Jolene Ren '24 explores the reasons for going vegan!
She does not wake up as she would do naturally with the sun rising because she has never seen daylight. The metal floors are cold in an enclosure less than the size of an A4 sheet of paper. She struggles to breathe with her beak clipped off; she cannot stand because the ceiling scrapes her head as thirty thousand other chicks crowd around her. Yet, she is one of the lucky ones. She hasn't been slaughtered for food or been tossed fatally off a shipping truck, and she wasn't thrown into the blender like her male counterparts simply due to their inability to produce eggs. Nevertheless, her fate remains bleak, chained by the shackles of factory farms.
The paradox is, whenever this topic is brought up for any possibility of discourse, all we hear is:
"Just finish the food on the table."
"Oh, it's just a phase, you will grow out of it eventually."
"Forget it, you will never make a difference."
These phrases are what we commonly hear when we try to discuss the topic of animal exploitation. Well, that is if it is even brought up in the first place.
Yet, the exploitation of non-human animals in the status quo would be what I would characterize as the greatest moral emergency that we face. Now, how dare I say this? There are so many things going wrong in the world, so much suffering. Why should we prioritize the factory farms that toss live chicks into blenders; that separate mothers from calves; that cause 50 billion animals to go insane due to the unimaginable amount of abuse that occurs in what can only be described as hell? Yes, many things are going wrong in the world, like human trafficking, for example. But the difference is: if you go out on the streets and ask 100 people what they think about human trafficking, how many of them will actually try to justify it to you? I submit zero. But on the contrary, go out and ask the same 100 people on the streets about what they think of the exploitation of non-human animals, and you won't get the same kind of consensus. The crux of the issue that I want to point out is that non-human animals are members of our moral community and deserve to be treated as such whether we like it or not.
I will begin by addressing some misconceptions about what it means to refuse to partake in the exploitation of animals. I will then cover both the principle and practical reasons for going vegan. Lastly, I will offer simple solutions that the everyday person (like you!) can adopt.
Firstly, misconceptions. Opponents assume that because vegans care about animal rights, we somehow think that animals are worth more than human beings. Fortunately, this is not the case. We just believe that the suffering of animals is not worth what we're exploiting them for. You don't have to think that a pig has more value than a human being in order to be convinced that killing that pig is unjust. You just have to think that the pig's life and its suffering are worth more than the human tastebuds. As vegans, we understand that boycotting animal products may not eliminate ALL suffering. We may need to sacrifice habitats to grow food to not starve or create life-saving medicine. But what we're trying to do is to eliminate unnecessary suffering.
Now, my first argument will be an argument made from consistency. I take things that I think you would already believe and see if the logic that you use to justify those beliefs also applies to non-human animals. I'd like to use the argument of Peter Singer in his seminal animal liberation speech.
Consider the moral principle underlying our approach to equality between human beings. The reason that we have a conception of human rights is because we recognize that somebody's moral value should not be dependent on morally irrelevant concepts like race and gender and sexuality. Of course, not all human beings are the same. We all have different skin colors and cultures and proportions and eye shapes and all sorts of things, but to be anti-racist isn't to deny that these differences exist; to be anti-racist is to say that we recognize these differences, but we recognize that they're not morally relevant differences.
We don't have to deny that a pig or a cow is different from a human being in many essential ways. Still, in every way that these animals do resemble us in their ability to feel pain in their care for their children, these are the morally relevant characteristics which we use to ascribe moral value to human beings. You may argue that humans display different traits that differ from animals, such as intelligence or self-awareness. Fine. Try applying that consistently to humans. Take a severely disabled child with little self-awareness. Would you propose to cruelly torture them too? I hope not. I don't know, maybe you would. But whichever you choose, it should be crystal clear to anyone that takes themselves morally seriously that animal exploitation has to end now as a matter of principle, just as racism does and just as sexism does.
It is important to realize that these moral principles in and of themselves should be enough to convince you, but my second argument will illustrate the practical benefits of going vegan. The scientific community is clear. The contribution to global warming by the animal agricultural industry far exceeds our transportation industries put together. Fully one-half of the 79 thousand tonnes of ocean plastic in the Great Pacific is made of fishing nets, more than any other source.
Notice the hypocrisy of the status quo. VSCO girls are willing to use metal straws to "save the planet" and "save the fish." Yet, we aren't willing to stop eating the fish! The hypocrisy is astounding. Beyond that, we all know that science is beginning to show that not only is a vegan diet as healthy or as practicable as a non-vegan diet, but in many ways, it benefits us as well. Cancer Research UK recently published that it doesn't matter how much red meat you eat, as it's always beneficial to eat less to reduce your risk of cancer. These practical benefits are tremendous, yet there is already a clear moral imperative to go vegan simply because of the principle.
Finally, what are you, as an average individual, able to do?
In the status quo, we keep funneling money into the industries that cause this to happen, making this a uniquely economic moral emergency. Racism doesn't go away when you stop paying for it, but the exploitation of animals for food and entertainment disappears the moment that we stop paying for it. But realize, all you have to do is to choose something different on the menu. Buy a cotton sweater instead of a wool one. Even if you cannot convert 100% to a vegan lifestyle, notice that the smallest change would still make a great impact. It may be difficult to change. It may require some sacrifice. But if you are willing to be morally consistent and willing to uphold basic moral values, this is a step that you need to take. The future trend is positive. The more people that join and opt into this lifestyle, the more ability we gain to eradicate the negative effects of going vegan. Miss the taste of meat? Industries are already beginning to explore the field of alternative meat. As demand rises, alternative meat will only become more authentic in taste and less expensive in price.
Through my principled and practical reasons, I hope that you have been convinced or are at least aware of the situation. Ask yourself the question, if these animals that are kept in factory farms could talk, would you go vegan? I'm sure they would talk you out of it. As Peter Singer asks: when history looks back, do you want to be counted among the oppressors, or among the liberators? You've got to make that choice.
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