Have you ever heard the argument "Animals eat animals" as a justification for your own meat consumption? Maybe you've even used it yourself. Either way, it's not a bad thing. But it's important to consider whether it's really a logical argument or a quick excuse.
In this article, I would therefore like to question whether we can really justify eating meat by the fact that there are animals that eat other animals. Let's go!
Why "animals eat other animals" is not a logical argument
It is true that some animals eat other animals - for example the lion that hunts and eats the antelope. But he only does this because he and his family could not survive otherwise. We humans, on the other hand, no longer need to eat animals in order to survive. That may have been the case in the Stone Age. But nowadays we can eat a purely plant-based diet without having to fear negative health consequences.₁ Unlike the lion, we are not predators either. We don't have sharp claws or large fangs.
On the contrary: our teeth are very good for chopping and chewing - and not for tearing. Our meter-long intestines are also ideal for digesting plants. Meat, on the other hand, has been proven to be a cause of bowel cancer and constipation. Unlike the lion, we also don't have strong hydrochloric acid in our stomachs, which makes meat easier to digest. This is one of the reasons why our body often reacts with food poisoning when we eat undercooked meat.
But just suppose we were made to eat meat: then why do we get our meat from a plastic box in the supermarket? And why do we get uncomfortable when we see someone else slaughtering an animal in the Factory farming mistreated or killed just so that we can eat it? We don't feel hungry when we see these images - we feel for the animals.
Tip: If you could use some more motivation to eat a plant-based diet, be sure to check out this Documentaries about factory farming on. They have also had a significant influence on my personal decisions.
Just because some animals eat their own kind doesn't mean we have to do the same
We don't have to eat body parts of animals, our moral values speak against it and our physique is not even made for it. So just because there are some animals that eat other animals doesn't justify our meat consumption. Incidentally, around 90 percent of all mammals eat only plants - so we can do the same. 😉
In any case, it is amusing that some people insist that we are actually animals too in order to strengthen the "animals eat animals" argument. However, we often hear the same people say "we are more intelligent than animals" as a reason to continue eating meat. These arguments simply no longer fit together.
Do you have questions or your own experience with this argument against veganism? Then just write me a comment.
Stay sustainable,
PS: Do you already know my article about the Reasons for veganism? Be sure to take a look to find out the main motives for a vegan diet.
References:
₁ University of Oxford: Plant-based foods are good for both health and the environment (as of 29.10.2020), available at https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-29-plant-based-foods-are-good-both-health-and-environment. [15.07.2020].
₂ L. Neumaier: Ernährungsweisen, available at http://www.heimtierwissen.de/Seiten/Ernaehrung/Ernaehrungsweisen.html. [15.07.2020].
