Transcript Veganism

April 2013
Facts
16 billion animals are killed for
food every year in the U.S. - have
little legal protection from cruelty
that would be illegal if it were
inflicted on companion dogs or
cats.
 2.27 million animals used in
experiments (Can)
 1.13 million animals used in
experiments (excluding rats, mice,
birds, reptiles, amphibians, and
agricultural animals used in
agricultural experiments), plus an
estimated 100 million mice and
rats (US)
 Every year, millions of animals
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Terminology
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A vegan will not eat any animal
products, for example:
 No meat, fish nor other products that
come directly from killing an animal,
such as animal fats and gelatine.
 No dairy products such as cows milk,
cheese and yoghurt; nor goats milk.
 No eggs nor foods containing eggs
 No honey.
Terminology
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Vegetarian
 a person who does not eat or does
not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl,
or, in some cases, any food derived
from animals, as eggs or cheese, but
subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts,
grain, etc.
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Lacto-vegetarian
 is used to describe a vegetarian who
does not eat eggs, but does eat dairy
products.
Ethical Vegetarians
Ethical vegetarians believe that eating animals is
unnecessary and unethical so they eat mostly plants
(some still eat animal products (milk, eggs, etc)
Their argument usually goes something like this:
If you can bring about less suffering in the world, then you should.
Eating meat in general causes a vast amount of unnecessary suffering in the world.
By not eating meat, you can decrease the demand for meat and thus decrease
unnecessary suffering.
Therefore, you shouldn’t eat meat.
Law on Animals
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The law still allows people to squirt weed killer
in a baby’s eyes, inject it with poison, grow
cancers on its back, burn its skin off, expose it
to radiation and eventually kill it, in experiments.
So long as it’s only an
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animal.
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Reasons for Veganism
 Moral/Ethical
 Religious
 Environment
 Health
Looking Out for the Little Guy: Ethics and
Animals
Modern life seems to be expanding the sphere
of ethical consideration. Discouraging racism
and sexism is now mainstream, whereas 200
yeas ago women and slaves were considered
property. Should we now enlarge the ethical
sphere further to protect animals? Or is it
enough to look out for the interests of our own
species?
Animals don’t have dominance over the
planet, and they can’t stand up for themselves
the way humans can. So, if ethics requires
humanity to protect animals, it’s really
humanity’s job to take the lead. The fact that
animals suffer seems to suggest that they
deserve some kind of protection, so humanity
ANIMAL RIGHTS and ANIMAL
WELFARE
Animal Welfare – denotes the desire to prevent unnecessary animal
suffering (that is, whilst not categorically opposed to the use of
animals, wanting to ensure a good quality of life and humane death.)
Animal Rights – denotes the philosophical belief that animals should
have rights, including the right to live their lives free of human
intervention (and ultimate death at the hand of humans. Animal
rightists are philosophically opposed to the use of animals by
humans.
The difference between animal rights and
animal welfare has been summed up like
this:
“Animal rights advocates are campaigning
for NO cages, while animal welfarists are
campaigning for BIGGER cages.
Animal Liberation Movement
•Animal rights began to start in the 17th century
•Animal liberation is a RADICAL idea, not a reformist
one, in that it demands not better treatment of
animals within the present structure of our relations
to them, but rather a fundamental transformation of
those relations.
Utilitarianism
Considering
whether a being is
sentient (able to
feel or perceive
things) and thus
has an interest in
avoiding pain and
experiencing
pleasure
Rights View
Considers
whether a being
possess the
requisite ability to
conduct their life
as he sees fit and
so is entitled to
be fee from
unnecessary
interference in
If reducing pain and doing so
promoting pleasure .
is what morality is A right is a claim
all about, then
to something,
sentience is the
that is recognized
dividing line
as a legitimate on
between those
the basis of some
beings that are
moral or legal
morally
principle.
considerable and
those that are not.
Contractarianism
Feminist Theory
We only have moral
obligations towards
someone when we
have reached an
agreement. We have
no obligations to
animals at all,
because animals
cannot enter into
conversations with
us.
Divided on
vegetarianism – meat
eating symbolizes and
reinforces male
dominance in human
society.
Philosophical Views
It sees moral rights
as a social
agreement, in doing
so, it by large
excludes animals
from the moral
community.
I.E – Kicking
someone's dog
Eco-feminists see an
inherent link between
hierarchy and
domination in human
society, particularly
the historical
domination of women
by men, and attitudes
and practices of
human domination
over the non-human
world.
Ethical
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Factory Farms
•Debeaking
•Chickens are unable to turn around or
spread their wings
•Dairy Cows chained at the neck
induced with hormones
•Veal – Calves denied mother milk
•Bulls – dehorned and castrated without
any aesthetic
•Killing Methods
Religious Ahimsa – Theory of
Nonviolence
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In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist traditions the concept
of nonviolence is translated into the practice of the
following virtues:
non-injury to all living beings
not causing pain and suffering to others including
plants and animals.
compassion towards all living creatures
abstaining from animal and human sacrifices
cultivation of forgiveness, universal love and
friendliness
non-violent reaction to violent thoughts, words and
actions
mental and verbal nonviolence towards self and
towards others
abstaining from meat eating
abstaining from hunting, animal fights and similar
practices in which animals are subjected to cruelty
and suffering.
Environmental Reasoning
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Massive meat consumption has led to
numerous environmental problems such as,
water pollution, soil erosion, energy shortages,
and it requires an immense amount of land.
A 1995 Canadian study proved that the
production of meat requires 10x more energy
than it would to produce grain products
Animal production has a tremendous effect on
soil due to overgrazing
Amongst many other reasons
According to the ADA,
vegetarians are at lower risk for
developing:
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Heart disease
Colorectal, ovarian, and breast cancers
Diabetes
Obesity
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
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This is because a healthy vegetarian diet is
typically low in fat and high in fiber. However, even
a vegetarian diet can be high in fat if it includes
excessive amounts of fatty snack foods, fried foods,
whole milk dairy products, and eggs. Therefore, a
vegetarian diet, like any healthy diet, must be well
planned in order to help prevent and treat certain
diseases.
Health - Cancer
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Cancer mainly plagues western countries like
Canada, Britain, USA – all countries that have a
high intake of animal products
Numerous scientific studies have proven that
non-vegetarians are 50% more likely to die of
cancer than vegetarians
1975 – Japanese study –Japanese women who
consumed dairy products and had a traditional
western diet were 8x more likely to develop
breast cancer than those that followed a
traditional Japanese diet.
Health-Heart Disease
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Meat causes heart disease due to the
large amount of saturated fat along with
the high amount of cholesterol found in
animal products.
A vegetarian diet high in fibre helps reduce
cholesterol levels therefore helping to
reduce heart disease.
Are there any health risks in
becoming a vegetarian?
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Some vegans may have intakes for vitamin
B-12, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and
occasionally riboflavin that are lower than
recommended.
Meet your Meat
Why we love dogs, wear
pigs..
Earthilings
Omnivores Strike Back!
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Omnivores respond to the vegetarians’ main argument in
two ways: however, these responses aren’t all that
difficult for vegetarians to counter.
 Omnivores deny that eating meat causes vast amount of
suffering in the world. Veg – the modern realities of meat
production aren’t at all like an animal’s life in the wild. In all
likelyhood, the steak you find in supermarkets comes from an
animal that lives out a short, unpleasant life on a factory farm –
not from a wild cow.
 Omnivores deny that abstaining from meat would cause a
decrease in demand for it. Veg – The argument that one person
has no effect doesn’t measure up. Ethical vegs works a lot like
voting. One person’s vote alone can’t elect a politican, but many
like-minded people voting together can. Although an individual
veg may not make much a difference, the ethical veg movement
as a whole makes a huge difference. As wise man once said, “A
waterfall must begin with a single drop of water.”
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Vegans Save 198 Animals a Year
The average meat eater eats a half a pig a year. These figures come
courtesy of PETA member and mathematician extraordinaire Noam
Mohr, who has studied government and industry figures and compiled
a report on the number of animals served up on American tables.
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Based on these figures, the average person in a year consumes:
Roughly 130 shellfish
40 fish
26 chickens
One turkey
Nearly half a pig
A little more than a tenth of a cow
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Since vegans eat no animals, each vegan saves nearly 200
animals per year. Of course, these are animals who won't be torn out
of their ocean homes or confined to cramped, filthy barns, cages, and
pens before being hung upside down on the slaughter line and having
their throats cut. Yay, vegans!
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So the next time someone asks you why you're a vegetarian, tell him
or her that you have about 200 really good reasons.
Summary – Why I’m Vegan
1. Ethics - Killing any living creature is wrong.
Might does not make right.
2. Religion - Ahmisa – Theory of Nonviolence
3. Environment - Eating vegan is more
environmentally efficient than feeding the
animals in a meat-based diet. Veganism also
greatly reduces the wastes, pollution, and
deforestation caused by mass raising of
animals.
4. Health - The primary benefits are: weight loss,
lower cholesterol and blood pressure, less use
of medication, avoiding surgery and cancer,
Conclusions
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According to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher,
the main distinguishing factor that differentiates
humans from animals is the ability to reason.
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Although humans are animals, we are also
rational beings and have the ability to use
reason. Humans should use this sense of
reason and follow a vegan or vegetarian
lifestyle, as that is the only ethical solution.
Questions?
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The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can
they talk? But, can they suffer? Jeremy
Bentham,
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Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which
is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop
harming all other living beings, we are still
savages. ~Thomas A. Edison
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"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone
would be vegetarian." -- Sir Paul McCartney