Before the Fall, God created animals and plants as herbivores. His instruction for Noah to include all sorts of clean animals aboard his ark was more of a concession to man than an alteration in His original design.
The command not to eat flesh with blood underscores this prohibition. Flesh symbolizes death while blood represents life.
Table of Contents
Why is it that we eat animals?
Importantly, it should be remembered that whether animals benefit from our consumption is not at issue – rather, it concerns how and why they do benefit.
Common justifications for eating animals either rely on moral principles that cannot be supported, rest on empirical premises that are false, or both – an argument often used by vegetarians who eat meat for health or environmental reasons.
Meat consumption is morally wrong. Our industrialized system causes unjustifiable suffering for animals while contributing to climate change; animal agriculture and slaughterhouses account for much of global warming emissions. Furthermore, diets high in animal proteins have been linked with heart disease and some cancers.
Foer, best-known as the author of Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, conducts a detailed investigation of factory farming, animal suffering and human eating meat consumption. He conducts numerous interviews with various people from animal rights activists to farmers; weaving their insights into his own thoughts as he builds his argument.
People who advocate eating animals because it provides nutrition are mistakingly overlooking all of the good that the animals obtain during their own lives before death. Although some suffering and distress may result in some instances, their overall benefit far outweigh this burdensome aspect of our food chain. It would be similar to justifying shoplifting because one derives pleasure from it while overlooking all of the pleasure and happiness gained through these stolen items.
Facilities where animals are housed often breed infectious diseases that harm all humanity, such as E-coli, staphylococcus aureus, campylobacter, clostridium difficile, salmonella, shigella, bovine spongiform encephalopathies (BSE) and bird flu. Furthermore, eating meat from animals causes these infections to spread further among us humans. Eating flesh from animals further propagates these illnesses into society.
Why is it that we kill animals?
As part of our pursuit for pleasure, health, and wealth, each year billions of animals are sacrificed in order to satisfy our cravings for steak, chicken thighs, bacon, and milk products. Unfortunately, their deaths cast a cruel shadow over their lives that are full of cruelty and pain.
As individuals, we can take steps to end this suffering by choosing not to buy animal products and supporting companies that do not practice cruelty against animals. Switching to a plant-based diet would be the ideal solution; however, not everyone is ready or able to make such changes so it is vital that we fight back against factory farms and slaughterhouses that use cruel tactics against these innocent lives.
Farm animals account for most of the animals we kill today. Living in cramped quarters and subjected to painful torture in preparation for their demise, many suffer incessantly before ultimately succumbing. Most often this suffering stems from stunning animals before slaughter.
This method of killing animals is cruel and unnecessary and must not be accepted as it leaves animals suffering in any way. Animals deserve respect as individuals with rights and deserve to live lives free from pain.
From time immemorial, humans have used and killed animals as food, clothing and companions – an arrangement which has proven mutually beneficial for both parties involved – but continuing this practice would only benefit one party – with animal interests having more to gain than humans from continuing this relationship.
Animal rights activism is founded upon Peter Singer’s utilitarian philosophy of minimizing animal suffering as the moral standard for using and killing them as food sources. However, this argument alone has proven ineffective at curbing people’s consumption of meat; but not enough to prevent killing and using animals as food products altogether.
Every year in the United States, over 56 billion land animals are slaughtered for their fur, skin, and meat consumption. The Animal Kill Clock serves as a sobering reminder of all those who perish cruelly to give us body parts – we can stop this injustice by supporting animal rights charities and making lifestyle choices such as switching to veganism.
Why is it that we eat meat?
People eat meat because it provides essential protein sources in our diets. Protein plays an essential role in cell and muscle growth and development as well as being integral for immune health and psychological well-being – not to mention just enjoying its delicious taste! Many who consume meat also appreciate its great taste.
People have hunted and farmed meat since prehistoric times. Today, when people refer to “meat”, this usually refers to animal flesh from mammals, pigs and poultry; some consider fish not meat depending on context or culinary arts techniques used – for instance Roman Catholic Church rules don’t consider seafood abstention part of abstaining from meat; furthermore some vegetarians do eat fish as part of their diets.
True carnivores eat raw meat without prepping, while most humans usually prepare theirs by boiling to make it easier to digest and kill any bacteria that could potentially make them sick or even lead to their deaths. Eating uncooked meat has been estimated to cause food poisoning which affects 48 million Americans every year!
If meat consumption were only beneficial to humans, continuing it wouldn’t be considered ethical; but since both humans and domesticated animals derive benefits from eating meat is seen as moral imperative and should continue consuming it.
Suffering is a serious issue that should never be ignored, so it is crucial that we consume meat from animals who lived happy, productive lives before being slaughtered with as little pain and distress as possible. Though only a small proportion of global meat production uses these standards currently, if demand increased accordingly they could become standard practice.
Future per capita meat consumption will most likely decline, due to rising rates of obesity and related health conditions, environmental costs associated with raising and slaughtering animals, and greater consumer awareness regarding such issues. It remains uncertain if this trend can reverse itself before leading to global ecological disaster.
Why is it that we eat fish?
Fish has long been associated with spirituality. According to tradition, Christ fed his followers fish after rising from the dead – fish are symbolic of this event and its commemoration by eating fish is seen as killing Leviathan (an enormous sea-creature which stands for death). Eating fish may thus represent killing and devouring Leviathan while commemorating when Christ conquered death for all of humanity.
Fish is also part of Catholic meals on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent, dating back to when King Henry VIII of England divorced Catherine of Aragon (devout Catholic) for Protestant Anne Boleyn. This practice dates back to their marriage.
Medieval societies viewed meat as an extravagant luxury item only accessible to the wealthy; fish was more readily available during late winter in Mediterranean regions. Today however, people observing Lenten traditions can enjoy eating meat as it is less costly than seafood options.
