Controversy Paper: The Effects of Vegetarianism
Look carefully at the pro side.
Would it be beneficial to the general population to gradually eliminate meat and other animal products from the common diet?
Those that argue in favor of vegetarianism utilize not only the question of morality, but also the undeniable facts about a vegetarian’s health and how the economy and environment can be bolstered by switching to a purely horticultural society. According to those that advocate this lifestyle, disparaging the lives and pain of animals can only reveal the integral selfishness in human design, but the lives of man can be maintained and even improved if animal products are discarded or cut down.
Morality
Morality is typically the first argument made when questioning the treatment of animals, but as it is not centered on cold logic, it is the argument with the most controversy.
In early nomadic societies, moral views about killing animals were a bit different than the large, complex, agricultural-based civilizations of the classical era. According to Animal Rights, a Greenhaven Press book as a component of their Opposing Viewpoints Series, one of the earliest human attitudes towards animals was one of great respect; beasts were regarded as gods.
Although animals were still preyed upon for their life-sustaining meat, bones, and fur, it is believed that the people harbored a perpetual guilt over the act of killing them. Many cultures, the early natives of the Americans some of the most well-known, performed rituals to thank the deceased beast for its life and all that its body provided, and few animals were slain in vain.
(Greenhaven Press) A few centuries later, when the conscious and reverent attitude toward animals was not a societal norm and most people ate meat without a thought for the beast it came from, Pythagoras, renowned Greek philosopher and mathematician, was changing people’s minds. He put up such a convincing case for vegetarianism that he converted dozens of his followers
Would it be beneficial to the general population to gradually eliminate meat and other animal products from the common diet?
Those that argue in favor of vegetarianism utilize not only the question of morality, but also the undeniable facts about a vegetarian’s health and how the economy and environment can be bolstered by switching to a purely horticultural society. According to those that advocate this lifestyle, disparaging the lives and pain of animals can only reveal the integral selfishness in human design, but the lives of man can be maintained and even improved if animal products are discarded or cut down.
Morality
Morality is typically the first argument made when questioning the treatment of animals, but as it is not centered on cold logic, it is the argument with the most controversy.
In early nomadic societies, moral views about killing animals were a bit different than the large, complex, agricultural-based civilizations of the classical era. According to Animal Rights, a Greenhaven Press book as a component of their Opposing Viewpoints Series, one of the earliest human attitudes towards animals was one of great respect; beasts were regarded as gods.
Although animals were still preyed upon for their life-sustaining meat, bones, and fur, it is believed that the people harbored a perpetual guilt over the act of killing them. Many cultures, the early natives of the Americans some of the most well-known, performed rituals to thank the deceased beast for its life and all that its body provided, and few animals were slain in vain.
(Greenhaven Press) A few centuries later, when the conscious and reverent attitude toward animals was not a societal norm and most people ate meat without a thought for the beast it came from, Pythagoras, renowned Greek philosopher and mathematician, was changing people’s minds. He put up such a convincing case for vegetarianism that he converted dozens of his followers
Cited: Gale, Thomson. Animal Rights. Greenhaven Press, 2005. 15-20. Print Unknown Author. “SCIENCE WATCH; Health Effects of Meat.” New York Times [New York] 18 August 1981, n. page. Web. 28 Sep. 2013. Gale, Thomson. The Rights of Animals. Greenhaven Press, 2004. 26-141. Print. Reece, Jane B., Martha R. Taylor, Eric J. Simon, Jean L. Dickey, and Neil A. Campbell. Biology, Concepts & Connects. 7. 1. San Francisco: Pearson, 2012. 750-752. Print. Bentham, Jeremy, and Laurence J. Lafleur. An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. New York: Hafner Pub. Co, 1948. Print. Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation. Revised Edition. New York: Avon Books, 1975, 1990. 3-5. Print.