The Ethics of Killing Animals for Food

Picture a summertime barbecue; children playing in the grass, friends and family gathered to share a meal, hot dogs and hamburgers cooking over the grill.... For most people this is a classic image of American culture. What most don’t consider is that there is something sinister lurking in the details of this scene. While it might not be apparent at first, the problem here is what is cooking on the grill, hot dogs and hamburgers. On average, each person consumes about 271 pounds of meat a year in America. If you don’t see the problem with this then you must not be thinking about the way that most of the meat in America is produced. Not many people like to think about where their food comes from, however once serious thought is put into it, it becomes apparent that killing animals for food is morally wrong. The argument people will often make about why eating meat is acceptable is that humans are designed to do it. If you look at the structure of human teeth; there are molars which are great for grinding but there are also canines which are without a doubt meant for tearing through flesh. Because of this, people can justify eating meat. The piece of information that is often not considered is that while we evolved to eat meat, we did not stop evolving at that point. Our mouths still bare the tools for the consumption of flesh, however morality is a newer development that requires further investigation. Eating has moved beyond the basic physical restrictions of the body and now phycological ones must also be considered. What do we, as people, use as rationale for deciding which creatures are worthy of love and compassion while others are sent to slaughter? What makes a pig less lovable than a dog? On a Sunday morning, if someone made bacon using meet from a cat, there would be outrage and disgust. Any pet owner can attest to finding emotion and feeling in their animal. A pig is just as intelligent as a dog, so why is it that the emotion and