Category: Animal Suffering
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On leading a “less hypocritical or richer or better life…”
One of the great things (for me) about starting this blog is the steady stream of recommendations people (especially Shelley and Samantha) send my way. This week, it was Lorna Finlayson’s London Review piece, “Let Them Eat Oysters” (thanks, Shelley!). Ostensibly a review essay of Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation Now (Harper 2023) and Martha Nussbaum’s…
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Hope for Defending Animals
I’m a bit late with my “Tuesday-post” this week (it’s Thursday now) because I wanted to report on Kendra Coulter’s book launch for her new release, Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection. I attended the energizing launch on Tuesday and purchased myself a copy of the book. So far I…
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Where to draw the line?
Last week the article, “The case against pets: Is it time to give up our cats and dogs?” came across my desk from a number of different people. They sent it to me, not because I have cats, but for a couple of other reasons. First, one of the researchers quoted, Jess Du Toit, is…
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How compelling are ethical reasons?
As a moral philosopher maybe I live in a bubble where I feel more uncomfortable than other people when my actions depart dramatically from my considered beliefs. I’m not saying moral philosophers are necessarily more ethical than the average person. And I’m not saying other people don’t have strong moral convictions. I’m suggesting that maybe…
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Where lies the burden of proof for eating meat?
Philosophers often talk about the “burden of proof.” What it means if you have the burden of proof is that you, not the other person, have the burden of proving that you’re right. In other words you need to provide the arguments and evidence in support of your position. Where the moral permissibility of meat-eating…
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Meat and the lives of non-human animals
[Content warning: this post engages with a philosophical discussion that defends the killing and eating of non-human animals. Though I ultimately reject these arguments I present and explain them first.] As noted in my blog welcome post, this blog is part of a larger project that includes, among other things, a book-in-progress. As a philosopher,…
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Vegan “meat” products: is more realistic better?
Several years ago, before I’d ever heard of “Beyond,” I sent back a burger I’d ordered in a sports-bar style restaurant because I thought it was a beef burger rather than the veggie burger I’d ordered. It was red inside, and I thought the juice running out of it was blood on my plate. It…
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On labels: “vegan” or “plant-based”?
In recent years, you’ve probably noticed the rise of the term “plant-based.” What’s the difference between “vegan” and “plant-based”? Does it even matter? As a philosopher, I may be more prone to seeking significance in distinctions that others might consider simply a matter of semantics. But in this case, there is a difference in both…
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Why is talking about food ethics so prickly?
In my “about” blurb I mention that the blog is a companion to a book-in-progress. One thing the blog is helpful for is working through some issues I’m having with tone. I realize that food ethics in general raises issues that immediately put people on the defensive. Why so prickly? I touched on this a…
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Some Reflections on Fish and other Seafood
A lot of people ease their way into vegetarianism or veganism through pescatarianism. Pescatarians avoid meat and poultry products, but they still consume and enjoy fish and seafood. In the past, I used to eat fish and seafood despite eating mostly vegetarian. So many “mostly-vegetarian” people will eat seafood on occasion (sometimes as a treat…
Vegan Practically 