What is your logic for disregarding animal rights (including eating them)?

Question

Logically, I will make the argument that it is not permissable to harm animals, even for food purposes. The logic can be summed up by speciesism, which asserts that humans have no right to claim superiority over other animals. Therefore, if you make the argument that eating animals is morally permissable, you must allow that it is also morally permissable for other animals to eat us.

In a deductive logical scenario, I would extend this argument to the point that if a mentally superior race existed, they should cage humans and use us for food, skins, and experimentation to further their own cause.

Agree? Disagree?

Answer 1

Since we are claiming no superiority over animals that means we are among their number. A simple overview of human anatomy and behavior proves we are omniverous animals designed to harvest food from nearly any source, including eachother, while being able to store the said food against future shortages. With this in mind, the idea of "rights" is a foolishly and groundless discussion, since nature, which our being on a level plane with the animals makes us part of, doesn't care about what lives or dies.

No animal, include humans if you like, inherently has rights. The idea of rights is a mere fabrication of the human mind as it struggles to comform reality to our personal idea of fairness. Nothing in nature cares about the rights of anything, a lion sees nearly every animal as a possible meal. Since you place people among the ranks of animals, you must logically conclude that we are part of nature as well. Being part of nature means that nothing has an inherent right to do or not do anything, which makes the whole idea of animal rights illogical.

Your final point makes perfect sense. If their was an animal better than humans, they could and would have the ability and reason to farm raise us, eat us and skin us. They to would be part of the natural world, and logically could disregard any idea of rights we may posess. By the way, there are less than a dozen animal species which comprehend their existance.

Answer 2

Humans are the only animals with logic and reason. We know that we exist in the world as we do, a dog, for instance, doesn't. Other animals for the most part have limited intelligence as well. A dog will sometimes like you if you feed it and that's all they know.

Animals taste good, most of us are raised eating them, and that is a hard habit to break. Its the same reason so many people believe in God. It was taught and children obey authority.

Does anyone punish animals for eating humans? We really don't. If we see a dog bite someone and know it might hurt another human, we remove it from society. But if Steve Irwin gets stung by a stingray, we don't hunt the stingray down and put it through the court system because that doesn't make any sense.

Answer 3

Well, it depends on whether you see killing an animal humanely as incorrect still. Most don't. But I agree. So many people lie and say we need meat but 400-500 million vegetarians and a few vegans in India promptly disprove that. I am more on the fence about whether it's moral or not. Sometimes I feel it's alright as long as they don't suffer, and others I feel that we can not use meat except for people who have deficiencies. Also it puzzles me how people can justify animal testing when we are on the verge of alternatives which are more accurate and need more attention than such an inaccurate and cruel practice. Of course I believe eating meat when there is no other food is justified (though I'd never condone killing a live pet or human friend to save yourself).

Answer 4

It's all about the food chain. Lions don't think too much about right or wrong when they eat antelope. On the whole, we're on top of the food chain *because* we can cage animals and render them helpless against us. However, there are times when the roles are reversed...swimming the Great Barrier Reef, hiking alone in Alaska..where you're right, the stronger animal has every right to take us over and eat us (and does).

And yes, if there were a more superior species on earth that could trap, herd and harvest humans, they would be the top of the food chain, not us. It's just that simple.

You are the lion, man. Do not weep for the antelope, but take his mortal life and use it to extend your own. You never know when something bigger or badder will come along.

Answer 5

I disagree with you but thats ok we can still be friends lol.
Animals were put on this earth from the beginning of time as a food source among other things. You say that animals do not eat humans. How many sharks have taken off the legs or torsos of humans? How many alligators have eaten a human? And I could go on but these are two good examples that animals do eat humans. We are not in cages because we are smarter than animals are. Now go eat a hamburger and sssshhh.

Answer 6

I truly agree in principal with ALL Creatures great and small, HOWEVER...

I also happen to savor the flavors of NON vegetable products, while not considering that it was taken, to be fed, in some level of greed.

If the day ever comes when Veggies can offer ME the same experiences in TASTE especially, as MEAT does, at the moment, and will offer ALL my nutritional needs, without causing any deficiencies, I may attempt VEGAN, but I'm not there yet.

While I offer this in respect to any who disagree, and also with no disrespect to any animal, I suspect it will be eons before BEEF will be supplanted by BEEF flavored SOY and offer a similar experience.

Steven Wolf

Answer 7

I disagree. In nature, animals eat each other - food chain. In the wild, it is eat or be eaten. Animals eat each other, and humans eat other animals. In we are not wise, we (humans) will be eaten by other animals (sharks, bears, wolves, lions, etc). Only because of our wit and weapons are we not eaten regularly by other animals. It is natures design for animals to eat each other - yuck!

I do however, believe in the humane treatment of humans and the good treatment of animals. Humans should not kill for sport nor conduct harmful experiments on man or animal. Man should not consume more meat that needed for survival. Man has gotten out of control with its use and consumption of meat. So much so that the production of this meat has become harmful and unnatural.

It is true that if another species of mammal were to out wit humans, we would end up on the dinner menu. Oh well, that's the law of nature.

Answer 8

Species-ism? Are you serious? Eating animals is morally permissible. It was going on well before Humans walked the earth. Do you find yourself so self righteous? You know what, it is morally permissible that other animals eat us too. It already happens. Do sharks not try to take a bite out of a wandering surfer? Do lions not look to the lost tribesman for an afternoon meal? It happens.

What I cannot stand is how someone can stand on their high horse and lecture to everyone else about how we should not be eating meat. Let the entire earth come to a stand still with all the vegetarians in the world without their precious tofu to get them by and they will do 1 of 2 things...either give in to the primal instinct to survive and EAT, or they will starve themselves to death...in which case, survival of the fittest at its finest.

Answer 9

I would say that the difference is sentience (self awareness). I wouldn't eat a dolphin or higher primate (if such were available for food).

Generally speaking I prefer animals that have lived wild (venison, wild goose, caribou) or are allowed to live in a manner close to how they would behave in the wild (grass fed, free range). But that's just ethics.

Answer 10

On my continent, Africa, people regularly get killed by wild animals, and my own life has been under threat from snakes, a charging elephant (yes, I was on foot) and a crocodile attack. The species killing most people in Africa is the hippo and hippo's don't even eat meat.
We have enzymes in our bodies, specifically for digesting meat. Why is it there? Biologically we are omnivores. It's not just a habit.
As noble as your intentions are, distinguish between what's natural and what's not, my friend.