Preface
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This briefing addresses common rationalizations for exploiting animals involving life, meaning, protection, and gratitude.
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| Text: | |
| Key Points | 5 |
| Counterclaims | 0 |
| Advocacy Notes | 4 |
| Footnotes | 3 |
| Media: | |
| Companion Videos | 0 |
| Memes and Infographics | 0 |
| Presentation Slides | 0 |
| Flash Cards | 0 |
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Summary
A concise summary of the briefing (see below for citations).
Fostering a compassionate world where animals can live freely without harm is the true way to honor life.
Rather than justifying the suffering inherent in exploiting animals, the focus should be on respecting the dignity and well-being of animals, rather than breeding them into existence solely for human benefit, which inevitably leads to suffering and early death.
Protections offered to farmed animals, such as shielding them from predators, are not for their benefit but to preserve human food sources. Animals often need protection from humans, not nature.
The notion that we give their lives meaning is flawed, as animals possess their own intrinsic worth, independent of human utility.
Lastly, the suggestion that farmed animals should feel gratitude toward their oppressors is unrealistic, given that their lives are marked by suffering and exploitation for human consumption.
Context
Places this topic in its larger context.
This briefing actually addresses a series of objections, not just one, for which each objection might be expressed alone or as a group.
These objections are usually made in the context of farmed animals that we breed into existence to provide food, but some in the series could also apply to any animal used for any purpose.
Key Points
This section provides talking points.
It is possible to recognize the importance of life without contributing to a cycle of suffering.
Fostering a compassionate world where animals can live freely without harm is the true way to honor life. By promoting compassionate and sustainable lifestyles, we can honor life without causing unnecessary suffering.
Instead of justifying the suffering inherent in exploiting animals, the focus should be on respecting the dignity and well-being of animals, rather than breeding them into existence solely for human benefit, which inevitably leads to suffering and early death
Breeding disrespects life by undermining the inherent dignity and well-being of the animals.
It seems strange that breeding an animal into existence for our own selfish purposes, especially when it is known that the animal will endure suffering and be slaughtered while still young, would be considered a noble or altruistic act.
Such breeding does not honor life. Instead, it undermines the inherent dignity and well-being of the animals and subjects them to lives of suffering, confinement, and eventually slaughter.
Any protections we may provide are not for them—they are for production purposes.
We shouldn’t pretend that the protections we provide for farmed animals, from predators or other harms, are for the benefit of animals.
Any protections from predators and from the elements are to maximize profits and production, not because we are concerned for their well-being.
Because of their treatment and slaughter at a young age, it would seem they have more need to be protected from humans than by humans.
The idea that we give their lives meaning is an odd spin on the meaning of life.
The notion that we give their lives meaning is flawed, as animals possess their own intrinsic worth, independent of human utility.
It’s not as if the wisdom of Viktor Frankl1 was illuminating our collective psyche here. The suffering we force these innocent animals to endure cannot be rationalized away by invoking platitudes about the meaning of life.
- Note: Viktor Frankl wrote extensively about the search for meaning in life, emphasizing that finding purpose is essential to human existence.2
As Tom Regan says,3 animals “have a life of their own that is of importance to them, apart from their utility to us. They are not only in the world, they are aware of it and also of what happens to them. And what happens to them matters to them.”
It is unlikely a farmed animal would feel gratitude.
It’s disingenuous to suggest that the oppressed should be grateful to their oppressors.
Anyone considering the lives of farmed animals objectively, free from the fog of our cultural norms, would not think they should be grateful to us for the existence we force upon them just because we like to eat their flesh and secretions.
Counterclaims
Responses to some yes but retorts.
Counterclaims are often not included in objection-type briefings because the objection itself functions as a form of counterargument.
Supplementary Info
Additional information that may prove useful.
Why this objection to veganism and animal rights is speciesist
- The idea that farmed animals or other exploited animals owe humans a debt of gratitude for giving them life and protecting them from predators is inherently speciesist because it assumes that humans have the right to control the existence and conditions of other species solely for their own benefit. This viewpoint treats animals as commodities whose worth is defined by their utility to humans, ignoring their intrinsic value as sentient beings with their own interests. By framing animals as beneficiaries of human intervention, it dismisses the harm inflicted on them through breeding, confinement, and eventual slaughter, which are fundamentally at odds with their well-being.
- Moreover, the notion of gratitude presupposes a moral hierarchy where humans act as benevolent providers, erasing the reality of exploitation. In nature, animals live autonomous lives without “owing” anything to others for their existence. Applying a standard of gratitude to farm animals only reinforces an unequal relationship where humans take credit for creating lives that are ultimately controlled and ended on their terms. This perspective denies animals the dignity and agency they deserve, perpetuating a justification for their oppression rather than recognizing their right to live freely.
Further Study
Sources providing a deeper understanding of the topic or related topics.
Other Resources
“Eating Animals: Debunking our Pastoral Myth” critiques the romanticized view of animal farming, exposing the realities of animal suffering and questioning the moral justifications for consuming animal products.
“What We Owe Animals: A Response to Christopher Tollefsen” critiques the view that animals are created as a gift for human use, advocating for a more ethical consideration of animal rights and autonomy.
“Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility” by Martha C. Nussbaum discusses Nussbaum’s book, which argues for a capabilities approach to animal justice, emphasizing the need to allow animals to live flourishing lives free from human-imposed suffering.
Advocacy Resources
Information to help with outreach and advocacy.
Additional media and advocacy resources are on the way, though not every briefing will feature every type of media.
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Advocacy Notes
Tips for Advocacy and Outreach
The Quick Retort
- When someone argues that we protect farm animals from predators, you could respond with: “That’s true, but we end up killing them ourselves, which hardly seems like protection.”
Best Succinct Response
- Perhaps the best succinct response, and one that focuses on the positive is in the first bullet of the first key point, repeated here:
“Fostering a compassionate world where animals can live freely without harm is the true way to honor life. By promoting compassionate and sustainable lifestyles, we can honor life without causing unnecessary suffering.”
Avoid Human Analogies
- Keep the focus on the animals and avoid any analogies to human life when discussing this objection. If you bring up a comparison to human life, that might be perceived as denying the legitimacy of human parenting in less-than-ideal circumstances. This would not bode well for advocacy and would take the conversation away from the point.
- Even if you avoid a comparison to humans, your interlocutor might make the comparison. If that happens, try to bring the focus back to the animals by saying “well, we are not addressing humans here—we’re talking about other animals.”
Don’t Say This
- We have intentionally not included the talking point “we would not bring anyone into existence knowing they would live an abbreviated life full of suffering.” Similar to the problem mentioned above, this could lead to your interlocutor taking offense, having related the statement to humans.
Footnotes
Our sources, with links back to where they’re used.
