Why It’s OK; to Eat Meat

Vegetarians have argued at great length that meat-eating is wrong. Even so, the vast majority of people continue to eat meat, and even most vegetarians eventually give up on their diets. Does this prove these people must be morally corrupt? In Why It’s OK to Eat Meat , Dan C. Shahar argues the answer is no: it’s entirely possible to be an ethical person while continuing to eat meat―and not just the "fancy" offerings from the farmers' market but also the regular meat we find at most supermarkets and restaurants. Shahar’s examination forcefully echoes vegetarians’ concerns about the meat industry’s impacts on animals, workers, the environment, and public health. However, he shows that the most influential ethical arguments for avoiding meat on the basis of these considerations are ultimately unpersuasive. Instead of insisting we all become vegetarians, Shahar argues each of us has broad latitude to choose which of the world’s problems to tackle, in what ways, and to what extents, and hence people can decline to take up this particular form of activism without doing anything wrong. Key Features First book-length defense of meat-eating written for a popular audience Punchy, accessible introduction to the multifaceted debate over the ethics of eating meat Includes pioneering new examinations of humane labeling practices Shows why appeals to universalized patterns of behavior can’t vindicate vegetarians’ claims that there’s a duty to avoid meat Develops a novel theory of ethical activism with potential applications to a wide range of other issues Dan C. Shahar argues it’s entirely possible to be an ethical person while continuing to eat meat. Shahar argues each of us has broad latitude to choose which of the world’s problems to tackle, in what ways, and to what extents, and hence people can decline to take up this particular form of activism without doing anything wrong. Cover 1 Endorsement Page 2 Half Title 4 Series Page 6 Title Page 8 Copyright Page 9 Table of Contents 10 Acknowledgments 13 Chapter One: Is It OK to Eat Meat? 16 In Search of Good Arguments 18 Enjoyable? 19 Healthy? 21 Natural? 23 Endorsed by God? 25 The Other Side of the Coin 29 Plan for the Book 29 Chapter Two: Conscientious Omnivorism 36 Overlapping Characteristics 38 Debunking Respect? 41 The Need for an Explanation 44 The Charge of Discrimination 49 Eating Our Fellow Creatures 54 Early Demises 61 The Possibility of “Conscientious Omnivorism” 68 Chapter Three: The Other 99% 72 Chicken 74 Pork 80 Beef 84 What Should Be Our Standards? 87 Industry Standards 93 Independent Certifications 97 The Problems Are Real 103 Chapter Four: Making a Difference 106 What Happens When a Person Eats Meat? 107 How Inefficacy Is Possible 110 Transmission Up the Supply Chain 113 Responsiveness to Changes 117 Participating in a Movement 120 Why Choose? 124 Bang for the Buck 129 A Misguided Argumentative Strategy 134 Chapter Five: What If Everyone Did That? 138 The Universalization Test 140 A World Full of Meat-Eaters 141 A World Full of Vegetarians 144 Ideal Outcomes vs. Strategic Decisions 145 Chasing Stags 149 Raising the Stakes 153 Turning the Tide 155 Holding Serve 158 Chapter Six: Hanging Our Hats 160 Taking a Stand 161 Consumption as Endorsement 164 The Puzzle of Complicity 166 How to Respond? 170 What We Celebrate 175 Better Together? 182 It's OK to Eat Meat 185 Notes 188 Bibliography 216 Index 232 animal,cruelty;,animal,farming;,broader,vegetarian,movement,conscientious,omnivorism;,environmental,degradation;,ethical,vegetarians;,meat,industry;,meat-eating;,public,health,risks;,slaughtering;,worker,mistreatment animal cruelty,animal farming,broader vegetarian movement conscientious omnivorism,environmental degradation,ethical vegetarians,meat industry,meat-eating,public health risks,slaughtering,worker mistreatment