Just because I eat animals
Doesn't mean I don't love them
There isn't really another way to address this all-too-common statement than by simply drawing attention to how utterly strange and contradictory it is. It's hard to take seriously the claim that by paying others to needlessly hurt and kill cows, chickens, pigs and other animals we are also showing them love. I think in reality we're saying we love 'some' or 'most' animals, primarily companion animals or those whose lives aren't so directly connected to our dinner plates (such as elephants, pandas or dolphins).
It is possible of course that some people genuinely believe they love farm animals too and such a claim does
well to expose the massive disconnect we've made as a society not only from what happens to these animals during their short lives, but also from their brutal and bloody slaughter - something most of us actively avoid having to see and find incredibly disturbing if we do.
How can supporting violent and terrible acts towards animals so awful we can't even bear to look ever be considered love?
It is possible of course that some people genuinely believe they love farm animals too and such a claim does
well to expose the massive disconnect we've made as a society not only from what happens to these animals during their short lives, but also from their brutal and bloody slaughter - something most of us actively avoid having to see and find incredibly disturbing if we do.
How can supporting violent and terrible acts towards animals so awful we can't even bear to look ever be considered love?
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To examine whether you can exploit or kill an animal whilst also loving it, consider the following examples:
- A person who loves pit bull terriers breeds them to be used as fighting dogs. The dogs are badly injured in
the fights and sometimes even killed. The person has an extensive knowledge and love of the breed and many
of the dogs are treated well between fights and training.
- A person who loves nature and the outdoors pays a large sum of money to go to Africa and shoot and
kill lions. They exclaim how much they love and respect these beautiful animals, who's heads they proudly
mount on the walls of their home.
- A person says they love the piglets they breed and that they are 'treated like family members'. The piglets
have their testicles ripped out by hand and their tails cut off all without anaesthetic. When the pigs reach
six months of age this person cuts open their throats so they bleed to death.
In each of these cases there are claims to 'love' or 'respect' the animals involved, yet in each case immense harm (even torture) is being inflicted upon them.
It's possible you considered the first two examples morally wrong, as most people agree that dog fighting is horrible and trophy hunting unacceptable. The problem arises though when we look at the example with the piglets. What's happening to them is just as cruel (perhaps even more so) as the other examples, and yet they're the industry standard practices we pay others to inflict upon pigs when we create a demand for their flesh.
In each of the three examples the death or abuse is taking place for two main reasons - money and pleasure.
As we don't need animal products to be healthy (they actually affect our health negatively) and we have no biological need to consume them, we're killing these animals simply because we like the taste. This means that none of the three examples actually needs to be happening and each is done for pleasure or profit - there is no moral difference between any of them. Just as we enjoy the taste of animal products, the dog fighter enjoys the challenge of pitting his dogs against others and the hunter enjoys the thrill of tracking and killing an animal. And just as the farmer profits from those who buy the animals he kills, the pit bull owner profits from those who gamble on his dog fights, and the hunt organiser profits from those who take part in the hunt.
In a fair and morally consistent world none of these cruel and unnecessary practices would be taking place.
The big difference between them though is that all of us have the power to eradicate one of them right now, together, through the everyday choices we make.
- A person who loves pit bull terriers breeds them to be used as fighting dogs. The dogs are badly injured in
the fights and sometimes even killed. The person has an extensive knowledge and love of the breed and many
of the dogs are treated well between fights and training.
- A person who loves nature and the outdoors pays a large sum of money to go to Africa and shoot and
kill lions. They exclaim how much they love and respect these beautiful animals, who's heads they proudly
mount on the walls of their home.
- A person says they love the piglets they breed and that they are 'treated like family members'. The piglets
have their testicles ripped out by hand and their tails cut off all without anaesthetic. When the pigs reach
six months of age this person cuts open their throats so they bleed to death.
In each of these cases there are claims to 'love' or 'respect' the animals involved, yet in each case immense harm (even torture) is being inflicted upon them.
It's possible you considered the first two examples morally wrong, as most people agree that dog fighting is horrible and trophy hunting unacceptable. The problem arises though when we look at the example with the piglets. What's happening to them is just as cruel (perhaps even more so) as the other examples, and yet they're the industry standard practices we pay others to inflict upon pigs when we create a demand for their flesh.
In each of the three examples the death or abuse is taking place for two main reasons - money and pleasure.
As we don't need animal products to be healthy (they actually affect our health negatively) and we have no biological need to consume them, we're killing these animals simply because we like the taste. This means that none of the three examples actually needs to be happening and each is done for pleasure or profit - there is no moral difference between any of them. Just as we enjoy the taste of animal products, the dog fighter enjoys the challenge of pitting his dogs against others and the hunter enjoys the thrill of tracking and killing an animal. And just as the farmer profits from those who buy the animals he kills, the pit bull owner profits from those who gamble on his dog fights, and the hunt organiser profits from those who take part in the hunt.
In a fair and morally consistent world none of these cruel and unnecessary practices would be taking place.
The big difference between them though is that all of us have the power to eradicate one of them right now, together, through the everyday choices we make.
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"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."
Albert Einstein
to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."
Albert Einstein
