(June 2, 2013 at 8:03 am)Forbinator Wrote: Oh wow. Suggesting that vegans want equal rights for all animals is a serious strawman argument and oversimplification.
To help you understand, let's make an analogy to humans. I believe that all women should have the right to have free pap smears and mammograms as part of their overall health, but I wouldn't campaign for their rights to have free regular prostate exams. The key here is not equal rights, but equal consideration of interests. There is no evidence to suggest that one gender has more of an interest in being healthy than the other, but there are differences between the genders that would mean their rights should not be exactly equal.
What a ???????? argument, a woman is not in need of a prostate exam - therefor this entire analogy falls appart - other than that:
BREAKING NEWS: Women are also humans!!!!
And interests are the thing which build a case for legal rights. - you are simply playing with words.
Quote:A cow has an interest in continuing her existence, as evidenced by her survival instinct, which is measurable by secretion of hormones in times of stress (catecholamines and corticosteroids) just as for humans. There is no reason why this interest is less valid than the corresponding interest that I have in continuing my existence. Chickens have an interest in having a place to dust-bathe (but I wouldn't advocate equal rights to humans in this regard as we don't share that interest) and humans have an interest in achieving a high school education (again, equal education rights for chickens would be absurd as they don't have this interest).
One thing - We are a different species and on top of the food chain.
We understand our world and learned to use and influence it towards being more benefitial for us.
Other than that - you have your personal right to "respect" interests.
But why should you have the right to infringe others rights to food?
