The phrase “survival of the fittest” describes the process of natural selection that has taken place on our planet for millions of years, but it is not a model for our ethical standards. Consider how we treat other people. We can care for the weak and ill as well as the strong and healthy. We look after older and disabled people rather than simply leaving them to die in the cold.
We should also recognise that natural selection has little to do with the way people now kill animals for food. Farmed animals are eventually sent to slaughterhouses regardless of how healthy they are. People have selectively bred farmed animals to strengthen traits they consider useful, even when those traits significantly harm the animals’ health. For example, turkeys have been selectively bred for the large breasts consumers prefer. Their breasts have become so large that turkeys can no longer mount one another and reproduce naturally. As a result, the source text states that all large-breasted turkeys raised commercially in the United States reproduce only through artificial insemination.
Natural selection also has little to do with how people kill animals through hunting. Predators such as wolves tend to kill young and weak animals, while a hunter’s weapon does not necessarily make that distinction. On the contrary, a hunter may prefer to kill a strong, healthy animal because it makes a better trophy.
Continue with this question: