Are There Moral Grounds for Eating Meat

If eating animals means causing animals’ pain and suffering, is it ethical to eat them? Take a position and defend it.

Raising animals for meat is a common practice in most communities, although there is increasing concern among animal rights advocates. The environment in which animals are raised in inhumane and the practice of killing animals to get meat has become a subject of significant concern among the animal rights cohorts. Some people argue there is nothing wrong with killing animals for meat; they are a source of food for human beings.

However, eating animals means causing them pain and suffering, and it is unethical to eat meat.

The killing of animals for meat is unethical because it causes them pain and suffering.

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Animals are no different from human beings because they have their lives to live. Animals have all the senses that human beings and they feel pain (Pollan 2). They feel lonely and need to socialize with other animals. They enjoy lives just as human beings do, enjoy taking care of their young ones, and it is their right to live free of any disturbance.

Killing animals for meat is unnecessary because it denies the animals the freedom to enjoy life and live peacefully with other animals. The craving for meat is destroying the relationship between human beings and animals (McGregor 1). It displays the cruelty of humans’ beings towards animals. Humans should show compassion for animals and treat them fairly instead of subjecting them to unnecessary pain and suffering.

Eating animals is unethical because the process used to kill for slaughtering animals subjects them to immense pain and suffering. Various cultures have their beliefs and practices about the recommended procedure for killing animals (Pollan 3). In some communities, the animals are killed by slitting the throat. Sea animals such as lobsters are boiled alive, while in other instances, animals such as fish are removed from the water and left to die on their own for lack of oxygen. It is unfair to subject animals to intense pain and watch at them as they fight for their lives helplessly. For instance, one can see how the lobster struggles when put in boiling water and “sometimes try to cling to the container’s sides or even to hook its claws over the kettle’s rim” because the creature is not willing to die but has to face death by force (Wallace 4). Lobsters may take between 35 and 45 seconds in boiling water before death, which is a very long moment of suffering (Wallace 5). Animals fight helplessly for their lives and eventually die in a painful and tormenting state. Regardless of the method used for killing animals, one can only imagine the pain animals go through just to satisfy the selfish interests of human beings.

Some people argue that animals do not feel pain because they are not human beings. Animals are meant for meat, and even without human intervention, they will be killed by other animals and go through pain and sufferings out there. Killing an animal for meat takes a short moment, and of pain that does not compare with long-term pain and suffering, they would go through without human involvement (McGregor 1). After all, animals eventually die even if they were not killed for meat; hence by not killing them for meat does not save them from pain and suffering. The reason for keeping animals is to get meat without which many people will not domesticate animals ( Johnson 1). However, raising animals for meat is a practice deep-rooted in the cultures of most communities and is as old as human history. Nevertheless, eating animal meat is not fair because it subjects animals to unnecessary pain. Animal meat and products are unhealthy, and human beings can get healthy foods from plants and save the lives of animals.

In conclusion, eating meat is an unethical practice because it subjects animals to unnecessary pain and suffering. It denies animals of their rights, and it is unfair to make animals suffer to satisfy the selfish interests of humans’ beings. Human beings understand the pain in their bodies and imagine animals could be going through similar pain a they being killed for meat. Human beings can get healthy foods from other sources without causing animals’ pain and suffering.

Works Cited

1. Johnson Nathanael, “Is there a moral case for eating meat?” VoxMedia, Aug 11, 2015, https://www.vox.com/2015/8/9/9122907/meat-ethics
2. McGregor Joan, “What philosophers have to say about eating meat,” Theconverastion, 2018. Available from https://theconversation.com/what-philosophers-have-to-say-about-eating-meat-100444
3. Pollan Michael, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (excerpt from “The Anxiety of Eating” & “The Ethics of Eating Animals”). Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York; 1-4.
4. Wallace David, F. “Consider the Lobster” (an excerpt). Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York; 1-6.