premjan

Humans are capable of conceiving animal cruelty hence I think we would ourselves feel better if we were not excessively cruel beyond necessity.

Danielboy

Agreed. But the key is determining what is that necessity.

BadBadBad

From someone who has had a child nearly die of e.coli poisoning, I can assure you that the meat industry is immoral not because they kill cows, but because they kill children for money.

B.S. Lewis

I think it is immoral to give cows a second thought when human children in Africa die daily of diseases that could be prevented with 10-cent vitamin A capsules.

R.M.S.

That's a false dilemma and you know it

Danielboy

But it does gives us some perspective.

R.M.S.

It's a fallacy. Fallacies don't provide any insight or perspective whatsoever, they're just wrong.

Danielboy

It is bifurcation, but it still does show us our priorities. (i.e. before we save cows, we might want to save dying african children first)

R.M.S.

You can stop eating meat or pay a little more for 'humane meat' and at the same time support the poor. There is no choice involved whatsoever. And it's not because starving children are in a worse situation than mistreated cows that the latter suddenly become a petty concern.

Danielboy

Ultimately there is a choice. Resources are finite, and eating humane meat is not usually the cheapest option.

But then again, we aren't saving starving children to the best of our abilities either so this is kind of moot point.