Meat eating ethical?

[rexbeccarox]

And some people like meat, but don't like to cause suffering, so they have a bit of a dilemma. I compromise by (usually) sticking with poultry as the highest form of life I eat, but I often compromise that, too. I'm an omnivore, but that also means I don't HAVE to eat meat. I've got a little tickle in my brain telling me that me the taste of something doesn't alone justify killing it.

Instant kill sniper? Also meat is the only source of protein I can get. Soy, peanuts, and beans are basically GMOs, I hate seeds, and I am alergic to nuts. I also work out so what other source of protein is their for me?

I also have a nut allergy, and in past veggie threads, I've explained how I essentially have PTSD due to my fear of food from how many times I went into anaphylactic shock while I was a vegetarian.

It's too bad you don't like seeds, PFT; my sister found me these snacks called Somersaults, which are little nuggets made out of seeds and grains. They pride themselves on being nut-free, and they have as much protein as almonds. They're also fabulously yummy. My sister says eating them is like eating nuts. Too bad they're also filled with sodium, so it's not like I can use them for all of my protein intake.

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Some of us can't NOT eat meat and stay healthy. PFT and I are prime examples of that.

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Did I make the wrong choice by putting my cat down, then, when her tongue was bulging out of her mouth, and her belly was so distended she couldn't walk due to an infection? I mean, she couldn't voice consent...

Could the animal have been treated and if so would the quality of life be worth living?

No, but by that example, I was just pointing out the flaw in the logic that

-we don't euthanize people unless they give consent
-animals can't give consent
-but yet people euthanize their animals all the time.

It was just a poor analogy is all.

[Anomalocaris]

So, if a superior alien race came to earth, would it be ethical for them to eat us?

You seem to imagine ethics is some sort of objective thing whose form and existence is a material objective fact that would be perceptible independent of whether it is you, or an alien race, that is examining it.

In fact it is by fundamental nature an artifical mental construct for the convenience for its creator.

Our convenience and those of the alien race would not be the same.

It would be inconvenience for us to be eaten by aliens. so we can scream that would be inethical. It would indeed be unethical for us.

But there is no reason whatsoever that aliens need or should be perturbed by our convenience. If alien form ethics for the same fundamental reasons whu we do, then all they will examine is by showing us mercy, it is within the realm of plausibility for us to recpricate in a manner noticeable or desirable to them.

If not, there is absolutely no reason why it would be inethical for them to eat us.

If we want to make it unethical for aliens to eat us, think about how we can hurt them if they do, or help them if they don't, in a way that matters to them.

[KUSA]

You can't fuck with Chuck!

[Angrboda]

Vegetarians want to base ethics on emotion, instead of reason. They think with their hearts instead of their heads, anthropomorphizing and "imagining" what an animal thinks and feels.

What a vegetarian thinks a domestic pig thinks: "Pain! Pain! Pain!"

What a vegetarian thinks a feral pig thinks: "Free at last! Free at last!"

What a pig really thinks: "Oink. Oink."

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

So, if a superior alien race came to earth, would it be ethical for them to eat us?

You seem to imagine ethics is some sort of objective thing whose form and existence is a material objective fact that would be perceptible independent of whether it is you, or an alien race, that is examining it.

No, I do not believe in objective morality. I'm merely pointing out inconsistencies in the way ethical assumptions are applied. Most us here for instance assume the golden rule or something like it: do unto others as you would have them do to you. Meat eaters apply this only to humans which I think is an arbitrary limit. Again, what's the difference between humans and animals? Are they not "others"? If it's just intelligence that's the determining factor, then can we fry people with downs syndrome?

Another question...which is more immoral: to kill a human or to kill a chicken? Why?

In fact it is by fundamental nature an artifical mental construct for the convenience for its creator.

You seem to assume that an ethical system only applies to the species who created it which is just again another instance of assuming that species matters at all in ethics.

[KUSA]

Another question...which is more immoral: to kill a human or to kill a chicken? Why?

I would like you to answer this.

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

Another question...which is more immoral: to kill a human or to kill a chicken? Why?

I would like you to answer this.

The chicken of course. Duh.

[Heywood]

Vegetarians want to base ethics on emotion, instead of reason. They think with their hearts instead of their heads, anthropomorphizing and "imagining" what an animal thinks and feels.

What a vegetarian thinks a domestic pig thinks: "Pain! Pain! Pain!"

What a vegetarian thinks a feral pig thinks: "Free at last! Free at last!"

What a pig really thinks: "Oink. Oink."

It is hard to imagine conceptualizing ideas without language but I suspect animals can do it. I'm sure a pig knows when it is hungry and knows when it is full. I suspect an antelope knows the lion that is chasing him intends to eat him. I am positive that the capuchin monkey below, even though it doesn't possess language.....understands what it means to be screwed.





The tough question for me is....would I eat that monkey?

[KUSA]

I would like you to answer this.

The chicken of course. Duh.

Why?

[Silver]

I would like you to answer this.

The chicken of course. Duh.

I thought this was a thread of serious arguments only.

Oh, heck, who am I kidding.

Why exactly is it ok to cage a cow its whole life, slaughter it, and then eat it but it's not ok to cage a human its whole life, slaughter it, and eat it? What exactly is the difference that makes the former ethical but the latter unethical?

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Duhhh, cow tasty!

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