The Following Was Posted On:
First, I'd like to start off by saying that I am not a vegetarian and do not ever plan on becoming one. However, I would like to point out that I have nothing against vegetarians and respect their opinions as long as they are logical and well-thought. On that note, I would like to point out a few things that I really thought was a bit much from Lane's arguments. One of his first arguments was regarding the reason why we don't eat humans- "Thus as humans we have no overriding tendency to eat other human beings, primarily, I would think, because we can empathize with their 'pain.'" He tries to make the connection that if we realize that animals feel pain, then we should empathize with them as well, and not eat them. I somewhat agree with this opinion, but I really don't think that humans completely empathize with each other's "pain." If we did, then there would be no wars, murders, hunger, etc. I think that we don't eat each other because it is not accepted by most societies on earth. There are societies, such as those of the indigenous people of New Guinea who are infamous for their acts of cannibalism. I don't agree with Dave's statement that- "In certain cases we have a resistance to eating animals, particularly if they show higher brain functions (dolphins and apes immediately come to mind)." Again, I think that societies are the influential factors on what we eat. I am not aware of many societies that thrive on eating dolphins, but apes are a delicacy all over Africa. When was the last time you have seen rat on the menu of a local restaurant? They can be found in many places in Asia. Rats are not well-known for their cognitive abilities, but pigs are. Pigs are ranked as the smartest animals after humans, apes, and dolphins. I really don't need to mention how we feel about eating them. I Quote- "There's a live cow outside your door right now. Go 'french kiss' with him/her. That is, suck the juices off the cow's moist tongue. Do it for about ten minutes." I find this to be ridiculous. When was the last time you sucked on an orange tree? Or when you slobbered on a banana peel? Here is an interesting point that Dave made- "I personally find it both ironic and sad that as humans we can denounce the horrors of the Holocaust (one of the greatest crimes ever perpetuated by humans against humans) at countless conferences, while at the same time enjoy eating a steak while we discuss Auschwitz. The blinders are everywhere and we do not see past them." We don't purposefully kill millions of animals just for the purpose of their own demise. I also find Lane's observation of irony to be ironic. Most people don't know it, but Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian. Just because you don't eat animals doesn't mean you aren't capable of engineering something like the holocaust. Other than those few points, I find Lane's arguments to be interesting and insightful.
