No matter how well we care for animals, I believe it is wrong in principle to kill animals for food when doing so is not necessary for our survival.
As an analogy, if O. J. Simpson confessed to killing his wife but claimed it was acceptable because he killed her humanely, that would not be a suitable defence.
Nevertheless, if farmed animals were treated and eventually killed more “humanely,” that would be a qualitative improvement over the current situation.
Continue with these questions:
- Is it unfair and insulting to compare killing a person with slaughtering an animal?
- What about eating animals killed in road accidents?
- How common is cannibalism in the animal kingdom?
- What about situations where people need to eat meat to survive?
- If everyone became vegetarian, what would happen to all the farm animals?
- Is human hunting necessary to prevent deer overpopulation?
- How are farmed animals treated today?
- Are animals also killed during crop harvesting and road construction?
- If we did not raise animals for food, would they never have a chance to be born and experience life?
More answers: Vegan Ethics FAQ.