Posted by alexandra_k on February 28, 2005, at 0:25:36
In reply to Re: Animal Rights - some possible exceptions » alexandra_k, posted by AuntieMel on February 27, 2005, at 13:59:28
I agree with you except that:
> In nature there is a food chain, and we are just part of that food chain. When we are done living, our remains go to feed the lower parts of the chain and the process goes on.Firstly just because that is the way things have been doesn't mean that we are morally entitled to go on in the same way 'just because that is the way we have lived in the past'.
I have done some checking around. You can obtain all the nutrients you need to be healthy (incl protein etc) from non animal and non-dairy (though need to take a synthetic form of B12 if you forgo dairy altogether). It might be tricky to work out what sorts of things to eat to get them all though. But the fact is that we simply do not need to eat meat anymore to live healthily.
I can chase down the sources for this if people would like..
The production of animals for food is actually very inefficient. More pounds of vegetables can be produced per acre of fertile land than pounds of meat. Animals are also fed lots of grain - grain that could have been eaten by us directly.
I agree with you about the leather products. That is something that was only brought to my attention recently. But yeah, that makes sense.
With respect to practicing operations on animals I guess I would ask myself 'would we do the same thing to an orphaned human infant?'. Yeah vets have to give surgery to pets one day, but likewise doctors have to give surgery to people. What do we do in the latter case? We practice on the dead, and we practice on those who need it - with appropriate supervision. Why should it be different in the case of animals? Would it be morally acceptable to perform an opperation on a human being (with appropriate anasthetic etc) 'just to practice'???
IMO no.
Not morally justified.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:461535
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050224/msgs/464275.html