeds contain almost 10 times more calcium than milk and sesame seeds do not cause our bodies to become acidic, leading to illness, which obviously negates any nutrient benefits.
After the female cow carries her baby, she delivers, and only gets a very short period of time to be with her baby until the human comes along and steals her baby from her. The cry of the baby calf permeates every part of my body as I can feel the pain of this little innocent animal. You may be thinking why did they take the baby from its mother? It's so that there's more milk produced for humans. God gave women breast milk for babies. God gave female cows milk for their babies. Why are we stealing their babies and taking their milk? Nowadays humans are so addicted to these animal products and almost seems impossible to ever break away from this.
In recent years, the agriculture industry has actually tried to prohibit people from videotaping their process of slaughtering animals. Why would they want to stop people from videotaping them? Probably because their processes are inhumane, brutal, and cruel. Little chickens are put into tiny little cages were they can NOT even move... No room to roam around to be a normal, natural living creatures. Cows are injected with hormones to make them grow even faster.
I really hope that sometime in my lifetime I will see a change in the way that humans treat animals. If we were to make a big change, people would need to learn how to eat more vegetables, seeds, grains, and beans. :)
I do agree with you on some of your points of health issues, but if you kept reading in Genesis, you'd come across:
DeleteGenesis 9:3
New International Version (NIV)
3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
and do not forget to skip over to the New Testament and read:
Romans 14
New International Version (NIV)
The Weak and the Strong
14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.
I ran across this article while doing a little research on the biblical view of this. My disclaimer: I did not read all of it and do not necessarily agree with all of it, but thought it might interest some.
Deletehttp://www.gospelway.com/religiousgroups/animal_liberation.php
Thank you for all the information. I want to be clear that I am not trying to persuade or that I am fully educated on this topic. I do eat meat occasionally and it is very difficult to let go of all dairy products.... I will look into this more thank you again...
DeleteThank you for all the information.. I want to be clear that I'm not trying to persuade anyone or that I'm fully educated on this topic....thanks again for the all information, I will look at.
DeleteI am in the same boat with you regarding the meat and I'm allergic to dairy (and tons of other things) so I understand your struggle.
DeleteSerena, you are mistaken about how dairy cows produce milk. Once a dairy cow has given birth, as long as the cow is continually milked, (every 12 hours), the cow will continue producing milk forever, or until she gets too old to produce milk. This is the same with humans, you could continue to breast feed your children until you go through menopause, as long as you breast feed regular. Also, milk producers do not take the calf away from the cow right away, since the first month after the birth has the most nutrients and provide the calf with needed antibodies to help it survive. After a month, the calf is taken from his mother and cared for with the other calves by bottle feeding them every 4 hours, milk from the herd of cows. Just as some humans decide not to breast feed and start bottle feeding. It is no more or less humane than we treat our own babies. You have to realize, farmers and ranchers make their living from these animals, if they are sick or unhealthy, they do not make any money, I have seen dairy farms in Southern California that are cleaner than 50% of the homes I have been in. Sure there are some inhumane farmers, but 90% of the ones I have ever witnessed treat their livestock as well, or better than they do their own family, since their livestock is their lives bread.
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ReplyDelete( Prof. Lisa Kemmerer had Gary Yourofsky speak to our class on the MSUB campus on this subject--- it was extremely impactful and informative--- here is a link to a short intro video on his presentation---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ltzqj_fBTk definitely worth watching.... If I hadn't done a lot of research over the last couple years, I would be in the dark like most people are. I have significantly reduced the amount of meat and dairy I consume-however it is a part of our culture and it is very hard to make these changes. I do contribute reducing the dairy products as well as meat products to my weight loss. )
I agree, it's very difficult to change the way we eat or what we put on our bodies so we can protect animals. I think most people would change their lifestyles if it was easy to do just so they could help another living animal not suffer. Some people would say its impossible. Since I've never been a big meat eater it wasn't hard for me.
DeleteAnother tough one. How do I feel about cruelty to animals? Like most of you cruelty to animals is an absolute no-go in my opinion. I agree with Serena in that we have to get of the high horse to think we are so far supirior. In the biological sense, we are animals, too, but we are the only animals that are willing and able to destroy this planet. But we are not here to discuss politics. This is ethics, so lets keep it to moral obligation.
ReplyDeleteOur moral obligation is to reduce pain and suffering for any being that is able to feel pain and suffering. Do I make exceptions? Yes, I do not think about the suffering of the wasp I kill, her sting presents a mortal threat to me as I am allergic to wasps. I don't bother with the fly or the ants, I don't want them in my house and on my food. The meat, eggs and fish I eat, the milk and dairy products I consume, honest, I do give thought to the animals that produce that. But I come from a country where it is much easier to decide what I buy, due to the fact that everything has to be labled. Caged chickens are outlawed in Europe, sure, the price for eggs went up but the people that kept chickens in cages for their eggs and meat did not make the profit once it was known how they handled their animals, and like I stated, now they are not allowed to keep their animals that way anymore at all. I could make a decission to buy meat from eastern Europe, where they don't care, or buy from local farmers, where government regulations make sure they treat their animals humanely. I stuck with the local farmers. Here I don't really have a choice. Part of my ignorance is that I don't have the insight I had. And that is a cheap excuse, you're right, because I have all the instruments to do research on hand. But I also like my meat and cheese and milk. I'm european so I am not lactose intollerant. And I have given up on a lot of the variety that I grew up with. Is it right to forget the suffering of those animals? No, absolutely not. Do I make it a part of my every day rituals? No, because it is not constantly on the front of my mind.
How about my pets? Raise a hand to my dog and you will know the full meaning of vengance. I take my dog to the vet, make sure he has everything he needs, and I will not let him suffer when the time comes. He can not end his suffering by himself, like a child he is helpless when he is sick, so he needs me to take care of him. Contrary to my children though, when he is terminally ill, and only experiences pain, I will make sure he does not have to suffer any longer. I don't think I would be able to do that for my kids.
In effect, we all have to make decissions and some are easier than others. Morally we are obligated, but where do we draw the line? I draw it by trying to reduce the amount of meat I eat. My husband gave up hunting, trust me, I love venison, but he can't shoot at deer anymore. He goes fishing, though, and I love my fish, but we don't eat fish every day. In total, we have come a long way from 1912 to 2012, but we still have a long way to go. And a lot of what happens to animals every day will have to change. It will take activists as well as government, and animal cruelty, along with cruelty between humans, will never be entirely erased because people have different ethical beliefes. What is right for one is an outrage to another. I can try to change my own behaviour, and I have to justify my actions. And I try to better myself. If everybody does that we are a lot closer to a solution and animal cruelty might one day be a thing of the past.
It sounds like the US could learn a bit from the laws regarding the treatment of animals used for food. How long have those laws been active in Europe? Did the prices skyrocket or just slightly increase?
DeleteKeeping chickens in cages became unpopular about 10 years ago, the law went into effect the beginning of this year. Prices did not skyrocket because in Germany for example, consumers already looked on the egg-carton and most of them refused to buy eggs that came from caged chickens, so the 20 cents more for a carton of eggs did not influence decisions. But eastern europe had a struggle with the law and my mom told me that they had a shortage of eggs the beginning of the year because people from the czech republic came across the border and bought all the eggs, they could not get any in their own country. I guess the farmers thought it would blow over but it didn't, the law is the law. German farmers changed their practices according to supply and demand, they could not sell eggs from caged animals so they changed their way of thinking. Laws that support animal rights are getting bigger, of course it costs farmers and ranchers but in the long run, they want to make a profit, they just have to go along.
DeleteI Think what this means is by reducing the pain animals feel that we as humans cause. Aything That us humans do to an animal that causes them pain needs to be stopped, I'm not talking about not using animals as a food source, but stopping the immoral encounters we do to them. We can also help by feeding, homing, and caring for our fellow animals! We don't have to go out of the way to help many animals so it's ot hard to do!
ReplyDeleteI agree it isn't hard to do. Domestic animals that are homeless or hungry will find humans to help them. In my home town my parents had a shed in their backyard and a stray cat lived under it so my parents fed it. It was scared and would run in the beginning but as time went on it didn't run as often.
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ReplyDeleteGiven the fact that animals are also able to experience pain and discomfort this leaves us with a moral obligation to do as much as we possibly can to reduce the pain that is being endured. Determining what is "as much as we can possibly do" is the hard question to answer for me. Often, the reduction of pain in animals will come with expensive bills and trips to the veterinarian that some families and individuals simply do not have the luxury of accessing. These individuals would seem to me to have a moral duty to ask for help if one of their animals is in pain. I believe that families who do have the ability to visit veterinarians should do so as long as it does not threaten the ability to feed, house and clothe their family. Morally when one decides to take care of an animal, to me they have made a commitment to care for the animal the best they can, this would include alleviating pain if something happens to the animal. Animals also have a right to live pain free and not suffer, leading to much happier animals. With regards to animals raised for their meat, I believe that there is a lot that must be done to improve the conditions many of these animals live under. Feed lots who use cattle as nothing more then a tool to turn a profit must be subjected to tougher regulation, the inhumane and disgusting environments these animals live in is sickening.
ReplyDeleteI think to some extent we are morally obligated to lessen the suffering of other animals. But I think this only goes so far as to what we are able to accomplish within our own means. I'm not going to go picket a slaughterhouse and demand that they treat there animals humanely, they would just laugh at me. And I'm certainly not going to stop eating meat. I can however, chose to eat only free range animals or animals that I know were treated as humanely as possible. So to a certain extent I think we are morally obligated to lessen the suffering but I don't think that we have a moral duty to it. Our duty lies with what we believe in our own heart, how we were raised, and whether or not a person believes in a higher being. Our morals are ours and ours alone.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think that it is important to try to lessen the power of the inhumane slaughterhouses but I don't think that it is our duty to make sure they are shut down. We need to do what is right by us not what others think is correct. Just like some people would think it was a sin to eat pork most Americans eat pork.
DeleteI believe we are morally obligated to keep animals safe. I keep my animals happy, I think personally. I would never hurt an animal for enjoyment. When I see an animal do something wrong and the owner will slap and shove its face into whatever it did to show them it is bad I feel sorry. Doing better training could help, but accidents do happen.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting point for me. I enjoy a hamburger as much as the next person but I would like to believe that up until the point that the farmer killed that cow it did not suffer much. I feel like in the end we will all feel at least a little bit of pain but how can even a human explain how much pain their was in their death after dying? No one can state what the pain of death feels like but I would like to think it is not death or even the killing of an animal for food that is immoral but more so how the animal was treated up to the very last second of consciousness. Of course I hate to see the PETA video's of animals being drained of their blood while still being alive or how they are stuck in small pens together but I would like to think that not all farmers are doing that. I think the reduction of suffering entails that we treat all animals fairly and kill them in the most quick and painless way possible. For example if I were a dog and I was riddled with cancer I would much rather be put down while I was calm and happy rather than suffer and have to live with the painful side effects of cancer. I think that treating animals morally means to treat them with respect and know that it is our responsibility to take care of them. One example that I hold near and dear to my heart of being a responsible animal owner is spaying and neutering animals especially our cats and dogs. We want these cute puppies and kittens but what happens when they grow up? I have volunteered at an animal shelter and I hate to see when perfectly healthy animals are put down because they are simply unwanted for any reason. We are responsible to make sure that all animals have a healthy life up until the point that they die or they are to be killed.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to consider the pain and suffering of animals through a utilitarian mindset I'd most definitely say that we are morally obligated to reduce their suffering in order to increase their happiness...but I don't know how feasible this is. If we observe what is morally permissible through the Bible, we see that we are given permission to own them, confine them, and control them. This doesn't mean we are given permission to brutalize them.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago I quit eating meat after hearing about slaughter house conditions. Unfortunately I am the only person in my house that was bothered by it and I am the cook of the house, so eventually life got so busy and money so tight that I had no time to continue with my eating preferences (yes, I know it's a cop out). We do try to raise our own meat when possible, but at this present stage in life it isn't possible. I do not agree with the way animals raised for meat consumption are treated and wish regulations would be put in place to end it. As others have said though - it's a profitable business and it won't stop.
I did a research project years ago on animal testing and was horrified by what I found. I disagree with it completely, but am also guilty of buying products from companies that conduct animal testing. I guess this would make me a lazy American consumer. I have to admit too though that animal testing has advanced the treatment of various diseases and if I (or a family member or friend) was a recipient of the medicine approved via these methods I probably wouldn't consider how it came to be.
I do not hunt, but my husband and sons do. I have no issues with hunting if the purpose is to feed people. I think for most hunters (at least the ones I know), it is actually a more humane way to acquire meat than buying it at the store being much of that meat comes from slaughter houses with poor conditions.
So - do I feel a moral duty to reduce animal suffering, yes. Do I do all I can do, no.
Wow! I agree with you on every aspect. I didn't eat meat for a while after watching a video on animals but now eat some meats. I'm very picky about what I buy. I also don't agree with the testing of animals and think we all have bought a product without knowing what it was tested on. It can be challenging to dodge all these things at times.
DeleteThis is a very hard question for me. I believe no living thing should have to suffer. I understand we have learned a lot from the testing of animals. I also understand we have to hunt to get food but there are ways to prevent animal from suffering. We know animals have feelings like humans do. If you ever owned a pet you know they show their feelings in different ways. My brother has two pigs. They are like his kids. They are very annoying to be around but like humans, they do show when they are sad or happy. I show them the same respect as I would with my own pets or kids. They aren't any less of a living thing than I. On the other hand, I do believe we do have to hunt to eat food. There are ways to hunt without torturing an animal. Most hunters know where to shoot an animal so there is less suffering. I don't believe in testing animals. That is flat out torture to me. I know we have learned so much from it but I still have a hard time excepting the fact it happens. I also have a hard time excepting the fact that animals have to suffer when they are being raised for food. I watched a video on food in America. It was a hard video to watch and made me think twice before buying meats in the stores. Lets just say I didn't eat any meat for a long time.
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
DeleteI can definitely relate to your post. I like how you stood strong to animals not being experiment dummies. The examples listed in the text literally made me feel queasy. Furthermore, your perspective on hunting is also a very good point. The less pain an animal is caused the better.I love meat, so I would rather not watch another video on animal production. The last one I watched freshman year of high school scarred me, so I didn't eat meat for a while either.
TO me it sounds like you have palced your-self in the middle. You know where you stand, but you also have to almost go aginst it for the sake of food. Which, is where I think that most of lie when have to think about this subjet. How can we love a animal who is a pet and eat an animal for food? That has been tortured. This is a tuff one.
DeleteAmanda,
DeleteYes! It is extremely hard. I feel like I keep contradicting myself. Food is probably the only way to justify "animal cruelty" or the killing of animals. Some just taste better I guess.T Thanks for the reply!
CR
This question is challenging to answer. The realities of animal testing listed in our book (P. 106) is what made these questions so controversial to me. I found all three of them immoral, especially the E. coli-infected clots being put into cut throats of beagles. In most cases I believe it to be immoral, because I love animals and never want to see them or cause them pain. On the other hand, how else do we conduct experiments to test drugs and theories? Perhaps there could be stricter laws to reduce animal suffering, but for the most part it is out of our control, because most animals have zero rights. However, if animal suffering was reduced I believe there would be no animal consequences but them living at ease, and geared to the Utilitarian approach of creating a happy world.
ReplyDeleteThe only extreme quote I could somewhat agree with was that of Bentham, which is very long (P. 105), but demonstrates an opinion that humans and animals are equal, and whichever one suffers is just as important as the other. Being an animal lover I agree with this, because I think animals should only be made unhappy under extremely critical conditions: Medical experiments, ranching conditions, and food production. We can all be against these three examples, but in reality will animal suffering ever be stopped?
Animal abuse is morally wrong, I have to dogs that are my children and they are treated just like i would my children. My next door neighbor for example has one dog and it is caged 99 % of the time and this includes when they are home all 375 days of the year! This to me is heart breaking, because I know somewhere out there that dog could have a better life. It goes the same for any animals that we concider our pets. When I see one of those commercials on TV they are for domestic animals pets that have been abused, ect.or animals abuse can be stated in Montana since I am a big hunter and know many more hunters that would agree that poaching animals for their horns or hides as animal abuse and I would with out a doubt agree. Clearafing that hunting is not animal abuse in my option but poachig is, I use my game meat to feed me and my family not in search of the trophy horns.
ReplyDeleteEveryones defenition of abuse is going to be different and we have to simply agree with our morals to what we agree is abuse and what is not.
I strongly believe that any family that is going to take in an animal dog, cat, pig, goat and keep it as part of that family they need to treat it like family, would you keep you kid teathered or caged all day ?
We use animals in so many ways, for our food, for the comfort of our clothes, sheets, blankets, and shoes. Ladies our purses and wallets and some of use our makeup. Back in the day we used animals to help us on the farm I am sure they didn't consider how they where using there animals for their survival as long as they sheltered them and fed them as abuse, but I am sure someone today would think differently and call it abuse.
I still use horses today going into the mountains for the enjoyment it gives me to ride in the mountains. Part of what we read do we do things to make us happy, this I would say yes because some one could label this abuse to an animal but I do not think of it as huring the animal and it brings me happiness.
These are all my ideas/ thoughts no one has to agree with any of them nor am I pushing them I am simply stating my moral beliefs on the subject.
I believe that we are definitely obligated to reduce the suffering and pain of any kind of animal, whether it's our pet or any sort of wildlife we encounter. I was brought up being taught that as hard as it was to watch a deer or elk being shot when it was hit by a car and suffering, it was just the right thing to do to end their suffering. If they continue to suffer they would just be in tremendous pain that it is not morally right to let them suffer like that. Whereas with a dog situation, my father-in-law just took my husbands old puppy that he gave his parents 11 years ago to the vet the other day because she was not moving for about a week that well. The vet stated that she has cancer absolutely everywhere, and of course instead of trying to treat it because it was too late, he decided to have her put down. It is hard to tell whether an animal is sick or suffering because they can't tell you. Who knew that it would be that bad, but to put her down was almost the only option to put her out of her pain and suffering. He felt morally obligated to not make her suffer in pain any longer.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that we cannot torment animals just because we can. It almost compares to we cannot tormet wildlife just because we come across them either. It is against the law if you kill wildlife, it is called poaching. So I believe that should be the case for all animals, if killed illegally that there should be some huge reprocussions.
I love eating meat, so I'm a little torn on this one. No animal should suffer, no matter what purpose it serves humans. I understand them being used in the medical field, many great leaps in medicine have started with lab rats. I don't believe it's right to torment or mistreat other animals just because we humans are the dominant species. People who hunt and eat the meat of what they kill are not behaving immoraly in my opinion, it's just like going to a more sporting butcher shop. I think hunting for pure sport is wrong, killing an animal and wasting its meat just to obtain a trophy isn't right. We're never going to accept another animal as an actual member of society, but I think it is crucial to do our part to make sure our lives here are not ruining the lives of all the other things living on this planet.
ReplyDeleteThis is a difficult and obviously very sensitive subject to discuss. It is sickening to discover how some animals are treated. Reading about how veal are treated prior to slaughter in EMP, for example, was heartbreaking to me. However, we can only do so much. I agree with many of the other students in this class who have used the pond story as an example. Most of us want both people and animals to be treated in a fair and dignified manner, with humans, of course, at the top of the hierarchy. It’s difficult for me to believe that any one wants animals to be deliberately mistreated, but that’s unfortunately the way of the world today. I can chose to be a vegetarian or not, but the sad fact remains that what I do or don’t do is not going to stop the mistreatment of animals.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we have a moral duty to protect and prevent cruelty for animals. I stand behind this on different levels if you bear with me...I do eat meat, and I do support hunting, fishing and all that but only for that if the animal is being utilized to its full purpose, ie its hide and meat, and not just killed for fun/sport. For domestic animals (cats, dogs, etc) we humans have a greater moral responsibility to prevent the harm of these animals for these animals that we let into our homes. We feed, shelter, bath, exercise and entertain these animals. We openly accept the responsibility of taking care of them by opening our door and making our home theirs. With that we accept that we will take care of them almost like another memeber of our family. I term my dogs as my four legged kids and my parents even call them grandpuppies. I know when they are excited or sulky or have misbehaved. They do have feelings. One of my dogs even has "a bed time" or he gets grumpy. For those people that accept an animal into their house and take pleasure for hurting that animal is morally wrong. Those animals have done nothing to provoke such behavior and even if they did treating them like such is inhumane.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tricky subject, since I myself eat meat, and hunt and fish. However, I do so in a humane way, and try to cause as little suffering as possible. In my household, wild game is dinner, and we will not kill anything if we are not planning on eating it. As far as domestic animals go, I believe that we have a moral obligation to keep them away from harm. I feel that if you take in an animal you need to give it food, water, and love. But taking in an animal also means that you need to train it, and with that comes discipline, but discipline does not mean beating the snot out of said animal, and that is where some people get in trouble. I believe in treating pets like you would treat children, because really they want all the same things.
ReplyDeleteBeing an animal lover I don't think any animal should suffer when it can be prevented; however to the opposite side I do enjoy eating meat and understand that those animals are killed to allow me to eat meat but the animal should not suffer by bleeding to death or whatever the situation may be. Pets are different and ironically today I was left the duty to put our family cat down, we have had her for 17 years but she is miserable, she can't see, her teeth are rotting, she has no control when she needs to use the bathroom and just looking at her you can tell life isn't good for her any more. If we could post pone her pain we would, and we have for as long as we can, needless to say it's a very sad day at my house, she was more than the family cat, we all loved her very much.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, when people inflict suffering onto animals that just irritates me!!! My philosophy is "How would you like to be hit or kicked or all time???" usually the answer is that "well it's just an animal" but animals feel and they have the same pain receptors we do, no one animal or human should suffer or cause the suffering!
I grew up in rural northeast Montana. My father hunted deer to put food on the table. I never knew him to hunt for sport. To me there isn't much of a moral dilema, it's cruel to torture any living being. Period. So let's define torture. To me, torture is the intentional infliction of physical pain on a living creature. This includes factory farming and testing on animals.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that human beings know right from wrong. I think that this instinctive knowledge is the biggest difference between us and the animals, and in my opinion, what does make us superior. We have the capacity to understand how our actions (or inaction) effect our surroundings. That makes us different from the rest of the animal kingdom. It also gives us responsibilities. I think we are morally obligated to treat animals with respect.
I remember seeing a television documentary on how veal was raised from birth to market. It was vile, cruel and unbelievably inhumane. I was about 10 years old, had never eaten veal before, and 43 years later, still haven't. As a child,I would make a scene in a restaurant if anyone at my table ordered it. Now I ask any dinner companion to please not order it, although I don't make a scene any more lol.
I think that the tricky part for me is having respect for animals I can't stand. Rats. I can not stand rats. So would it hurt my feelings if there were no rats? Probably not. But I also recognize that they serve a purpose, they were created for a reason. They creep me out though. So for me, it's a little harder to hold onto my moral compass when it comes to being humane when it comes to rats. And spiders. And snakes. So, I compromise. The rule is, if they're outside it's their territory. I leave them alone. Inside, fair game.
Yes I believe we have a moral obligation to treat animals with kindness. However, I also recognize that some animals can bring disease and contact with them can be very harmful. Aren't we just as morally obliged to protect ourselves? I think it's common sense to be able to draw a line between protection of animals and protection from animals.
Another question, is an insect such as a cockroach deserving of the same protection as a dog? To me, the answer is nope. They are dirty, diseased and honestly I just don't know what purpose they serve. So yes, I kill them on sight. I don't consider it torture or immoral.
It seems as though everyone pretty much feels that same way in regards to this topic. I think that this topic, along with all the other so far in this class can be very controversial.
ReplyDeleteAs humans most of us were taught the difference between right and wrong and how to act morally. I do think that we are morally obligated to reduce as much pain as possible for not only humans, but for animals as well, but then we have to take into consideration that MOST people use animals for food. My family also hunts and uses what they kill to put food on the table, so I can not say that by doing this we are acting immoral. This goes hand in hand of being taught the differences between right and wrong. I think that it is O.K. for humans to use animals such as chickens, pheasants, deer, cows, etc. for a source of food as long as that person is not doing it for the sole purpose of killing just to kill. To me that is wrong, and that animal should not have died for no reason.
Domestic animals like dogs and cats are a totally different issue. We do not use them as sources of food, but rather for our own personal enjoyment. I do think that it is immoral for a person to abuse animals in this way. These animals are more for personal pleasure, and if you are going to beat them then you should not have one in the first place. When I think of animal abuse I always think of dog fights, which I think is absolutely wrong.
I respect the fact that everyone has their own choice to make in being a vegetarian or when it comes to eating meat. I understand that in the processing of meat all animals are not treated well. My Aunt and Uncle have a large ranch and it is their livelihood but I know unlike many places of all their animals are treated well. I feel we are given resources to use within respectable boundaries but I know people do abuse them. When it comes to pets I think people tend to take things too far; I do not feel that pets need their own bedroom, bed, and some of the other extremes people go to over their pets. But I do feel they should be respected and treated well. Too many people abuse and neglect pets leaving them homeless and in situations they do not deserve to be left in. Having been a dog owner, I know that pets feel too. Just because they cannot talk to us the way we do it is obvious especially in situations when they have been abused. I think we are morally obligated to hold people who abuse animals responsible for their actions and that it is a responsible action of yourself should you decide you want a pet to adopt one from a shelter. Its unfortunate that there are puppy mills abusing and breeding dogs non-stop in horrible conditions for their own person profit.
ReplyDeleteWhile it may not always be the case now, hunting and eating animals was crucial for survival for the human species throughout the course of evolution. This is how I approach the issue of whether or not to eat meat. On one hand, this option for food has helped us survive as a species and we have moved toward the top of the food chain. On the other hand, these animals have evolved to know what it takes to survive, to think for them self even if they can't voice their thoughts, and most importantly, they suffer when they are in pain. What if over the next 5000 years, evolution takes them to the point where they are able to voice their thoughts. It is this thought that will keep me from eating meat for significant periods of time.
ReplyDeleteAnything capable of suffering should not be made to suffer. Just because we eat cows doesn't mean they should be made to suffer in horrific environments until that time comes. Just because a chimpanzee can't voice its thoughts or pain doesn't mean it should be treated as a lab experiment.
I do feel we have the same moral obligation to stop animals from suffering just as we do humans.
I don't know how to comment on this question. It could go many ways. I think that there is a line between killing animals for evil pleasure and hunting and fishing. Forever, has human beings killed animals for survival, so is that considered moral? I have hunted but never considered the fact if it is or not. I just thought about having fun.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that it is right to sit back and kill or torture animals just because. For example, the people that keep dogs for fighting to earn extra income. I think that is immoral.
I also think that there is a sort of connection between animals and humans.For example,animals are used fot therapy and helping the disabled. Also, I think that animals have qualities that humans need, such as loyalty and companionship. There is a reason why dogs are considered "mans best friend." So, I think that we should prevent suffering and pain on animals if we have the ability to. If our pets get hurt or ill, we take them to vets and spend money to make them better like we would for our children. Kids also are very attached to animals and pets.
I feel that the ‘moral duty’ to prevent harm to animals is a much deeper issue and it goes against the animal cruelty laws. However, I personally am not an ‘animal advocate’. That doesn’t mean I am harmful or neglectful towards animals; I just wouldn’t waste my free time or money to put into animal shelters or other programs like that. I have many close friends that are ‘obsessed’ with issues such as these (ex: my best friend is a ‘foster-mom’ for 2 cats currently and has 3 of her own already). I do not feel as strongly with these issues when there are children out there that need homes themselves. I feel much stronger about ‘helping the fellow man’ rather than ‘helping a dog/cat’. I am not saying it’s a waste of money for those that do feel passionate about preventing animal abuse- but I feel preventing child abuse and hunger is a much greater issue. This reminds me of a few years back when animal control found a rural home with hundreds of horses, cats, and dogs that were not fed/ taken care of properly. The state and many citizens pitched in money and volunteer hours to help the animals so that they would not be put to sleep. But when a child is abandoned by their parent they are just left completely unknown by society; I don’t understand why more people don’t pitch in to help them out like they do with animals!
ReplyDeleteI do feel we are morally obligated to reduce pain animals endure; however, I believe this goes for the animals that I personally take on. I think it would be hard to stop all the pain that animals endure. There are too many people that love to hunt, love to eat meat, and some believe it is okay to test animals to find human cures. I am not against eating meat, but I personally do not care for the sport of hunting. I am strongly against testing animals, but I cannot for-see an end to it anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteA reduction of animal suffering ultimately falls on the ones who can make a difference in that animals life. Our moral duty is to protect our pets by loving them and treating them with care. As for cows, pigs, chickens, and lambs, I feel they were put on this earth as a resource for mankind. That said, I feel it is the FDA's decision to step in and make changes on their living situations to reduce their suffering.
I do feel it is our moral obligation to reduce the suffering of animals. We are obviously the more superior species on our planet but I don’t think that means that the lives of animals are any less special or important. I think that people have really abused the fact that we are the superior species and resorted to treating animals with such little respect. I think it is really sad when people abuse animals, either in their homes or places that house animals for the purpose of food. I have been a vegetarian for 7 years, just for this reason. I decided that I was not going to support the cruelty animals endure day after day. I understand that people LIKE meat, it is plainly obvious. But I think that people don’t realize or don’t want to realize the conditions in which these animals live. It is truly awful. I feel like people are very ignorant to this fact. It is kind of like the famine discussion last week, just because it is not plainly in front of people they think they are not responsible for it. But every time a person eats meat they are contributing to the cruelty inflicted on animals. I am not preachy on this subject very often but I think it is very sad that more people don’t care about this problem. We obviously can treat animals any way we want because we are a superior species, but just because we can doesn’t mean we should. And what does this treatment of animals say about mankind and our morality?
ReplyDeleteI think these are very hard questions to answer if someone actually thinks about it. In my opinion, I think that we are morally obligated to reduce the amount of pain that an animal suffers. Of course, other people have their own opinions and will do what they think is morally right, but I believe that we are obligated to make an animal as happy as we are. We (the people) take animals in to give them homes and to love them and make their lives better. An animal loves to get attention and affection. That is what aniamls need just as well as humans. When you look at an animal that is being treated right you can see how happy that animal is by seeing that animal wag its tail and run up to you and shake its body and how the sparkle in their eyes shine. When you see an animal that has suffered an amount of pain you can see how afraid that animal is and from my view, I feel that pain that that animal is suffering and my heart breaks for that animal. I think as we take in animals and bring them into our home, they are our family and we are morally obligated to treat them just as kind as we treat our own family members.
ReplyDeleteAnimals are living and they do have feelings and they do have a heart.
Now, if we did reduce the amount of pain animals suffered it would definately have an affect on the food and products provided in the world. Of course, beef is raised to be slaughter for meat for the people. And of course that means that those cows are going through a painful life and are suffering. The same goes for chickens and pigs and other animals. Animals are raised to provide us food and to provide us to live. And they do have to go through a painful life to provide us with food. So if we stopped all the pain and suffering then we would not be provided with the meat we buy on a daily basis.
To torment an animal is wrong. But, I do believe that even though I want it to be a moral for us, I think it has more to do with the obvious. Animals provide nothing but love and happiness and it is obviouslly hard for us to see them suffer and we will prevent that from the obvious. As much as I wish it leaned more towards us following our morals and wanting to make animals suffer less, it is more of an obvious.
I believe that animals do have feelings. While they may lack the abilities of thought processing and problem solving, they do have a heartbeat, nervous system, etc. They do have the ability to feel. The animal cruelty commericals make me sad to see that people could treat animals in such a harmful way. What's the difference between harming a person and harming an animal? There's a very small difference. Most people would view a family dog as "man's best friend." Would you ever intentionally hurt your best friend on purpose? Probably not.
ReplyDeleteAnother related case of animal cruelty is in the food we eat nearly every day. While plants and animals are viewed as a renewable natural resource, does that mean we gain the right to treat them however we desire? Not necessarily. While I, just as much as anyone else, love the occassional steak or chicken breast, it is hard to just remove all animal usage from our way of life. And even so, if I decided to stop eating meat or purchasing and drinking milk or any other animal-related good, that does not mean that the company's will produce less. The businesses that produce such goods will continue to produce the goods as long as there's a market for them. And because such foods and products are already accepted in our culture, people will continue to buy them and use them. Even I would have the hardest time being strictly vegan. I believe in having a healthy diet and it's very hard to do so on a vegan diet. But as far as clothing and other animal goods go--other than food items--I do not use or buy them. I could not walk around in an animal's skin. Yuck. I think that's wrong. As well as hunting for personal hobby. We should not do that. Unless there needs to be population control and/or providing for a family that lives in a rural part of the country. That's a different story.
Animal cruelty is such a difficult topic for me because I am an animal lover. But I still eat meat and dairy products because that's how I was raised and I enjoy food. But we should morally try to reduce the amount of animal cruelty we directly provide, or that those we know provide.
I have to agree with others that our animals do have feelings. I could never imagine letting my animals suffer or be out in a position to suffer. I feel it is our obligation to serve and protect animals being subject to cruelty and neglect. I have to change the channel when the humane society commercials come on, and I will say something to an individual if I witness them mistreating any animal. My Rottweiler understands when I talk to her, they have feelings and can feel pain, as well as fear. I am not ok with using animals as test subjects.
ReplyDeleteI agree that as a society we should protect animals form being abused or treated with cruelty. I believe that it is completely wrong for people to treat animals with disrespect because they feel like it or think animals do not matter because they are not human. Animals are a living being and should be treated like one. I also agree that there is a difference when it comes to the matter of using animals for meat. However, I do not agree that it depends on the animal that is being treated like this. It is the purpose of the death rather than the animal that is being used. As a society we cannot say that it is okay for a cow to die for meat because it is just a cow, and not for a dog because it is a dog. If this was the backing of the argument, then it would trickle down to its okay to treat a damaged or ill performing person in society badly because that's just who they are. Animal cruelty is a issue that should not be taken lightly.
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