Tag: Animal Suffering
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Does “vegan for the animals” support moderation as an end-point?
I have blogged a lot about reasons for being vegan. As regular readers are aware, I think “vegan for the animals” is decisive. Given the vast animal suffering and exploitation in factory farming, from which 99% of all animals products originate, and given that the moral balance in causing suffering and death to trillions (yes,…
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Ten reasons to try more vegan living in 2024
As the new year approaches, it’s a great time to think about what sorts of positive changes might make 2024 better than 2023. On Friday I’ll be more specific about ways to insert more vegan options into your life. But today I am going to offer a few reasons worthy of consideration for anyone who…
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On being vegan in a sea of omnivores whom you love
I’ve just finished reading Ed Winters’s book, This Is Vegan Propaganda: And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You (Vermillion 2022). It’s a great book with really good info about the impact of animal agriculture (particularly factory farming) on the animals, the planet, and humans’ health (not just the claim that veganism is a nutritionally…
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The perverse tradition of “pardoning the turkey”
It’s Thanksgiving in the U.S. today (we had our Canadian Thanksgiving back in October). Frequently called “Turkey Day,” Thanksgiving is a day when the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 46 million turkeys will be eaten. Another 22 million will find their way onto Christmas tables. Altogether, Americans consume an estimated 245 million (PETA) to 250…
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Unreflective carnivores, the marginal case argument, and making a difference
I’ve been reading around quite a bit as I prep to write a new paper. When I say “reading around,” I am referring mostly to philosophy papers on topics in food and animal ethics, mostly as they seem relevant to veganism, meat-eating, animal suffering, and possible moral requirements that facts about animal suffering might yield.…
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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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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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Kindness Matters
kindness noun /ˈkaɪnd.nəs/ the quality of being kind kind adjective /kaɪnd/ generous, helpful, and thinking about other people’s feelings (from the Cambridge Dictionary) When vegans talk about their stance towards non-human animals, they often offer thoughts about the importance of kindness and compassion. The slogan “Kindness Matters” comes up a lot, and it is not…
Vegan Practically 