Unethical and Ethical Consumption of Meat Paper Essay 3 Presentations and GoodbyePlease post a brief “presentation” on your research paper, essay #3. Your presentation should be around ONE substantial paragraph long. Your goals for the presentation are to briefly give an overview of your topic, why you were interested in it, and what you found out. How has your essay been changing as you continue working on it and doing field work and reading on the topic?Head your presentation with an interesting title and list your critical question first as well. List your three field work projects and what two or three categories these were drawn from (interview, observation, and/or participation). Then provide your one paragraph overview.After you have posted your presentation, read through the other presentations. Also, post a brief paragraph response to ONE of your classmates’ presentations that has not already been responded to, unless everyone has already been responded to.As this will be the last discussion for the class, you may also take the opportunity to post your reflections and goodbye. Have a good summer! Heng 1
Name: Heng
Professor: Dr. Jeannie Chiu
Course: Eng 126
Date: 2019/05/16
Unethical and ethical consumption of meat
Introduction
A seal feeds on a suid, a lion slays a dear, and a bear topples a fawn, and I never heard
people questioning why they feed on other animals. However, when it comes to human
consuming other animals, it becomes a different story. Meat has been a staple food in the diet
for the human beings since the beginning of civilization. Whether or not the meat consumption
is ethical, civilized human beings in the 21st century have no time for the verification and
believes that the meat is unethical or not. However, some people are very keen to learn on the
origin of the meat before they consume. Some cannot consume if they know the origin of the
meat and only believes the consumption of alien meat. Human beings have the prescribed
meat that they feed on depending on the religion and the origin. Some people believes in the
consumption of wild animals and preserve their domestic animals for the commercial purposes.
Human beings just like other species, stays together and breed. Moral and ethics are ideas that
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humans created cognitively. If one just took a consideration of all animals to be just the same
regardless of the intelligence, then the idea of ethics would not be in existence. Some religions
are exclusively selective in the consumption of meat in terms of the type of meat to consume
and which not to consume. Religions such as Muslims do disregard the consumption of port but
are on the fore front in the consumption of mutton. This research paper seeks to address
ethics in the use of meat for human beings. Various studies, including questionnaires and
observations, will be utilized to make a comprehensive argument. Various scholars have argued
on the topic with no standard view. The issue of ethical consumption of meat for human beings
is a controversy and there is no one person who can say on the right position to be followed by
others in the society. Irrespective of the many arguments on the ethics of meat consumption,
meat remains important in the diet of human beings.
Methodology
The research involves extensive research in the peer-reviewed journals as well as
reliable internet sources. It will also entail the use of questionnaires, interviews, and
observations. A total number of 100 questionnaires were issued randomly to be filled to collect
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the information and the perception of different people regarding ethics in meat consumption.
One hundred were interviewed as well as my various observations from a personal perspective.
Findings
Among the interviewed population, sixty responded adequately on their views
contributing to sixty percent of the targeted population. Out of those who responded, 80
percent agreed that the consumption of meat is ethical, and they cited no objection or
controversy to the eating. John, in the interview, argued that the use of meat is very healthy
and promotes immunity (John, Personal Interview, 13, May 2019). Fifteen percent were still
torn in between the ethical or unethical feeding on the meat. They had personal contradictions
within themselves. A large proportionate in the 15 percent argued that one should only
consume on meat that is sold in the butcheries when unaware of the source. They argued that
consuming an animal that one has been rearing is like eating fellow human beings. Others
argued based on religion basing their argument on the recommendation of the bible that some
animals are worth to be fed on while others are not worth eating. They argued that feeding on
some of the animals is religiously unacceptable. Of the interviewed, Abdi explained that eating
on the pigs and rabbits is not acceptable and should be prohibited whatsoever circumstance
(Abdi, Personal Interview, 12 May 2019). On the second respondent, Martin declared the eating
of meat unethical “It is not ethical. Meat consumption has many detrimental effects and should
be stopped” this was Martina solo’s, a vegetarian, response when a member of the focal group
I participated in during my research asked if it was right to eat meat (Solo, personal
communication, 6 May 2019). The interview indicated a wide acceptance of ethical feeding on
the meat, but there were several objections to the ethics in the nutrition of meat.
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In the questionnaires that were dispatched, 70 were returned by the respondents for a
review contributing to 70 percent of the targeted respondents. Out of the seventy respondents,
fifty agreed with the ethical consumption of meat. Most of them argued on the health benefits
of consuming on the meat. A small proportionate like a respondent by the name Clinton argued
that meat consumption is a clear indication of our evolvement as human beings (Clinton,
Personal Questionnaire, 14 May 2019). He further elaborated that human beings have the
capacity and the intelligence to differentiate on the kind of meat that should be consumed.
Fifteen of the 20 remaining argued both on the ethical and unethical eating of meat for human
beings. They did not conclude the ethical or non-ethical practice in feeding on the flesh. There
was a contradiction in the human perspectives and the health benefit of meat to human beings.
Five regarded the feeding on the meat as unethical due to the religious beliefs and personal
beliefs.
In my personal experience, feeding on meat is by no means unethical. Eating meat
indicates the level of evolution that human beings have undergone in the 21st century. I am a
believer in the numerous health benefits that are associated with eating meat in our health. At
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first, I found the responses of the respondents questionable, and as a result, I embarked on
research to find out if there was any truth to it. That is when I came across Catching Fire: How
Cooking Made Us Human a book by Harvard biological anthropologist, Richard Wrangham. In
the book, through use of various detailed examples and evidence argues Wrangham argues
that the shift from eating raw food, like root tubers, to eating cooked meat was a key
contributor to human evolution and more specifically their intelligence and adaptability. He
further urges people not to feel guilty while doing so, as it was a sign of progress evolutionary
(Wrangham, 2019 Pg. 23). Richard Wrangham argument is in line with Vaclav Smil’s evidence in
the book, Should Human Eat Meat? In this book, Smil states that it is justifiable and morally
right to consume meat as it has contributed to the evolution of humans and more specifically it
has contributed to smaller guts, language, bipedalism, and intelligence (Smil, 2013 Pg,46). It is
why I have to come, acknowledging that since it is a sign of progress evolutionary, and eating of
meat is ethical.
Analysis
The responses from the field indicated a high disparity which necessitated further
research to show the authenticity of the information from the ground. Various scholars have
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their arguments on the ethics for eating meat for human beings while others fall on the other
side for unethical. The field work indicated a high number of respondents agreeing that meat
consumption is ethical. Various scholars have supported ethical perspectives. Firstly, in the
article “Is Any Meat Good to Eat?” by Sarah Boesveld, she interviews author Jonathan Safran to
share his side on the meat eating and factory farming (Boesveld, 2015 Pg.12). He believes that
“…if [people] just ate according to their beliefs, factory farming would turn to be a non-issue.”
Whether or not people realize the sources from which meat in modern day society comes from,
they cannot deny the fact that meat is delectable. Sadly, many people who are aware of where
their meat comes from will argue that it is unethical to eat meat that is grown purely to satisfy
the hunger of people” Sarah is a believer that the meat consumption is ethical, and people
should not be restricted from eating the meat. She also acknowledges the existence of people
who avid the consumption of meat that they are aware of their source. The article indicates
that the decision to consume on meet or not lies in the choice of an individual.
According to Gruen, in her article, ‘The Moral Status of Animals’ the above is not
something new and has been a controversial subject for decades. Some consider the
consumption of meat ethical, others find it unethical, and others are ‘on the fence.’ It is not a
white and black situation and Gruen state that as a result, it has been hard to prove the
ethicality of the consumption of meat as both the opponent and proponent of eating meat
have provided arguments and evidence that make deciding very hard (Gruen, 2017 Pg. 35).
Using the fact that consumption of meat has played a significant role in human evolution, it
makes meat consumption ethical; however, the degradation it causes to the environment make
it unethical. However, the issue of degradation of the environment should not make it immoral
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for consumption. The deterioration of the purification of the environment lies in the hands of
human beings, according to Gruen. In the article, she argued that the consumption of meat by
human beings is ethically considered they have the ultimate right to the animal they are
feeding on. The argument, according to Gruen, shows the ethics in the consumption of meat for
human beings.
According to Dogget, the ethicality on the consumption of meat is dependent on the
situation. “Am on the fence, when it comes to killing and consumption of animal meat” It is
what Tyler Doggett, a professor at the University of Vermont, states in his youtube video
philosophy – ethics: killing an animal for food. There are instances he considers the
consumption of meat ethical and other times not ethical. She explains that it is only ethical and
morally right for humans to kill and feed on animals if they are stranded in a place where they
do not have any other option for a meal. However, he states that all the other times when
there are options for different types of meals, it is unethical (Doggett, 2014 Pg.14). Doggett is
not alone as David Katz in the article, ‘Stating Well Vs. Being Good; Can We Ethically Eat
Animals’, thinks that it is both ethically and unethically to feed on animals. However, his line of
thinking of what is ethical and unethical is different from Doggett. To him, it moral as it helps in
the evolution, and it is wrong as consumption of meat puts one at risk health wise. He
elaborates that high consumption of meat is associated with heart diseases. (Katz, 2013 Pg.
123). Most people are like Doggett and David as they believe that consumption is both right
and wrong.
Research also indicates that meat is part of a balanced diet. In a situation where people
stopped rearing animals for meat, the result would be extinction due to the hunting of all wild
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animals for food (Loughnan, Bastian, & Haslam, 2014 Pg. 106). Human beings have become
natural meat eaters and they are addicted to the meat eating. Factory farming have enabled
the availability of meat in supermarkets at all times. It makes the meat convenient to obtain
and eat nutritionally. Meat composes of important amino acids that are needed for healthy
living of individuals. Minerals and vitamins that are also beneficial to the growth and
development of the human body are found in meat too. Eating specific types of meat such as
fish provides healthy natural oils that cannot be found anywhere else (Dhiman, 2014 Pg. 42).
Abandoning meat as a source of nutrition means we will need to compensate with another
source of sustenance.
Conclusion
Ethics for human beings consuming on meat is dependent on personal beliefs and
argument. The issue in the community indicates a high level of controversy. Many people in the
community dependent on the research show a belief in the consumption of meat as ethical.
Some believe the ethics in the argument that it is part of the evolution that human beings
underwent in the era of civilization. Others believe that meat is healthy to human beings, and it
is the power behind the walking on two legs in human beings. However, others are believers
that it is unethical, and they also vary in their argument for the unethical issue associated with
eating meat. Some advocates of the unethicality claim that eating meat is like eating a fellow
human being. Others believe that one should only eat meat that is not known about the origin
of the flesh. In the argument, they argue that eating an animal that one stays within the
compound. Imagine a world without meat. Everybody would be walking on all fours, and they
would not have had the ability to think and come up with many things we see in the world
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today. Humans would still be using primitive language to communicate. It enables one to
realize fully and to appreciate evolution and that it was and still is majorly contributed by meat
consumption. The downside consumption of meat cannot be ignored, but I think that the
advantage outweighs the disadvantage. However, since humans are an intelligent beings, they
should ensure that their meat consumption does not compromise the environment.
Works cited
Boesveld, S. “Is Any Meat Good to Eat?” 2015.
Dhiman, S. “To Eat or Not to Eat Meat.” Handbook of Engaged Sustainability, 2018, pp. 37-62,
doi:10.1007/978-3-319-71312-0_2.
Doggetts, T. “Philosophy – Ethics: Killing Animals for Food. Wireless Philosophy”
2014.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HAMk_ZYO7g
Gruen, L. “The moral status of animals eating”2017.
Katz, D. “Eating Well Vs. Being Good: Can We Ethically Eat Animals?” 2011.
Loughnan, Bastian, & Haslam. The psychology of eating animals. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, Vol 23 No 2, 2014, pp. 104-108.
Smil, V. “Should Humans Eat Meat? “2013 https://www.scientificamerican.com/book/shouldhumans-eat-meat-excerpt/
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Wrangham, R. “Catching fire: how cooking made us human”. Basic Books 2009 pp 124.
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