Should we stop eating animals?

This article aims to expose all the pros and cons of the debate “Should we stop eating animals?”, to allow everyone to form a critical and informed opinion. Further reading: Founding Principles

This debate is under construction The debates under construction are the debates that contain at least: a coherent plan; the most well-known “for” and “against” arguments; a beginning of writing. Unlike constructed debates, it may lack: arguments, justifications, objections; an accomplished introduction, an adequate bibliography, webliography or videography. . Arguments are missing or not written. The introduction and bibliography need improvement. Feel free to complete them.

PROS Intensive livestock farming causes a great deal of suffering to animals Intensive livestock farming poses serious environmental problems Eating animals is bad for humans Working conditions in slaughterhouses are inhuman Eating animals means deciding on the lives of beings who have asked for nothing from anyone. Some animals are considered sacred Eating animals habituates you to cruelty Everyone can adopt a plant-based diet Animal suffering is inevitable in the meat production process Pro-meat arguments are fake news propagated by industry lobbies

CONS Eating animals is a gustatory pleasure Eating animals is good for your health Eating animals is an ancestral practice Eating animals is the norm in nature Eating animals is the only way to acknowledge one's animality Eating animals helps when crops fail Eliminating ruminant livestock farming could disrupt many ecosystems Stopping eating animals would destroy some farming activities Vegan substitutes are often allergenic Stopping the breeding of certain animals would make them disappear Eating invasive animal species can be beneficial Not eating meat causes nutritional deficiencies

Keywords: Veganism, Food, Meat, Animals, Animal suffering, Vegetarianism.

To understand the debate

A question that began to emerge with the anti-speciesism movement

Antispeciesism is a movement dating back to the 1970s, which asserts that the species to which an animal belongs is not a relevant criterion for deciding how it should be treated and the moral consideration it should be given.

Veganism increasingly present in society

Veganism is the doctrine that humans should live without exploiting animals, according to the Vegan Society, founded in 1944. It is a way of life based on vegetarianism, which is a very old way of life. Nevertheless, veganism has been gaining in prominence recently, with some well-known public figures going vegan, even if it remains a minority.

Definition of an animal

In classical biology, an animal is a living being that feeds on organic substances. Today, the term "animal" is reserved for complex, multicellular beings.

Understanding animal welfare

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Animal welfare is broken down into five freedoms corresponding to the animal's fundamental needs:

• physiological freedom (absence of hunger and thirst),
• environmental freedom (absence of discomfort),
• Sanitary freedom (freedom from disease and injury),
• Behavioral freedom (the right to express normal animal behavior),
• psychological freedom (absence of fear and anxiety).

See also: Veganism and Template:Article Wikipédia on Wikipedia [ edit ]

Pros

What are the pros of vegetarianism?

• Intensive livestock farming causes a great deal of suffering to animals
• Intensive livestock farming poses serious environmental problems
• Eating animals is bad for humans
• Working conditions in slaughterhouses are inhuman
• Eating animals means deciding on the lives of beings who have asked for nothing from anyone.
• Some animals are considered sacred
• Eating animals habituates you to cruelty
• Everyone can adopt a plant-based diet
• Animal suffering is inevitable in the meat production process
• Pro-meat arguments are fake news propagated by industry lobbies

Cons

What are the cons of vegetarianism?

• Eating animals is a gustatory pleasure
• Eating animals is good for your health
• Eating animals is an ancestral practice
• Eating animals is the norm in nature
• Eating animals is the only way to acknowledge one's animality
• Eating animals helps when crops fail
• Eliminating ruminant livestock farming could disrupt many ecosystems
• Stopping eating animals would destroy some farming activities
• Vegan substitutes are often allergenic
• Stopping the breeding of certain animals would make them disappear
• Eating invasive animal species can be beneficial
• Not eating meat causes nutritional deficiencies

To go further

Bibliography

“Pro” side

• Jonathan Safran Foer, Faut-il manger les animaux ?, Éditions de l'Olivier, 2011.
• Eric Lombard, “Peut-on encore manger de la viande ?”, Ouvertures, 11 juin 2011.
• Martin Gibert, Voir son steak comme un animal mort : Véganisme et psychologie morale, Lux Éditeur, Québec, 2015.

“Con” side

• Lierre Keith, Le mythe végétarien, Pilule Rouge, 2013.

Neither “pro” nor “con”

• Elodie Vieille Blanchard, René Laporte, Faut-il arrêter de manger de la viande ?, Le Muscadier, 2014.

Webliography

“Pro” side

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“Con” side

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Neither “pro” nor “con”

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Videography

“Pro” side

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“Con” side

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Neither “pro” nor “con”

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