Entry #9: Is it Wrong to Eat Animals?

 It seems there are two types of people roaming through Earth; one that likes eating meat, and who could not care any less for the animal, and the other that refrains from eating meat out of compassion for the animal. That is it. There is no other type. However, relying solely on these two types does not provide sufficient reason or data to determine if eating animals is wrong in the first place. Therefore, instead of looking at the statistics of carnivores compared to herbivores found in the human population, we need to think a bit more irrationally. Humans are a type of animal, and in the natural world, animals eat animals for one reason- to survive. However, humans are special, in that they can choose to eat only a diet consisting of plants, and they can survive just as well as any other person. Therefore, there can be only one conclusion. Eating animals is not wrong, per se. However, what is wrong is the practice and process the humans put the animals through to "ready" them up for human consumption.

An article I read presents pretty interesting information from the point of view of a farmer, and I will use and dissect some of the content found in there. The author of the article, Rachel Koski Nielsen, brings up a really good point about the act of eating animals. Animals are living, thinking beings, humans like animals, yet humans also like to eat animals- to eat animals, the animals must die. Therefore, it is unavoidable that animals would end up dead, either in the wild or as livestock. Therefore, eating animals is not wrong. Majority of livestock end up in factories called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, in which tons of the same animal are raised in close confinement from birth to slaughter. Ok, well what's up with that? The author of the article, remember that she is a farmer, brings up an unspoken rule among farmers called the "The Livestock Farmer's Code of Ethics." What this rule entails, and I will paraphrase from the article, is that the animals in CAFOs will live comfortably in a healthy environment because they are under the care of the farmers. In exchange, the animals will die as food, in the most humane way possible. Ok, that's all well and good, but a rule will more often than end up being broken, especially an unspoken rule. The simple fact that the rule exists is a great thing, however, fact-of-the-matter is that the rule is not being enforced or followed as commonly as it should be. Most, if not all, animals in every CAFO is subject to mistreatment, highly prone to disease, and have their interests jeopardized. Essentially, CAFOs take the content of the rule, and do the exact opposite. That not only raises ethical concerns, but it is also what is wrong when it comes to "eating" animals.

It is not too late to change the situation for the better for everybody, literally, everybody. CAFOs are a detriment to the world in that they harm not only the animals, but the human health, and the health of the world around them. You can help by shopping for fresh products instead of the highly processed waste from CAFOs. You will notice a change in your life, I promise, and you won't regret it. Well, until next time. ]<'>[