Vegetarianism

The following is some of my arguments (I might save a few more for later rounds)Animals have the right to lifeIf any organism has a moral desire then that organism has the right to act in accordance with that desire. There is nothing wrong about this. Therefore other organisms have no right to stop the organism from their desire. All organisms have an interest survival. We have no utilitarian or moral reason to deny organisms of that desire. We, as humans, do not have the right to take away the life of other animals when it will not benefit a greater moral value as it would be denying their right to life which they possess because they want it. It is immoral to kill animalsAs evolved human beings it is our moral duty to inflict as little pain as possible for our survival. So if we do not need to inflict pain to animals in order to survive, we should not do it. Farm animals such as chickens, pigs, sheep, and cows are sentient living beings like us - they are our evolutionary cousins and like us they can feel pleasure and pain. The utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham even believed that animal suffering was just as serious as human suffering and likened the idea of human superiority to racism. It would be unfair to assume that humans deserve rights but other species don’t due to superiority. To relate to an example: black people were thought to be inferior to the whites and so did not possess the same rights as the whites did. This is relatable as it shows that the person/people with power discriminate against others with the excuse that they are superior. Now, obviously whites aren’t superior but if we use the criteria of measuring human superiority to other animals (intelligence) then it would be hypocritical for humans to claim superiority over other species but not over the some people with inferior intelligence such as the mentally ill. Even with this, it has been documented that certain food animals are exceptionally clever, and fully capable of perceiving pain and responding to suffering, much like ourselves. It is wrong to farm and kill these animals for food when we do not need to do so.Vegetarianism is better for the environmentBecoming a vegetarian is an environmentally friendly thing to do. Modern farming is one of the main sources of pollution in our rivers. Beef farming is one of the main causes of deforestation, because trees are being cut down to make room for cattle bred to kill. Many species are facing extinction from hunting them. Eating meat and fish not only causes cruelty to animals, it causes serious harm to the environment and to biodiversity. The 2006 U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report concluded that worldwide livestock farming generates 18% of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions — by comparison, all the world's cars, trains, planes and boats account for a combined 13% of greenhouse gas emissions. The same is true with water use due to the same phenomenon of meat being inefficient to produce in terms of the amount of grain needed to produce the same weight of meat, production requires a lot of water. Water is another scarce resource that we will soon not have enough of in various areas of the globe. Grain-fed beef production takes 100,000 liters of water for every kilogram of food. Raising broiler chickens takes 3,500 liters of water to make a kilogram of meat. In comparison, soybean production uses 2,000 liters for kilogram of food produced; rice, 1,912; wheat, 900; and potatoes, 500 liters.Vegetarianism is healthier than a normal meaty dietStudies comparing vegetarians and meat eaters have found that eating less or no meat lowered the risks of certain health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, strokes and cancer. Vegetarians often come out on top in health studies. 60 billion land animals are killed each yearin order to be eaten. The majority of these animals are confined to cages and crates or packed by the thousands into dark, filthy sheds. Animals raised in these intensive farming systems are unable to raise their families, root around in the soil, build nests, or do anything that is natural to them. Most animals kept on factory farms will not see the sun until the day they are transported to a slaughterhouse to be murdered. This clearly unfair treatment of animals would be prevented if people stopped eating meat. A vegetarian diet contains high quantities of fibre, vitamins, and minerals, and is low in fat. In 1996 the American Cancer Society recommended that red meat should be excluded from the diet entirely. A vegetarian diet reduces the risk of serious diseases and, because it is low in fat, also helps to prevent you becoming overweight. There are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein, such as beans and bean curd; and spinach is one of the best sources of iron.Meat eating is based on selfishnessThe ill-treatment and eating of animals is based on selfishness. If we did not all derive the benefits of our treatment to animals; if meat suddenly stopped tasting appealing to some, we would all be animal rights activists. Such is the nature of human selfishness. The desire for meat doesn’t outweighs the animals desire to live for most people. There are off course some people (vegetarians for ethical reasons) who arguably have more will power, compassion and consideration than others for understanding that the taste is a superficial reason to be in favour of meat eating. Killing an animal for the sole purpose of eating it to satisfy your taste, causing pain, injury and death solely to bring diversity to your diet is immoral. http://www.time.com...http://www.news.cornell.edu...