It is so interesting
how certain animals receive a certain level of moral standing in society and
what that really entails. Especially in the form of the meat industry and how
certain animals are placed on a higher pedestal while other animals are not,
even though all of them are animals with meat. The difficult part about learning
to treat animals with respect is learning how to speak about them and
understanding how certain situations affect them physically and mentally. We
are only able to view the external stressors and emotions of an animal and it
is very difficult to say with certainty what they are experiencing (Coeckelbergh, 2014). However, I do believe we have some
idea on how our actions affect animals especially when we cause them harm. We
also as a society must ponder the question of whether an animal can ever attain
the respect and dignity granted to humans? (Coeckelbergh, 2014). Thinking about
animals I wonder if this will ever extend to plants and whether they deserve
the same rights and freedoms as humans? (Norcross 2004: Abbate 2019).
Continuing
with the idea about the meat industry I do think it is worth considering what
other alternatives to this can be. Should we all become vegetarians or vegans
to focus less on animals as sources of food? Along with this question I think
it is important to realize that perhaps plants are not the only alternative to meat
and there could possibly be other sources of food to take care of world hunger that
we may have not discovered (Abbate 2019). I think that this issue is not an all
or nothing strategy. Many people in this world are dependent on meat for the nourishment
for their families and it can give people the nutrients they need to lead a
somewhat healthy life. With that stated I think it is important to not just
rely on one kind of nutrition and instead begin advocation for renewable or
longer lasting food sources. I believe that going about addressing this moral
issue is making sure that a solution leads to the benefit of all walks of life
to display some level of respect and dignity for life.
Abbate, C. (2019). Save the Meat for Cats: Why It’s Wrong to Eat
Roadkill. Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, 32(1),
165–182.
https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1007/s10806-019-09763-6
Coeckelbergh, M., & Gunkel, D. (2014). Facing Animals: A
Relational, Other-Oriented Approach to Moral Standing. Journal of
Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, 27(5), 715–733.
https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1007/s10806-013-9486-3
Norcross, A. (2004). Puppies, Pigs, and People: Eating Meat and
Marginal Cases. Philosophical Perspectives, 18, 229–245.
https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1111/j.1520-8583.2004.00027.x
Is it possible that the moral standing animals have to humans is correlated to the use that we have assigned to them? For example dogs are often called a man’s best friend and many of us have had experiences with dogs where they are basically part of the family. However, cows, which are a common meat source, are not portrayed nearly as lovable as dogs are despite the fact that they are also fluffy, adorable and sweet. Humans give different animals different moral worths based on a multitude of factors, this is known as ‘speciesism’ (Caviola et al., 2018). In the paper written by Norcross there is an example where instread of pigs being slaughtered for pork, puppies are put through the process (2004). Most any person recoils at the idea of puppies being mutilated and killed and would support accusations of animal abuse in this scenario. However, this same pain and suffering is what thousands of animals go thorugh every year be they pigs, cows, chickens or others (Norcross, 2004). What is the difference between puppies and pigs being kept in cages and killed for our consumption? Why is there not massive societal outrage over the ethics of the meat industry as there would be if the puppies were the ones being harmed? I don’t have the answer to these questions but they certainly leave me thinking of my own dietary ethics in new ways.
ReplyDeleteCaviola, L., Everett, J., Faber, S. N. (2018). The moral standing of animals: Towards a psychology of speciesism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116(6), 1011-1029. https://web-b-ebscohost-com.dml.regis.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=f00888de-5f92-484c-baad-5b95a4718178%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=136429157&db=bth
Norcross, A. (2004). Puppies, Pigs and People: Eating Meat and Marginal Cases. Philosophical Perspectives, 18, 229-245. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1111/j.1520-8583.2004.00027.x
Those are great thought-provoking questions, Carli! Another intriguing thought is that this idea of speciesism presents itself differently in different cultures. In the U.S., dogs may be man's best friend, but in another country they may be considered another animal meant for human consumption. Beef is common in the average American diet, but another culture may respect and honor cows and never bring them harm.
DeleteI have also encountered folks who identify as vegan but consume mussels and oysters because these organisms do not have central nervous systems, thus they cannot formulate thoughts or process pain stimuli. I was told that they believe mussels and oysters are much closer to plants than animals.
These are just some observations I've had when thinking about how I've personally assigned different animals different moral standings.