Veganism: The Ethical Choice for Least Harm
The Smaller Footprint
Veganism often faces criticism and misconceptions, one of which is the notion that it demands the indiscriminate destruction of creatures on a scale far beyond that of livestock management. This critique suggests that a plant-based diet causes more harm by killing numerous small animals during crop production and questions the ethical superiority of veganism. Critics argue that the harvesting processes involved in plant agriculture inadvertently harm and kill a significant number of small animals, such as rodents and insects, thus causing more widespread ecological disruption.
‘‘Veganism often faces criticism for allegedly causing more harm than livestock farming by killing small animals during crop production. However, this misconception overlooks the broader impact of animal agriculture, which requires extensive resources and causes significant environmental and ethical harm.’’
They claim that this collateral damage undermines the ethical foundation of veganism, which is based on reducing harm to animals. Consequently, the argument posits that veganism, despite its intention to minimize suffering, may inadvertently result in greater overall harm compared to livestock farming, which utilizes the animals it raises. This line of reasoning challenges the moral high ground often associated with a vegan lifestyle, suggesting that the unintended consequences of plant-based agriculture need to be factored into ethical considerations.
This article addresses these concerns, highlighting veganism's ethical, environmental, and practical dimensions.
Understanding the Scale of Harm in Agriculture
Livestock vs. Plant Agriculture
One of the key misunderstandings is comparing harm between plant-based and livestock-based agriculture. It is crucial to recognize that a significant portion of crops grown worldwide is used to feed livestock, not humans. In the United States, for instance, nearly 80% of corn and 95% of oats are consumed by animals. This means that the land, water, and energy used for these crops contribute indirectly to the harm caused by animal agriculture.
Source: Corn and Oats Feeding Animals
Resource Efficiency
Animal agriculture is notably resource-intensive. Producing animal products requires far more land, water, and energy compared to plant-based foods. For example, producing one pound of beef requires about 20 times more land and emits 20 times more greenhouse gases than producing one pound of plant-based protein. By reducing or eliminating the demand for animal products, we can significantly lower the environmental footprint of our food system and reduce the destruction of natural habitats.
Collateral Damage in Crop Production
Critics often point to the harm caused to small animals during the harvesting of crops as a major issue. While it is true that some small animals are inadvertently killed in plant agriculture, the scale of this harm is considerably less than that caused by animal agriculture. Moreover, many of these deaths result from large-scale monoculture practices. More sustainable farming methods, such as polyculture and organic farming, can mitigate these impacts and are increasingly advocated within vegan circles.
Source: Monoculture vs. Polyculture
Ethical and Moral Considerations
Intentionality and Necessity of Harm
The ethical foundation of veganism is rooted in the principle of minimizing intentional harm. Vegans seek to avoid the direct killing of sentient beings for food, recognizing that humans can thrive on plant-based diets. While some harm in agriculture is unavoidable, the goal is to reduce it as much as possible. In contrast, animal agriculture involves the deliberate breeding, confinement, and slaughter of animals, representing intentional and unnecessary harm.
Source: Ethical Veganism
Sustainability for Future Generations
A plant-based diet is more sustainable and has a significantly lower environmental impact than an animal-based diet. This sustainability is crucial for the wellbeing of future generations. Ethical considerations extend to the long-term health of the planet and its ecosystems. By choosing a vegan lifestyle, individuals contribute to a more sustainable food system that can support the growing human population without depleting natural resources.
Source: Sustainability and Vegan Diets
Compassionate Living
Veganism is fundamentally about compassion and reducing suffering. By choosing not to participate in industries that exploit and kill animals, vegans advocate for a more compassionate world. The principle of "least harm" is not about ignoring the deaths in plant agriculture but about actively seeking ways to reduce overall harm through informed lifestyle choices and advocacy for better agricultural practices.
Source: Compassion in Veganism
Conclusion
The critique that veganism causes more indiscriminate destruction than livestock management overlooks the broader context of agricultural practices and resource use. Veganism aims to minimize harm, promote sustainability, and foster a more compassionate relationship with all living beings. While no system is entirely free of harm, a plant-based diet represents a significant step towards reducing the overall scale of harm and building a more ethical and sustainable food system.
By understanding the complexities of agricultural practices and the ethical foundations of veganism, we can better appreciate the efforts to create a more humane and sustainable world. The shift towards plant-based diets is not just about individual health but about a collective responsibility to reduce harm and protect the planet for future generations.
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General Resources
Books:
Dominion: The Power of Animals in Nature and in Our Imagination by Matthew Scully
Animal Liberation by Peter Singer
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Billion Hungry Mouths: Feeding the World Without Consuming the Planet by Colin Tudge
Websites and organizations:
Documentaries:
Articles:
"The Case for Animal Rights" by Tom Regan
‘‘Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism’’ by Melanie Joy
‘‘Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach’’ by Gary L. Francione
‘‘Fellow Creatures: Our Obligations to the Other Animals’’ by Christine Korsgaard
Seeds of Compassion: Finding Jesus Christ in a Vegan World by Michael Corthell
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The information on this vegan/plant-based blog is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, medical, or professional advice. Readers should consult with appropriate professionals for specific advice tailored to their situation. The blog owner is not responsible for any reliance on the information herein.
Thank you for tackling so well the absurd industrial and cultural myths inflating claims around veganism causing collateral damage that reflect so much of the cynicism underlying competing systems in our related societies. Calling this out succinctly is key to the work we share in defending our priorities and ambitions on behalf of the environment and all living/thriving things.
Dear Michael,
I would like to call your attention to something that promises to change the entire context of this subject. The non-profit thinktank, RethinkX, has written about four "Disruptions" in the process of radically changing our world within the next twenty years. They are Energy, Transportation, Labor, and Food. The Food Disruption involves two developing technologies, Precision Fermentation (PF) and Cellular Agriculture (CA). As these develop, their production costs are plummeting so that, for purely economic reasons, they will essentially drive conventional agriculture to extinction. (Do a search on RethinkX and also watch the YouTube series, Brighter, by their research director, Adam Dorr. Episodes are each about fifteen minutes long.)
The more fundamental of the two technologies is PF. At first, the cost of PF restricted its use to pharmaceuticals. An early product was the drug, Humulin, human insulin produced by modifying the fermenting agent with the human insulin gene. This drove to extinction the inferior pharmaceutical, animal insulin made by harvesting pig and cattle pancreases in slaughterhouses. The cost of PF has fallen to the point that it can be used to produce nutrient molecules. Note Importantly that this is Not GM food! The fermenting agent modified to produce the nutrient is entirely removed from the brew at the end of the process.
The second technology, Cellular Agriculture, starts with taking biopsies from food animals, mammal or seafood species, to acquire stem cells. These are used to begin the growth of tissues. The growth culture is a product of PF, and as the cost of PF plummets, the cost of CA follows.
The Food Disruption will put an end, economically, to the Standard American Diet (SAD) responsible for the worldwide explosion of chronic diseases associated with Metabolic Syndrome. There will be no reason that food cannot be composed of entirely nutritious components.
Land use worldwide is currently dominated by crops for food animals. PF + CA will require about one percent the land use of traditional agriculture, releasing for human or wildlife use an area equivalent to that of the U.S. plus China plus Australia.
I look forward to a day when the end of animal exploitation may initiate a general biophilia as a fundamental part of human culture.