In contrast, animal welfare is often defined as a less drastic version of this. For some individuals any “ownership” of animals such as livestock or companion pets, is also unpardonable. The line is made even more hazy because the definition of each is influenced heavily by bias, circumstance, and opinion.Īnimal rights is most commonly defined as the belief that any and all human use of sentient living organisms should end, including but not limited to: hunting, livestock production (including by-product industries such as eggs and dairy), entertainment (rodeos, showmanship, zoos), and the use of laboratory animals. Although these are universally recognized as two schools of thought, many people struggle to separate them. Let me clarify (as it was this clarification that began my educational journey) that there is a huge separation between animal rights and animal welfare. The first realization was that my seemingly confused view of agriculture was legitimate and had a title: animal welfare. I realized a lot of things about meat production processes once I started my undergraduate degree. Instead, it is my understanding and reaction to these challenges that has been transformed. I still think the system is sometimes flawed and that unnecessary and obviously unnatural practices are present. I am obviously also active in the livestock industry and a passionate supporter of agriculture. I felt I didn’t have the education or resources to make an accurate assessment of what meat I should eat, so instead I simply cut it out of my diet- for four long years. Although I had no concrete evidence of this (all the farms I came in contact with personally seemed to have healthy, happy animals), the videos and rumors of hideous abuse made me feel uncomfortable. I firmly surmised that it was not the product that was unnatural, but that the system through which we produce meat is flawed. My views seemed impossibly hypocritical and I felt pressure from both sides: vegetarians urged me to condemn animal slaughter, and the farms I worked at urged me to support it. I often accused PETA of being too extreme, but also begrudged industry practices. Other vegetarians resented me because although I refrained from meat consumption, I worked on a farm and while I claimed to be vegetarian, I disagreed with much of the animal rights “propaganda”. ![]() I believed that humans were made to consume meat and that the act is both healthy and moral. I became a vegetarian in high school, but not because I thought humans should not consume animals. But I do think that many people are vegetarian for the wrong reasons. That beings said, do I think being a vegetarian is wrong? No, it’s a personal preference. If you don’t believe me I encourage you to take some nutrition and anatomy classes. This means that whether you think it be through Creation, evolution, or some combination, our body is structured to consume both plant and meat products. Mike’s assertion.įirst let me start with one thing: we, as human beings, are absolutely, undeniably, physiologically, and anatomically designed to be omnivorous. I want to explain how such a drastic change occurred, and how I would answer Dr. ![]() Second, because I’m now an avid meat eater and proponent of livestock production. ![]() First, because I was an avid vegetarian for several years. This question really struck a cord with me for two reasons. Mike proposed that the statement was completely false and challenged us to explain why. ![]() Mike Ellerbrock (an adviser to the EPA and an excellent agriculture professor). This week we had a discussion about the bumper sticker “Vegetarians save lives” in my “Environmental and Sustainable Development Economics” course, led by Dr. “Henry” the wether (castrated male sheep) distracting me from building fences, 2009
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