What else was meant by “wrong to kill” other than evil/bad/not ok? We can use “bad” if evil is too loaded.
Would it be right to morally judge a lion for eating meat when it was born into a grotesquely overpopulated world, where the only appropriate way for the lion to eat is to participate in the food production system that treats prey animals as objects?
I hear you say “but humans don’t need to eat meat” or “humans were not evolved to eat meat” and to both of those I say you are wrong. Like I said, it’s possible in modern times with B12 supplementation but this is fairly recent. An understanding of the digestive system and comparison of it vs other animals shows we are obviously evolved to eat meat (stomach pH, intestine length, microbiota all point to meat digestion).
I respect vegans, those willing avoid animals for moral reasons and using modern tech to do so is admirable. I was a vegetarian (still consumed milk and egg) myself 20 years ago for about 3 years. But I don’t think blaming humans for desiring what our genes make us desire is the right direction. It’s like blaming people for desiring sweet foods, sugar production causes massive harm as well.
In fact a similar issue exists with sugar. Significant harm to animals, the humans that harvest, and the environment come from sugar production. But the solution to this issue isn’t to shame those who consume sugar, it’s to understand that the issue comes from operating at a massive scale that devalues the lives of the animals (humans included) who produce the product.
The fact is, life is not pretty when looked at from certain angles. Animals higher on the food chain can only live by consuming those lower on the chain. The prey hunted down by the lion isn’t having any better of a time than an animal raised humanely and slaughtered without torture.
What else was meant by “wrong to kill” other than evil/bad/not ok? We can use “bad” if evil is too loaded.
Would it be right to morally judge a lion for eating meat when it was born into a grotesquely overpopulated world, where the only appropriate way for the lion to eat is to participate in the food production system that treats prey animals as objects?
I hear you say “but humans don’t need to eat meat” or “humans were not evolved to eat meat” and to both of those I say you are wrong. Like I said, it’s possible in modern times with B12 supplementation but this is fairly recent. An understanding of the digestive system and comparison of it vs other animals shows we are obviously evolved to eat meat (stomach pH, intestine length, microbiota all point to meat digestion).
I respect vegans, those willing avoid animals for moral reasons and using modern tech to do so is admirable. I was a vegetarian (still consumed milk and egg) myself 20 years ago for about 3 years. But I don’t think blaming humans for desiring what our genes make us desire is the right direction. It’s like blaming people for desiring sweet foods, sugar production causes massive harm as well.
In fact a similar issue exists with sugar. Significant harm to animals, the humans that harvest, and the environment come from sugar production. But the solution to this issue isn’t to shame those who consume sugar, it’s to understand that the issue comes from operating at a massive scale that devalues the lives of the animals (humans included) who produce the product.
The fact is, life is not pretty when looked at from certain angles. Animals higher on the food chain can only live by consuming those lower on the chain. The prey hunted down by the lion isn’t having any better of a time than an animal raised humanely and slaughtered without torture.