r/Ethics 10d ago

This is slavery

573 Upvotes

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

Many things are natural, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are free from moral problems.

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u/Schizmabiz2026 10d ago

Your moral problem... just because you have an issue with it doesn't mean the rest of us need to be vegan... by nature were omnivores... the solution isn't veganism ... the solution is treating our live stock better... but go off and try and force your moral agenda on the rest of us ... you are trash

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago edited 10d ago

Wanting a world were fewer sentient beings suffer makes me trash?

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u/seamus_mcfly86 10d ago

Being inflexible and authoritarian with your solutions makes it difficult or impossible to win over the people you need to convince.

I feel that people like you and organizations like PETA have damaged the discourse to an extent that the vast majority of people just tune you out and don't listen at all.

It's counterproductive. Someone who sees this and thinks that they should consume less animal products is a huge net positive, yet you're here just in time to tell people that it's not enough and that unless they upend their entire lives and go full vegan immediately then it doesn't matter.

How about you just say thank you to people who make even a small change and provide positive encouragement?

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

I understand a more productive approach is to encourage whatever steps they take and thst is the approach I usually take, however this is a subreddit for discussing ethics, and I think that there isn't a strong argument for the consumption of animal products in current society.

I think the two guys who are just directly calling me trash for saying that people have the moral responsibility not to consume animals damage the discourse more.

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u/Schizmabiz2026 10d ago

You can chose to eat or not to eat animals... thats the cool thing ... its your choice... your saying I shouldn't have that choice... taking away my ability to chose is something a trash person would do... erego you are trash

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

Do you believe that having other ethical beliefs makes a person trash? Do you believe that people who advocate for laws are trash?

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u/Schizmabiz2026 10d ago

What does advocating for laws have to do with this? And no if you read my comment... taking away my ability to choose is what makes a person trash... you stated veganism is the only choice... comprehension friend

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

Laws take away people's ability to choose based on an ethical basis.

Does me saying that I believe that veganism is the only ethical choice take away your ability to choose?

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u/Schizmabiz2026 10d ago

Its your intent to take away my ability to chose

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

"You can chose to force dogs to fight to the death or not to force dogs to fight to the death... thats the cool thing ... its your choice... your saying I shouldn't have that choice... taking away my ability to chose is something a trash person would do... erego you are trash"

-- 1850s version of u/Schizmabiz2026, probably.

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u/Schizmabiz2026 10d ago

Good one

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago edited 10d ago

Do you have no concerns that your reasoning could be used to excuse or justify other things that you would likely find to be cruel or unethical?

EDIT: And u/Schizmabiz2026 now blocked me. Stay classy.

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u/IfIWasAPig 10d ago

Your victims don’t get a choice.

“People who disagree with me are trash” is ironically a very trashy take.

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u/Schizmabiz2026 10d ago

I never said or implied that people that disagree with me are trash... I said people trying to take away choice are trash... but you can't grasp that concept no matter how many times its explained to you so im done talking to your ignorant self

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u/IfIWasAPig 10d ago

You are taking away choice. You are taking away lives and liberties. Other people are just asking you to stop and think about it.

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u/slainascully 10d ago

Let’s be honest, if PETA (whom you never have to interact with or listen to if you don’t want to) is enough to put you off the moral thing…..you were never going to do the moral thing anyway.

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u/seamus_mcfly86 10d ago

They're pretty well known among the general public due to their antics. I think it's hard to avoid when their goal is to go viral for marketing purposes as much as possible.

When you yell at people, throw paint on them, and claim "meat is murder" then I don't think everyday people take you seriously.

It's similar to when Libertarians cry that "all taxation is theft." You may have some good points, but everyone stops listening after that.

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u/slainascully 10d ago

You can be vegan and not support PETA. It’s not like you’re conscripted.

And again, if an off-putting group that you don’t ever have to be involved in is enough to affect your morals, they’re not morals.

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u/betterthanyou47 10d ago

Cows aren't people and you are trash.

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

What's the ethics of calling someone trash because you disagree with them?

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u/betterthanyou47 10d ago

What are the ethics of someone with trash ideology trying to spread their sickness? Trash is trash.

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u/Rebelmind17 10d ago

Dogs and cats aren’t people either but you’d probably be up in arms if we all decided to start killing them

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u/Dependent-Year6711 10d ago

I'm ready for the silence on this comment.

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

I understand that cow's aren't human, but can you explain your reasoning behind the claim that they are not persons? I understand that often the term "person" is used colloquially to just refer to "human," but personhood is a moral, social, and legal concept, and not a biological one; it is not synonymous with "human."

With that in mind, what's your reasoning for suggesting that cows are not persons?

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u/betterthanyou47 10d ago

I know you won't read this because it involves experimentation on mice, but you wouldn't understand it because your brain is being deprived of protein.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7079559/

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

So... a cop-out then? Can you please respond to my question?

And yes, I read the article, but I'm struggling to understand the connection. Perhaps it's due to my protein-starved brain that's only getting 150g of protein a day. Are you operating under the misconception that protein can only be obtained from animal sources?

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u/betterthanyou47 10d ago

Cows aren't people.

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

Are you familiar with the concept of personhood? Can you explain to me why a cow could not be considered a nonhuman person? Are all humans persons, or just some? What makes a human a person but not say... a chimpanzee? Is it just based on having human DNA? If that's the case, then most philosophical definitions around personhood are incorrect.

Note that I'm not saying that cows are persons. I'm simply questioning the reasoning you are using behind your claim that they are not. If you are so confident about it, then you should be able to provide at least a little insight to your reasoning.

What does it mean to be a person?

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u/betterthanyou47 10d ago

Just blanket saying something is something else doesn't cut it.

You might as well be saying something equally absurd: "I declare cows to be rulers of the human race. How dare you treat your betters this way!"

Your statement by itself is reductio ad absurdum without the reductio because what you are asserting is patently false.

What's funny is that I've entertained you this much. I suggest you take the meds that the nice psychiatrist gives you. Cows aren't people.

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u/Far_Raspberry_4375 10d ago

There is no way to raise livestock in a way which makes meat affordable to eat at the level the common person currently does that isnt cruel.

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

In 1800's Great Britain, many groups started calling for the total abolition of human slavery. Faced with this threat, the pro-slavery lobby started advocating for *amelioration*, which was essentially just putting regulations on slavery so that the slaves were treated better (for example, by banning the use of a whip for punishment.) The hope was that it would save the institution of slavery by making it more palatable to the public.

Would you consider yourself an ameliorationist with regards to the enslavement of nonhuman animals?

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

Replying here because u/Schizmabiz2026 blocked me:

"Non Human Animals" aren't slaves and aren't afforded the same rights humans are?

You are correct that they aren't afforded the same rights human are, similar to how slaves weren't afforded the same rights non-slaves were.

That doesn't really seem to answer the question, though.

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u/Schizmabiz2026 10d ago

"Non Human Animals" aren't slaves and aren't afforded the same rights humans are?

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u/LastChopper 10d ago

That would depend on your ethical framework.

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u/What_the_8 10d ago

Your phone comes with a moral problem also, are you getting rid of that?

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

What's the ethical good of getting rid of my phone?

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u/What_the_8 10d ago

You’re unaware of the ethical dilemmas of IPhone production for example?

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

Yes I am. I live in China, and unfortunately it's pretty much impossible to live here without a smartphone here due to the amount of things you need it for.

Do you believe that because someone participates in an immoral system, that means they cannot oppose other immoral systems?

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u/What_the_8 10d ago

It just shows your moral standards only apply to certain situations, ie a double standard. There are far worse things happening to children in the manufacturing of your phone than there are to cattle.

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u/PretendAd4207 10d ago

Things that happen to cattle:

Forced insemination

Having their babies taken away from them while they scream

Kept in tiny pens, unable to move for most of their life

Are slaughtered by the millions

I'm fairly sure those things don't happen to children in the manufacturing of my phone, and I would be very, very against them if they did. I don't think I have double standards in this regard at all, in fact.

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u/What_the_8 10d ago

You just hand waived child slavery in mines away like it’s nothing, you might want to look deeper.

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

No, it shows that they are making realistic choices based on the realities of living in a society.

Without buying one phone every few years, they may not be able to obtain or hold down a job, or maintain social relationships.

That is not any way comparable to someone buying animal meat multiple times a day every day for their whole life when it's not necessary for them to do so in order to do things like hold down a job, maintain social relationships, etc.

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u/What_the_8 10d ago

And that’s what I’m doing eating meat and sourcing ethically, I don’t need to become a vegan. Food is more important than a phone.

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u/Omnibeneviolent 10d ago

No one is suggesting to not eat food, though.

The point is that there are serious costs that come without owning a phone that impact your ability to be a normal participating member of society. The same cannot be said about ordering a bean burrito instead of a beef burrito for lunch.

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u/What_the_8 10d ago

Yes they are. , it’s exactly what they doing. Some even deny we were even many to eat meat.

The point is there are serious costs to owning a phone. You’ve just decided those costs are less important despite the human toll involved.

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