To quote Jeremy Bentham in his book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, in regard to the consciousness of animals, "The question is not, 'Can they reason? ' nor, 'Can they talk? ' but rather, 'Can they suffer? '. It is far too common for us as humans – the top of the food chain - to forget that we are not the only beings on the planet capable of thought. It is very simple to lump together all the creatures deemed as unintelligent or insentient together and basically de-animalize them – stripping them of their own evolutionary accomplishments and cognitive or mental development. With no empathy or deeper understanding of these beasts, we are free of any moral weights on our consciousness that may come from forcing them to live in humiliating and revolting conditions and are fed a chemical concoction of hormones and chemicals. This unfair and unjust treatment of animals has touched the hearts of many individuals across the globe, influencing them to take up a new diet that with it brings about a new lifestyle. Vegetarianism (or veganism, for those who are serious about …show more content…
Simply put, those who practice living as a vegetarian abstain from red (and white meat, like pork), fish, shellfish, and all other kinds of animal flesh. They do not partake in carnivorous or even omnivorous pastimes, like eating hot dogs or freshly grilled hamburgers and steaks. Their diet consists of almost completely fruits, vegetables, nuts (and seeds), berries, and very rarely animal byproducts, such as eggs and the many forms in which dairy comes. Since these “true” vegetarians have sworn themselves of the meat of other living creatures, they must find other sources of protein. This mainly comes from many different types of nuts (that contain many other vitamins, minerals, and fatty oils), and a surprising array of vegetables, like avocados or
“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."( Schopenhauer). Vegetarianism and animal rights movement have been crossing each other since 70’s. The meeting point between two is veganism which means strict vegetarianism. Vegetarianism was firstly founded as being formed on ethical issues and then it became mostly based on health reasons. Even though vegetarianism has evolved drastically over time, some of its current forms have come back full circle to its early days, when vegetarianism was an ethical-philosophical choice, not a mere health choice.
For thousands of years scientist have been performing vivisections on animals to find information on new chemicals, drugs, and vaccines. Vivisection is when scientist perform dissections among living animals mostly for the purpose of educating and retrieving information. Experimenting on animals has become the tool that has helped us comprehend the body functions of an animal and how a disease transforms the bodily functions, but over the years it’s caused animal rights activists to question the usefulness and the sincerity of using animals for this purpose. Although animal research has been helpful in the past, it is morally wrong in the sense that experimenting on animals is not the only way to collect information. There are other alternatives
Quarter 2 argumentative essay How would you feel if you were taken away from your family? Tilikum an orca whale was taken away from his family when he was captured. Tilikum could only swim in small circles for a year before being transferred to Seaworld. In 1991 a trainer named Keltie Byrne fell into the pool with three orcas.
Imagine wanting not a puppy, but a tiger for your birthday, imagine the expenses of that tiger and the dangers and hazards of owning that tiger. Do you really think it’s a good idea to get that tiger? No, it’s not. It’s a lot of work, and it’s also very dangerous. Exotic animals are not good to buy and have. If you buy that cute tiger, it will eventually grow up and not be so cute, it will be dangerous and strong, it’s also a wild animal and it’s very unpredictable, also there are many diseases you can catch from that tiger, and there are many dangers of having that tiger as well. (Long sentence)
Seeing maimed animals are not pleasant images. Those images sometimes appear across computer and television screens. The advocacy groups who place these images in the public’s view are trying to jolt people into the realization that abuse exists. For every ten seconds that goes by an animal is getting abused (“Animal… Statistics”). One statistic states that “71% of pet-owning women entering women’s shelters reported that their batterer had injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologically control victims; 32% reported their children had hurt or killed animals” (“Animal… Violence”). Animal cruelty comes in several forms, some of which people do not know. There is animal experimenting, animal abuse, and mistreatment of animals. and through revealing the results from research, one discovers the horrific effects of animal abuse.
There is more to vegetarianism than not eating meat. A vegetarian generally pays attention to their health, makes choices about their diet, and respects animals. There are no rules to being vegetarian; a vegetarian sets his or her own guidelines and restrictions. One chooses not to eat meat for many reasons; it may be because of religion, respect for animals, health, or sometimes a person simply does not like meat. Most people think that a meat/animal-product free diet is just a trend, but vegetarianism has been a growing movement ever since it began in 600 BC. Pythagoras is considered the ‘original vegetarian’. Groups called Pythagorean Societies were set up that discouraged a diet consisting of meat (Parr pg. 26). Modern day vegetarianism began in seventeenth century England. In 1847, the word ‘vegetarian’ started being used. It was derived from the Latin word vegetus, meaning vigorous and lively (Parr pg. 31). Now there are about 7.3 million vegetarians in America and about 22.8 who followed a “vegetarian-inclined diet”. A basic vegetarian diet prohibits meat and you can choose if you want to eat other animal products like milk, cheese, eggs, honey, etc. There are many different sub-categories of vegetarianism: lacto-ovo, lacto, ovo, vegan, and semi-vegetarian. The difference between these categories is the exception of things like egg (ovo), milk (lacto), and other animal products. A vegetarian diet is beneficial to personal health, the environment, and the basic rights of animals.
Has it ever crossed your mind what it would be like to be a laboratory animal? Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in U.S labs every year. You've most likely heard of animal testing but perhaps aren't completely sure what it is. Animal testing is the experimentation carried out on animals used to "assess the safety and effectiveness of everything from medication to cosmetics, as well as understanding how the human body works." However, there is more that goes on behind the scenes throughout these experimentations. Overall, it is more often than not cruel, produces inaccurate results, is immoral, and should be banned; allow me to elaborate.
They start feeling terrible and feel like something should be done. In order for that to happen, they believe becoming a vegetarian will help them. Over 56 million farmed animals are killed every year by humans and more than 3,000 of those animals are killed every second in slaughterhouses around the world. Humans should know that animals are a part of this earth and deserve respect and to live their lives. By becoming a vegetarian or vegan, people around the world can save up to 95 animals a year and thousands during a lifetime. (Animal Equality) An Increase amount of animal activists are becoming vegetarians in order to save many animals. This can also help them with having a lower risk in health issues, like previously stated. Vegetarians are also helping the environment and world hunger-problems due to the fact that water, land, and energy are need to provide for a person on a vegetarian-diet than an animal-based diet. (Primer on Animal Rights) People around the world should understand that if billons of animals are killed every year, you won’t have any more animals later on in the future and people will then realize that saving the animals should have been a main
Exotic Pets On March 19, 2003 Siegfried & Roy were doing a magic show when one of their lions injured Roy during the performance. The lion was taken care of since it was a cub but it still caused a tragic event.
Zoos have been around for centuries. In the past zoos were a simple collection of animals in cages. Many animals in the early 200’s were diseased and treated poorly. Zoos today are very different modern zoos were diseased and treated poorly. Modern zoos pride themselves as centers for scientific studies and research.
When vegetarians argue that a diet not containing meat is healthier because it does not contain as much fat and reduces the chances being obese, Joseph Mercola argues that “ I was exposed to concepts that helped me get a deeper understanding of the enormous level of biochemical and genetic individuality that essentially guarantees that there is no perfect food plan that will work for everyone.” This helps to justify the fact that a person who does not eat meat, may actually be not as healthy as someone who eats meat due to the different makeup of each human being. Some people require different types of food in order to function at their best. The reason for others believing in being a vegetarian, is on the subject of slaughtering animals for food. Those that support eating meat do not deny that there are types of conditions in factories where animals are treated unfairly, but there are alternatives to eating processed meat. There are many start up farms that treat their animals with respect and allow them the grow naturally. There has also been a long tradition of killing animals for survival of the every human being. “The ancestors of modern vegetarians would not have survived without using animal products like fur to keep warm, leather to make footwear, belts, straps and shelter, and bones for tools” (Morrel). The killing of animals has been part of life from almost the beginning, it is an acceptance many people have come to terms with throughout the ages. When a Vegetarian argues that the production of meat hurts the environment by producing noxious gases and destroys natural land, the simple answer to that is when anything is produced it takes up natural land. According to Lierre Keith, author of books supporting a mixed diet, “The truth is that agriculture is the most destructive thing humans have done to the planet, and more
Zoos display fascinating animals from all over the world for human entertainment, research, conservation, and education. Many scientists conduct studies on animals in captivity that they may not have been able to in the wild. Zoos educate all the visitors that come; they let people know everything that they know about the animals on display. We do learn a lot from these animals, but not all of the animals in the zoo are behaving like they normally would in the wild. Larger animals, such as elephants and orcas (commonly known as killer whales), have trouble with being confined in such a small area. However, many smaller animals benefit from zoos because they provide protection from predators, natural disasters, and poachers. They also benefit from conservation efforts; the babies being born get all the care they could ever need. Some animal rights activists are concerned that the conservation efforts are limiting the gene pool of the species. They argue that the small number of animals able to breed in captivity limits biodiversity and leads to weaknesses in the species overall. Zoos are wonderful places to study and learn about animals, but we need to improve the living standards for animals that struggle with captivity.
I think the claim that animals have no rights because they are not moral agents is untrue. I think this is untrue because human concepts cannot be applied nor expected from non-human species.
At the age of five I questioned my grandmother why we do not eat meat. She told me that eating meat was against the Hindu religion and I never questioned her until today. A vegetarian is someone that follows a plant based diet consuming mostly fruits and vegetables. There are many different types of vegetarian diets, some choose to become vegan and do not even consume eggs or dairy products. Anti-supporters of the vegetarian diet believe that vegetarians are missing out on the vitamins and minerals that meat eaters are gaining. However, vegetarians believe that this plant based diet will lead them to a longer life, not only this but it is better for the environment and it will help save animals.
... middle of paper ... ... The vegetarian diet is one that provides the body with many essential nutrients. These nutrients include fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals.