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Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

erikhoel.substack.com

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Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#11

Post by chrisfrantz »

Debates like this are a waste of time and this one even has a clickbait title. They ignore the obvious animal suffering today and instead offer a "what if we just stopped over night, what then?".

This essay gets worse as it goes.

This will never happen. So instead we should focus on limiting or entirely removing the consumption of animals and animal products in our lifestyle which will gradually reduce the number of animals bred for premature death.

Most won't and will cling to clickbait essays like this and the distant hope of widespread, affordable, lab-grown meat while continuing to ignore the obvious abuse to animals in their day to day life today.

Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#12

Post by LatteLazy »

Isn't the whole point of Philosophy that there are no firm answers? Otherwise it would become science, maths, history etc).

So you can argue in circles or just move on.

(The obvious exception being Stoicism which is quite well provable and really more of an approach to life than a philosophy)

Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#13

Post by csours »

jongjong wrote: post #5

Most humans on earth are essentially already being treated as livestock by other humans... The only difference is that the product is not their meat or their milk, but their "blood, sweat and tears". So the scenario outlined at the start of the article is not exactly hypothetical.

The civilizing process is very interesting. Humans as robots is a very fitting concept for much of history.

Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#15

Post by danielbln »

decafninja wrote: post #8
dsabanin wrote: post #3

The question comes down to this: is a life full of suffering, torture, violence, and misery better than no life at all? For me, the answer is no.

While certainly not the majority, some livestock are actually treated quite well until the point of slaughter. On the other side, many wild herbivores and prey animals live lives in an almost perpetual state of alertness and fear, just a moment away from being viciously torn apart and eaten alive.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, approximately 99% of chickens used for meat in the United States are raised in factory farms.

According to the National Council for Animal Protection, over 99% of beef farmed for meat comes from cows that live in horrific factory farm environments.

This doesn't necessarily clash with what you said, but I feel it bares pointing out that less than 1% of feedstock is NOT kept in conditions that perpetuate a state of fear and alertness (basically all factory farming is like that).

Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#17

Post by avg_dev »

What a load of rubbish.

1. Plant-based diets are good for the environment. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316289/

2. Animals are sentient. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494450/

3. The "thought experiment" is flawed. See https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/eating-meat-is-good-says-the... - good rebuttal here

Keeping animals alive in the worst possible conditions on the promise that "we'll do better!" just so the species don't die out is utterly ridiculous.

Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#18

Post by flycatcha »

avg_dev wrote: post #17

What a load of rubbish. 1. Plant-based diets are good for the environment. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316289/ 2. Animals are sentient. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494450/ 3. The "thought experiment" is flawed. See https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/eating-meat-is-good-says-the... - good rebuttal here Keeping animals alive in the worst possible conditions on the promise that "we'll do…

Thank you. What drivel, my god.

Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#19

Post by danielbln »

blamestross wrote: post #2

It really boils down to: "Is humans acting as their squishy biology dictates" good or does our "goodness" derive from striving to be more than that biology? I'm on the "accept that we are made to eat meat and probably should on occasion" end of the spectrum, but that doesn't make the current state of how we make and consume meat an ok thing. Factory farming isn't a necessary evil, and the level at which we eat meat (…

We aren't really "made to eat meat" though. Humans have evolved to be omnivores because it is the most efficient way to get the nutrients that our bodies need. With a varied diet, we can get all of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that we need from the food we eat. That may or may not include meat, and in a modern society you can easily get by without ever eating meat, from a pure nutritional standpoint.

Re: Eating meat is good, says the philosopher

#20

Post by disintegore »

avg_dev wrote: post #17

What a load of rubbish. 1. Plant-based diets are good for the environment. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316289/ 2. Animals are sentient. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494450/ 3. The "thought experiment" is flawed. See https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/eating-meat-is-good-says-the... - good rebuttal here Keeping animals alive in the worst possible conditions on the promise that "we'll do…

It's always easier to do mental gymnastics than it is to change one's lifestyle.
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