The consequences of eating meat, revisited

I sometimes get asked how we can be so sure that there are negative consequences to eating meat, and what these consequences are exactly.

I believe that there are negative consequences to abusing and killing animals, and, by extension, to eating the meat of these dead animals. I believe that killing any sentient being, whether it’s another human, a cow, pig, fish, etc. is unethical because I see all sentient life as important. The same person that asked the question above would likely not have asked the same question about the consequences of killing other humans. Why? Because most of us already know that the killing of other humans is wrong. Religious individuals would most likely see this action as a "sin" for which there would be negative consequences. Even (most) non-religious individuals would agree that the killing of other human beings is not ethical. Even if we don't specify the exact consequences of killing someone, we kind of inherently feel that this is the wrong thing to do. For most of us, being responsible for a lost life would weight very heavily on our conscience.

I believe that this same level of respect for life should be extended to include as many animals as possible. When one develops compassion and empathy for animals, one begins to see that their suffering is as unacceptable as ours. One begins to respect all life, not just human life. There are ways in which we differ from animals, especially in our intelligence and our ability to make decisions. There are also ways in which we are very much alike: Our desire to live, our ability to feel pain, our emotions, including but not limited to happiness, sadness, depression, and fear. We should use to the things that set us apart (our intelligence and ability to make good decisions) to remind ourselves and others around us that we should be the caretakers of animals, not their executioners or abusers.

Whether you're religious or not, you can hopefully agree that violence and murder contribute to the deterioration of society, and make the world a much worse place to live. I believe that our treatment of animals also contributes to this. When we try to become "better people", we should keep in mind that respecting the life of animals is an important part of that equation, an important stepping stone on the path to true progress.