Courteous to Creatures: The Morality Debate

How do ethics, principles, and morality play a role in the American meat industry?

An extreme case under heavy fire today revolves around the cruel and disturbing treatment of animals before their deathbed. No matter how appetizing that juicy, tender flesh sizzling on that smoking grill may seem, the method used to obtain this “delicacy” is outrageous.

Factory-Farming

The public eye must open up and acknowledge the dark brutality we continually inflict upon these innocent animals (generally pigs, cows, and chickens) before they’re shipped off to that bright and inviting grocery store.

It's time to realize that life without them would spill utter chaos on Earth, for humans alongside the entire ecosystem.

Homo Sapiens and animals disconnect by one major thing; the capability to abstractly understand things. What doesn’t cause a separation between us is the reality that animals have the same understanding of pain and feelings.

It's so mind-boggling to think that a handful of people believe many animals don't experience pain and suffering.

Like have you heard a dog yelp from stepping on its foot? That's one example out of many I can spew out.

We all share a capacity to suffer, and this means that animals have interests just like us. If we toss aside their interests and hold onto the idea that they're simply not members of our species, the logic of our position is similar to that of the most blatant racists or sexists.

I recently read this fascinating article by Nathanael Johnson called "Is there a moral cause for meat?“ At one point he stated that "there is a Cartesian idea that animals are unfeeling machines, incapable of suffering — but I just wasn’t buying that. It’s clear that animals have an aversive response to pain, and careful, well-respected scientists are saying that animals are probably capable of feeling and consciousness”.

The opposing argument revolves around the fact that farm animals seek a lifestyle like ours by prospering and flourishing in this hectic world. Killing these animals without any regard to their well-being tells us who we are as human beings. We are becoming more and more desensitized to the violence we inflict on these God-given creatures. Most Americans seem to view factory-farming animals as just walking meat sacks that are labeled as beef, poultry, and pork.

On the contrary, cows, chickens, turkeys, and pigs all have their own spiritual livelihood. They are more than food for our survival. They have souls, just like human beings.

I think the meat industry will never cease to exist, and nor should it.

My main target is to create widespread awareness that these farm-factory animals can be put-down in a more instantaneous and productive system, without redundant misery.

At 200 pounds of meat per person per year, our high meat consumption is hurting our national health.

Why? Because it all starts with the gut. A person with a diet high in animal foods may contribute to a less able-bodied person.

This is why I can't even fathom going on a meat only diet, aka the carnivore diet, beyond the ethical wrongness. On this strict diet, you get rid of all plants and consume only eggs, meat, organs, animal fats, and dairy products. There's a problem to doing this sort of diet long-term.

Vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices and the rest of the entire plant kingdom are chock-full of critical micronutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals. and most importantly, fiber.

Overtime, as your microbiome lacks these precious constituents, one’s health will surely decline; longevity is thrown out the window. They are required in our diet in order to attain mind-body balance and equilibrium.

Singer and Mason state that “increases in the consumption of animal products above that very low base are correlated with an increase in the ‘diseases of affluence’: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.”

However, Johnson combats this belief in quoting the scientist Vaclav Smil in how “‘vegetarianism’ is no higher than 2-4 percent in any Western society and that long-term (at least a decade) or life-long adherence to solely plant-based diets is less than 1 percent.”

A noticeable fluster strikes either side of the debate.

Humans are most definitely omnivorous bipeds. There is no one or the other debate. We require a vast array of both plants and animals in our diets. It's how our ancestors evolved for thousands of years on this planet.

Johnson supports many values attributing to Ethics and Animals, yet this specific ordeal doesn’t seem to fit in most animal rights activists’ notions. The toll a “meat-lovers” diet puts on the body doesn’t come across as a valid reason to gain support for morality in animal treatment; therefore, one may utilize it as rationale, and one may not.

In addition, Singer and Mason declare that cage-free factory farming for chickens would be a more attractive approach to eating meat over the alternative.

They observe that “buying fewer animal products would therefore be a good thing, especially if those animal products came from animals free to walk around outside, which would make the meat less fatty.”

However, they didn’t take into consideration the negatives. Johnson indicates that “in fact, the free-range system that I would instinctively choose for chickens may be worse than an enriched cage — because the birds get sick and injured a lot more. And laying hens, unlike meat chickens, are pretty nasty about setting up pecking orders.”

This point-of-view halts the goal in challenging factory-farming... to an extent. We have a vivid altercation between what should be classified as right and wrong in societal terms.

To individuals like Peter Singer and Jim Mason, carnivorous-consumption is an absolute disgust when it comes to factory-farming. They firmly believe that there is a certain boundary that shouldn’t be crossed over when it comes to treating innocent animals and it needs to be controlled as soon as possible. I agree.

In a similar, yet distinctive perspective, Johnson’s article Is there a moral case for meat? includes vital information about the opposing viewpoints; how animals deserve to be respected, and how meat is completely necessary for a person’s consumption. I also agree.

Regardless of one or the other, every single living organism has a clear-cut role on this great green-and-blue ball that should not be obstructed from selfish human choices.

I ask of you to begin a new shift in thinking: Begin to incorporate more plants into your daily diet and restrict meat products to under the US norm. That means not eating over 200 lbs of meat in a mere 365 days.

To make this simple, as the entire nutrition realm should be, cut back on animals by not eating them at every meal in the day. This is a SAD way, known as the Standard American Diet. We need to begin cooking more at home and skipping the Chick-fil-a or McDonald’s fast food line.

At the rate we’re moving now, the meat and dairy industry is not sustainable. Americans are swimming in dark waters without acknowledging the repercussions.The totality of Americans chow down on over 48 billion burgers in a year… yuck.

And yes, drinking that glass of conventional milk or chomping on that chicken sandwich every meal is not only increasing healthcare costs, its destroying the ecosystem along with the entire planet.

I guarantee if we continue to shove this outrageous amount of animals down our gaping maw, less than 50 years from now the tables will turn and the world will be an even more chaotic place. We will soon be wondering where all the food supply went in the local grocery stores.

I recommend saving the animal products for dinnertime and load up on energizing plant-power the entire day’s duration (this is my typical approach). This routine will not only improve your individual health, but the health of the planet and the animals residing on it.

To conclude, I am currently not 100% plant-based or vegan, but over 80% of my diet is. I preach plants. That's a fact. However, for 3 months straight, back in early 2018, I experimented with a strict plant-based diet.

Even with proper supplementation, a surge of lethargy, brain fog, and midday crashes started to creep up on me. Long-term, if you're not dialed-in to all the latest science of eating tip-top, you will see these type of symptoms and deficiencies erupt. Eating plant-based for chronic periods of time can truly wreck your health.

For my particular physiology, I cannot sustain a healthy and fulfilled way of life on a strict plant-based diet. I believe we were built to be omnivores and the predominant focus should be on dark leafy greens, tubers, cruciferous veggies, fruit, and other plant-based remedies. For some, a full on plant-based diet may be completely different and they may feel energized and balanced every waking day. That's perfectly fine too.

I simply spent the time to write this to enact change in the dairy and meat industry. The only way for change is to start from the ground up. The consumer has the upper right hand… you're one of them!

Check out the link below for an eye-opening video on the US's current corrupt system. It encompasses a non-bias approach to what is occurring in the meat and dairy industry. Plus, it gets through the basics in under 8 minutes of your time:

The Hidden Costs to Hamburgers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut3URdEzlKQ

Johnson, Nathanael. "Is there a moral cause for meat?" grist, Grist Magazine, Inc., 20 July 2015, grist.org/food/is-there-a-moral-case-for-meat/.

Singer, Peter, and Mason, Jason. “Ethics and Animals.” Approaching Great Ideas: Critical Readings for College Writers, edited by Lee A. Jacobus, Bedford/St. Martin’s, pp. 430-36.