Eating animal meat purely for pleasure is unethical.

Hmm…. you seem to have chased down a few red hearings in your last essay. I did not, for instance, argue that humans and other animals should be given equal rights or that it is unethical for animals to eat each other or that human beings need vegetables to survive. Consequently, much of your last essay targeted terrain that I have never thought to occupy. I did hear some bomb-blasts in the distance. They were magnificent. ======= Case Con ======= Contention #1 How far should we be willing to extend the rights to, and to which animal? How much pain should an animal be able to feel, until it is illegal to kick or hurt such an animal? Although it is arguable that Clams feel less pain than Chickens, until my opponent provides detailed descriptions as to how much pain an animal could potentially feel in order to provide certain rights, this first paragraph is pretty much moot. There is no need to draw an arbitrary line between how much pain an animal can feel before its given rights. It is manifestly true that most of the meat we eat comes from animals like chickens, cows and pigs that can all feel a great deal of pain. I'm currently awaiting the evidence that would describe how much pain insects and fish can feel. And insofar as a fish can feel pain I guess we can include it in our ethical purview; I don't see why not. "Although it is arguable that Clams feel less pain than Chickens" This isn't arguable if you know anything about the physiological or neurological makeup of chickens and clams. Contention #2 "The claim that a human needs Vegetables to survive is also demonstrably false and any thinking person within a mile of a vitamin wearhouse should not take it seriously." ??? Where exactly did I make this claim? And what does it have to do with the debate at any rate? Were debating whether or not its ethical to eat meat, not whether we should be supplementing our diet with pills. Contention #3 "First off, there are pets who eat meat. Many dog chows are made of meat. If it is unethical to kill millions of conscious creatures in order to feed your dog, what do you feed it?" This point is off topic. I'm only concerned about human consumption of meat at the moment. Contention #4 "So, does this mean it is unethical for a wolf to eat a deer?" What on Earth does this have to do with whether or not it's ethical for humans to eat meat? Contention #5 "What about people who are simply too poor to afford the suppliments for meat?" What about them? Meat supplements are not a vital component of any diet. Contention #6 "What about people who are unable to eat vegetables because all they have is access to meat?" In case you didn't know, - which apparently you don't- meat is pretty expensive. If someone could afford to eat nothing but meat they would have to be pretty well off. If someone were locked in a dungeon and all they had access to was meat I wouldn't be opposed to them eating it in such a circumstance. Contention #7 "What about the millions of farmers who make their livings, albeit poorly, off of selling meat?" They can find a new line of work. I know that sounds cold, but their profit margins perpetuate unacceptable amounts of suffering. Therefore I would not be opposed to them going out of business. If fact, this is secretly my desire. Contention #8 "Some will try to argue" "This is the problem though. Even if, say, Half of the current meat-consuming population, suddenly stopped buying meat, what do you think the farmers would do?" They would either go out of business or sell something else. This is how markets operate in a free society. Contention #9 "Others will contend that humans deserve special rights" This is, again, running into the problem of what rights should we extend to animals, and to what animals? I mean, a fly is an animal. It feels pain. Should someone be charged with murder, if they swat one? Should someone go to jail after accidentally stepping on a snail? If a dog kills a man, does the dog deserve the right to a fair trial and a lawyer? If a horse kills another horse, does that Horse get charged with Murder? If you think this is absurd, and that i am somehow arguing a Slippery Slope fallacy, Congratulations! You have agreed that humans have certain rights, certain special rights that are not afforded to other animals! Wow, you really didn't read what I wrote did you? This is unfortunate. In case you missed it the first time here is what I said. "Having said that I don't want people to think that I believe animals and humans should be given equal rights. We can weigh our ethical responsibilities to animals by appealing to their qualities e.g. (their capacity to suffer), which at the end of the day would put human persons at the top of our ethical purview." -Quoted from my round 1 essay 8th paragraph Contention #10 "Anyways, no. It is absurd to let animals have the same rights as humans." You've just created a straw man argument. I've never argued that animals and humans should have the same rights. I've even explicitly stated my opposition to this. Contention #11 Now, a few arguments from myself: A fly is sentient. It is self aware. It feels pain(1). Therefore, is it ethically wrong to swat a fly for your own selfish pleasure? As in, if the fly was a nuisance and you killed it? I don't know enough about the neurological makeup of flies to tell you with any degree of accuracy how much pain they can feel. But since humans don't usually sit down and eat large plates of flies at dinner time this point is more or less irrelevant "A fly is sentient. It is self aware." I'm very curious where you got that from. Contention #12 "Also, is it unethical to eat things that come from animals, like eggs, or Butter?" This is an excellent question and one that I'm currently ruminating over. However, it's completely irrelevant to the debate. ===== Case Pro ===== Here is where our debate stands at this moment in time. The basic claims of all my arguments have gone unchallenged and thus remain intact. You've raised the point that some farmers rely on meat to make their living. I acknowledge this but I contend that it doesn't matter. It is unethical to make a living in an industry that perpetuates so much needless suffering. By the way, the source you cited was broken. What was in there that you wanted me to see? Best, Freeman