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I had an epiphany during a discussion with a friend today. The PETA people I know a big proponents of Veganism. But what would happen if PETA got it's way, and everyone was suddenly a Vegan? PETA would lose, the animals would lose, and we would lose.
The reasoning goes like this: People rear animals because there is a market for these animals. Let's look at cattle. There are huge swaths of land (one ranch in texas is bigger than Rhode Island) dedicated to cattle ranching, with the proceeds of this endeavor providing economic viability to the cattle being on the land. If people no longer wanted the meat, the market would vanish. Ranchers could no longer afford the land or caring for the cattle. In all likelyhood, there would be a mass genocide of cattle. That's 16 million cattle in Texas, ~100 million in the US, and 1.6 BILLION world wide. It would be the single worst ecological disaster in the history of mankind. While I realize it is unrealistic for this to happen overnight, the end result is the about the same whether it is instant or transpires over time.
In contrast, what is the current state? From my experience, it is not, for the most part, factory farms as PETA claims. It's Cows wandering around on land, eating, having sex, being cared for, and protected from predators. 99.9% of a cow's life is pretty amazing.
So I ask you, which is the more ethical way to go?
The reasoning goes like this: People rear animals because there is a market for these animals. Let's look at cattle. There are huge swaths of land (one ranch in texas is bigger than Rhode Island) dedicated to cattle ranching, with the proceeds of this endeavor providing economic viability to the cattle being on the land. If people no longer wanted the meat, the market would vanish. Ranchers could no longer afford the land or caring for the cattle. In all likelyhood, there would be a mass genocide of cattle. That's 16 million cattle in Texas, ~100 million in the US, and 1.6 BILLION world wide. It would be the single worst ecological disaster in the history of mankind. While I realize it is unrealistic for this to happen overnight, the end result is the about the same whether it is instant or transpires over time.
In contrast, what is the current state? From my experience, it is not, for the most part, factory farms as PETA claims. It's Cows wandering around on land, eating, having sex, being cared for, and protected from predators. 99.9% of a cow's life is pretty amazing.
So I ask you, which is the more ethical way to go?
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