NDLI: Vegetarianism, Sentimental or Ethical?

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Deckers, Jan
Copyright Year	2009
Abstract	In this paper, I provide some evidence for the view that a common charge against those who adopt vegetarianism is that they would be sentimental. I argue that this charge is pressed frequently by those who adopt moral absolutism, a position that I reject, before exploring the question if vegetarianism might make sense. I discuss three concerns that might motivate those who adopt vegetarian diets, including a concern with the human health and environmental costs of some alternative diets, a concern about inflicting pain on animals, and a concern with the killing of animals. While I argue that vegetarianism does not make sense in some situations, I hope that this paper shows that there are many good reasons why the adoption of vegetarian, and—even more so—vegan diets might be appropriate in some situations. In carving out this position, I focus primarily on the question whether a morally relevant distinction between the killing of plants and the killing of animals should be made. I engage primarily with the views of two of the most prominent authors on this issue, arguing that neither Peter Singer nor Tom Regan provide a satisfactory account on the ethics of killing nonhuman organisms. Two views are challenged in particular, the view that relatively simple animals such as molluscs, as well as plants, lack awareness, and the view that animals without a preference to continue living stand to lose little or nothing by being killed. I provide some evidence to support the claim that many share my view that it is more problematic to kill animals than to kill plants, before analyzing why some suppress the negative feelings they associate with killing animals. By exploring these issues I hope to shed some light on the issue of whether the feelings of those who adopt vegetarianism are sentimental or make sense, and to stimulate reflection amongst those with an interest in food ethics.
Starting Page	573
Ending Page	597
Page Count	25
File Format	PDF
ISSN	11877863
Journal	Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics
Volume Number	22
Issue Number	6
e-ISSN	1573322X
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2009-06-04
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Animals Diet Ethics Food Rights Veganism Vegetarianism Plant Sciences Theory of Medicine/Bioethics Agricultural Economics Evolutionary Biology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Environmental Chemistry History Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Veganism and Living Well

Animal Agriculture: Symbiosis, Culture, or Ethical Conflict?

A Carnivorous Rejoinder to Bruers and Erdös

Veganism versus Meat-Eating, and the Myth of “Root Capacity”: A Response to Hsiao

The Pig’s Squeak: Towards a Renewed Aesthetic Argument for Veganism

In Defense of Eating Vegan

Animal Killing and Postdomestic Meat Production

Industrial Farming is Not Cruel to Animals

The Food Debate: Ethical versus Substantial Equivalence

Vegetarianism, Sentimental or Ethical?

Similar Documents

Veganism and Living Well

Animal Agriculture: Symbiosis, Culture, or Ethical Conflict?

A Carnivorous Rejoinder to Bruers and Erdös

Veganism versus Meat-Eating, and the Myth of “Root Capacity”: A Response to Hsiao

The Pig’s Squeak: Towards a Renewed Aesthetic Argument for Veganism

In Defense of Eating Vegan

Animal Killing and Postdomestic Meat Production

Industrial Farming is Not Cruel to Animals

The Food Debate: Ethical versus Substantial Equivalence

Vegetarianism, Sentimental or Ethical?