"Animals are our equals and deserved equal respect and rights. "
The above statement is at the heart of the animal
rights movement, and subsequently, the idea of vegetarianism and veganism
(Just to clarify and make sure we are all on the same page here,
vegetarians refuse to eat meat and vegan refuse to eat or drink any
product that comes directly from animals). This is a very hard statement
to accept, especially since most people have been told their whole life
that animals are lesser than us. Once you can accept this statement as
truth, you will quickly understand why eating meat is wrong. Undoubtably,
you may have some objections to this statement, and to vegetarianism in
particular. Let me run through some of the more popular arguments. But
before I start, let me clarify what I mean by the term "equal."
Anyone can see that no two being in this world are truly equal in the
literal sense. Every human and nonhuman animal has different intelligence,
strength ,and a number of other physical and mental characteristics that
unequal to others. Equality between any two groups is not meant to suggest
that those two groups, taken as a whole, are exactly equal in every way,
but only that those two groups deserve equal consideration, rights, and
respect. Having said that...
Animals are not our equals because they are very
different from us.
Animals are definitely different from humans, but
the term "very" is a great exaggeration. If you consider the
extraordinary scope of life on this planet, animals are not much different
from us at all. We all need oxygen, we all have bones, we all have blood
and have sexual reproduction. We all have social behaviors of some kind,
can feel pain, and die. Difference is not an excuse for inequality. You
will find that many of the arguments that one can make against animal
equality can be slightly modified to argue for racism, sexism, or
homophobia. People of different color skin are different. True, the
difference - the colors of their skin - is very small and completely
insignificant. So where does one draw the line between what is acceptably
different and what is too different? If you have ever dated someone of the
opposite sex, you know very well that women and men are extremely
different. That does not mean that they are not equal and deserve equal
rights.
Ok, but all people, whether black or white,
male or female, strait or gay, have the same potential for intelligence.
Animals are not our equals because they are stupider than people.
First of all, don't assume too much. Some animals
are quite smart (and some people are pretty stupid), and furthermore,
intelligence is an extremely hard quality to judge. But I will concede
that the average animal appears much less intelligent than the average
person. By this logic, am I "better," and do I have the right to
murder, anybody I meet that is less intelligent than me? Of course not.
Superior intelligence does not mean superiority.
Animals eat other animals. And people have been
eating meat since the beginning of time. It's just the natural order of
things. Haven't you ever heard of the food chain?
First, before I answer this statement, let me tell you what meat and
leather are - murder. Murder implies killing something for no justifiable
reason. (Note: I will admit that most current definitions of "murder"
define it as the premeditated killing of a human - but what do you expect
from a society that treats creatures like machines? This definition should
be altered along with societies way of thinking.) There is only one
justifiable reason to kill another living thing - to survive yourself. If
someone attacks you and you kill them to prevent yourself from dying, you
were acting in self defense. Similarly, carnivores and people of the past
had to eat meat to stay alive and healthy. People today, however, do not
need to eat meat to either stay alive or be healthy. By being reasonably
careful about their diets, vegetarians can be just as, and in some cases,
more healthy than someone who eats meat. The act of killing an animal, in
the absence of absolute need, becomes murder.
I am a Christian. The Bible says that 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." This clearly states that man is superior to animals.
To start off, I don't give a heck of a lot of credit to a 2000+ year-old book that has been translated and re-translated many times, not to mention hand copied and recopied hundreds times by monks and others (who feasiblely could have made mistakes) and who had lots of good reasons and opportunity to change the good book here and there, however noble and good their intentions were. For a more in-depth essay on religion, click here.
But let's accept for the moment that the Bible is completely true, word for word. Based upon that scripture that has been mentioned, we will even assume for the moment that man has authority over animals. But dominion over something doesn't mean that one must be a bad master. One of the ten commandments simply states "Thou shalt does not kill." The original Hebrew word "ratsach" is translated as "kill" in the King James Version (which has been quoted in this essay), Revised Standard Version and elsewhere. "Ratsach" has the definition of a premeditated killing. Many translations use the more appropriate word "murder" in this verse. (This, by the way, goes towards the point that translations are often imperfect, hence you shouldn't literally interpret the Bible word for word). Now we are back to the point of murder- if you need to kill an animal to survive, or because God commands you to - fine. But there is absolutely no justifiable reason to kill them otherwise. On the contrary, every living thing is created by God, and needless destruction of His creation seems wrong on a very basic level. For a better, biblically-supported case for Christian vegetarianism, please visit the "Jesus was a Vegetarian" web page.
Meat tastes good and it's convenient.
I used to eat meat, and yes, I agree, it does taste good. But slavery was great for the economy of the South, too. Just because something makes life easier and is convenient does not give us the right to commit crimes against life forms that are our equals. If you are really that worried about missing out on meat, let me assure you that many of the soy-meat products our there are a lot better than you would expect. And its not like animals are killed in humane ways either. Animals are kept in horrible conditions, often in cages where they can barely move, and slaughtered in methods that are too disgusting and cruel to describe here. Just imagine the most inhumane tortures and depths of human evil, and you pretty much have a picture of many slaughterhouse floors.
If animals are our equals, then why does the first statement seem so wrong then? It just doesn't seem correct.
As I have mentioned before, animal equality is a very hard idea to get used to. How could such an obviously terrible notion be so cemented in our heads, the idea that a helpless group should be exploited, tortured, and murdered so that another group can live their lives more comfortably and conveniently? And that this is morally right? Cruelty is not a natural human emotion. It has to be driven into our heads over and over until we just accept it. Think back to when you were small and you saw "Charlotte's Web"? I vividly remember not wanting the pig to be slaughtered for bacon and overcome with joy when Charlotte saved him. But somehow that emotion was gone when I went home and ate meat that night. Society doesn't want you to identify the animal with the meat - it wants you to see beef as beef and not see beef as cow (which is why all pig becomes "pork" and chicken and turkey become "poultry"). By hiding the horrible truth away from the public, society has effectively crushed our natural feelings of kindness towards other life. Its time to reject tradition and do what is morally right.
Ok, you are right, but I don't care.
Wow. How can you live with the knowledge that you are doing something so wrong, yet be ok with it? How can anyone take you seriously when you don't stand up for what you believe in? You have an moral obligation to do what you know it right, or more accurately, stop doing what you know is wrong. In the words of Propagandhi "... you can feign ignorance, but you're not stupid, you're just selfish. And you're a slave to your impulse."
So what does all this mean? It means that using animals as if they are resources is wrong. Animals can feel pain and are suffering and dying by the millions because of the oppression of humans. This is just as big an issue as racism, sexism, and homophobia - and the good news is - you can make a difference. What you can do- Stop eating meat and stop buying leather. Every time you refuse to eat meat or buy leather, you make a strong statement of your beliefs. People will notice. When someone asks, it then is duty to give a voice to the murdered masses of animals and explain to others why you live your life the way you do.
If nothing else I hope this essay has made you question your inherent human superiority over animals. Please email any arguments, comments, questions, or requests for information to me at benb@fgi.net . I can't promise answers, but I will certainly try.
Mohandas K. Gandhi said it best- "To my mind the life of the lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of the lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man."
-Waffleboy
E-mail Waffleboy at benb@fgi.net