Submitted by BernardJOrtcutt t3_yv08ow in philosophy
slickwombat t1_iwlsczq wrote
Reply to comment by thebigdateisnow in /r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | November 14, 2022 by BernardJOrtcutt
I also eat meat, but candidly I can't justify it. I think the only way you could argue it's permissible is by supposing animals aren't proper subjects of moral consideration (e.g., they don't suffer or their suffering doesn't matter, or it's consistent to treat them as means rather than ends in themselves). But that's a difficult sell, and even if we grant it, there's also the harms inflicted on people by widespread production of meat -- e.g., the environmental impact or undue consumption of resources compared to other kinds of food production.
There's plenty of room to try and doubt these considerations, but there's at least a plausible case for vegetarianism. And what's the countervailing consideration? I can't really come up with anything more serious than "I like eating meat."
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