Why I no longer eat meat.

I’m not a vegan. I’m not even strictly a vegetarian (though it’s easier to tell people that I am), but I’m close to it and would like to go further. It’s a journey that I’m on and I even appreciate many of the Vegan arguments, such as around eggs and dairy.

My sole reason for deciding to do this, is around ethics and by asking myself these questions:

• What do animals think and feel?
• What does animal welfare really mean to me?
• Do I really need to eat meat to have a healthy and happy lifestyle?
• Can I logically justify eating meat?

In short, all of these questions had answers that led me down the path I’m on now. But to explain in detail.

What do animals think and feel:

This is not an easy question to answer, as there are so many creatures out there that have evolved in so many different ways. We, as humans, tend to anthropomorphise a lot. That is, we apply human characteristics on other things or animals. I’ve tried my best not to do this, but it’s plain to see that many animals experience emotions and feelings that very much resemble our own. Any dog owner will say as much about their beloved friend. But dogs have a one-up on other animals thanks, in part, to how their eyes have evolved to be more appealing and communicative to humans. Other animals are not so lucky but that doesn’t mean they don’t experience a similar spectrum of emotions. We just don’t get to see them as clearly. In fact, we don’t even get to see the animals we eat. We buy a pre-packaged lump of food and don’t give its origin a second thought. We completely forget that that delicious slab of beef came from a thinking, feeling, sentient and social being.

But are all animals equal in this regard? I would say no. I’m now actually less fussy about eating insects than I am about eating mammals and birds. They’re simply just not as high up on the sentience scale, if that’s even a thing. I’m not basing this on extensive research so I’m open to being wrong, but I don’t think a bee, grasshopper or ant, is as concerned about the loss of a loved one, enjoys the company of a friend, or experiences anything close to real emotional pain. They can obviously be stressed, and seem to feel physical pain in some way (or respond to physical stimulus), but I doubt they would process that in any way close to what we would. Then you have shellfish, like clams and mussels, that don’t even have a brain. Personally, I have no ethical problem with eating these as it’s highly doubtful they would have any way of processing any kind of pain in a “feeling” way... if that makes sense. i.e. beyond just stimuli they would react to, much like a plant growing towards the sun. What about other sea creatures, like an octopus? These have been shown to be highly intelligent (in an odd and interesting way).

So as you can see, there is no one answer, with a sliding scale of sentience across the landscape of the animal kingdom.

What does animal welfare really mean to me?

As above, this depends on the animal in question. I believe that all life has its place and should be respected (I might be convinced otherwise about mosquitoes) but that doesn’t mean I have equal concern for all species. I would place the well-being of a cow significantly higher than that of a wasp or an oyster.

Who doesn’t love dogs, right? They’ve been faithful companions for countless ages. And maybe to a lesser degree, but cats as well. I think it’d be a safe bet to say that most of us get upset at the notion of people eating cats and dogs. As do I. But where is the huge difference between a dog and a pig? Both are very intelligent, feel pain, are social animals. Why do we feel it’s acceptable to enslave one species of animal, and often (to varying degrees depending on country and regulations) “torture” them prior to killing them, while the other species gets a favoured position in our household and killing, never mind eating them, is unthinkable. Why does this double standard exist? Why do we not think deeply about these things? Is having an emotional bond with one species more than another a good excuse for being willing to kill one over the other?

The well-being of an animal, to me, shouldn’t be that different to human well-being. I do, however, place humans first. If it came to an act of desperation, I would do what was needed to protect and nourish mine and my own. But I would still consider most animals to be sentient enough to be taken care of. Given how human beings have now pretty much taken over so much of the world and destroyed so many habitats, I think it is now our responsibility to look after our fellow animals as best as we can.

Note the caveat, “as best as we can.” Even if you are a fully-fledged, die-hard vegan, your lifestyle will have an adverse effect on animals. Maybe not as much with domestic ones, but certainly wild ones. All that grain, rice, beans, etc. needs to come from land, which means the displacement of wildlife. The crops need to be protected, which often entails the killing of “pests.” OK, fair enough if you decide to live in the outback foraging for berries. Not a very feasible and scalable lifestyle choice though, is it.

In a nutshell, what animal welfare means to me, is protecting them and endowing them with a set of rights that are tailored to each species in the most moral way possible. When I speak of morality I refer to objective morality as described by Sam Harris in the Moral Landscape. I’m a proponent of objective morality, i.e. there is one truth when it comes to morality, but that’s a whole other discussion.

Do I really need to eat meat to have a healthy and happy lifestyle?

The answer is an obvious no. If you don’t think so, it only takes a few cursory Google searches to find very healthy vegetarian and vegan athletes. Admittedly, the more you slide to the full-on vegan side of the scale, the more you have to take care of what you eat to ensure that you’re getting the right nutritional balance, but doesn’t seem too difficult and anyone should be able to do it. “But what about protein?” I’ve heard people say. There is plenty of plant-based protein. And if you’re like me, even some animal protein such as the types of sea-food I mentioned above. A healthy balanced meal will give you all you need.

Where it can be a little more difficult is when eating out. But while the choices are often quite limited and the veggie dishes are more of an afterthought, there are almost always options.

So no, I do not need to eat meat to have a healthy and happy lifestyle. But then… and get this after everything I’ve just written, I don’t actually mind eating meat. The act of eating meat holds no revulsion for me. It’s more about the act of purchasing the meat. Of paying someone else to do my dirty work for me. To pay for the imprisonment, subjugation and killing of an animal purely for my pleasure. Because at the end of the day, that’s really what the bacon is all about. I pay someone to kill a pig for the pleasure of the taste of that perfect salty treat. I’m not going to pretend that all livestock are treated the same across the world. But even if they were treated perfectly up to the point where they have their lives cut short to please my taste buds, it would still make no difference to my decision.

So can I logically justify eating meat? I haven’t been able to so far.