It is moral to use other living creatures as resources.

Introduction My opponent has obviously spent a great deal of time on an essay about “speciesism,” inequality, or rather discrimination, of other animals by humans. He then ties this into the topic of the debate in his final paragraph: “Humans do not have the moral right to use animals as food, clothing, entertainment, or testing because that would violate the principle of equality. ” To facilitate my rebuttal, I will restructure his argument in the form of a syllogism: 1. Using animals as resources violates equality 2. Violating equality is an immoral act 3. Therefore, using animals as resources is an immoral act In my first argument, I will negate premise 1 by showing how using animals as resources does not necessarily violate “equality,” if it existed, and could even better the relationship between the two species involved, and in my second argument, I will negate premise 2, by show how equality simply does not exist in the animal kingdom. Animal resources My opponent’s entire argument revolves around the assumption that using animals as resources for our own benefit violates some “equality” among the animals. For this argument, I will operate under this idea of “equality,” but I will show how using animals as resources does not require a violation of this principle and in some cases strengthens the relationship between species. Mutualism is “a positive reciprocal relationship between two species. ”1 Each organism uses the other as a resource for its own benefit, creating a relationship between the two that can either be inherent in their genetics, required for survival, or can be unnecessary for survival but still extremely valuable. For example, some Central American ants use the acacia tree for nutrition, while the tree “uses” the ants as a means of protection against predators.2 Because it provides benefit to both species, mutualism is “one of the most important ecological interactions, with strong influences on almost all levels of biological systems. ”3 Humans also engage in mutualism, though unknowingly. In our intestines, millions of “gut microbiota” thrive, assisting us in many metabolic processes; we, in return, provide these tiny organisms with nutrition and shelter. Indeed, “new studies are revealing how the gut microbiota has coevolved with us and how it manipulates and complements our biology in ways that are mutually beneficial. ”4 We are quite literally using this population of gut bacteria as a resource for our benefit, simultaneously returning the favor by feeding these small organisms. The Boran people of Kenya have developed a mutualistic relationship with a bird called the “Greater Honeyguide. ” The Kenyans whistle for the bird, which guides the humans to a beehive for honey, even flying back and checking on the humans at times. When the beehive is found by the bird, the Honeyguide will fly in circles around it to clarify its exact location. After the Borans have taken their honey, they leave behind bits for the Honeyguide, forever strengthening the bond between bird and man.5 As I have stated before, some species actually depend on this biological interaction for their very own survival. For example, orchids “depend on fungi called mycorrhizae at some point during their life cycle. The fungi grow partly on the root and aid the plant in the uptake of nutrients. The fungi benefit as they ingest some of the food from plant photosynthesis. ”6 I have shown in this section, using animals as resources does not violate equality, because some species depend on being used and using other species as a means for survival. Furthermore, I have shown how an African tribe engages in mutualism with a bird, a peaceful and beneficial coexistence that cannot be regarded as immoral. Animal equality In a nutshell, equality does not exist in the animal kingdom. My opponent compares this phenomenon of “speciesism” with racism and sexism, declaring that there is no moral difference in equality among humans as equality among animals. He states: “The desire for food and water, shelter and companionship, freedom of movement and avoidance of pain, both humans and other animals share. ” Certainly, he is correct in that all animals long for survival. But it is this very urge to exist that drives the inequality not only present, but inherent, in the animal kingdom. A food web is “the binary predator-prey links among the species (or other elements) in a biological community. ”7 Nature’s food web represents the dominion of certain animals over others. Predators eat prey. Through evolution, the prey adapts to lengthen its existence; the predator adapts to lessen it again. Humans are, of course, at the top of the food chain, the apex predator, and have a natural power over all other animals through our adaptation of intelligence. Claims of inequality are justified in racism and sexism because of the equivalence among all humans, regardless of race or sex. However, nature has created through evolution a complex organization of which animals shall eat which – nature has created inequality, an inequality which supports any biome. I want to reiterate, the food web “maintains the stability of the ecosystem. ”8 If “speciesism” is “discrimination in favor of one species […] over another,” I must point out that all animals engage in speciesism, from herbivores to carnivores. Conclusion In “Animal resources,” I showed how my opponent’s claim that the use of animals as a resource embodies inequality. Mutualism, the joint benefit of two species through a reciprocal assistance in survival, is not only advantageous to both species but also reinforces their natural bond. In “Animal equality,” I showed how there is no equality in the animal kingdom because evolution has created a natural chain of predation that forces animals to die in favor of another. I have now negated both premise 1 and 2 of his argument, rendering the claim that “humans do not have the moral right to use animals […] because that would violate the principle of equality” false. 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