The degree of cognitive dissonance most people hold in their opinions on animal cruelty is astounding. As you wrote regarding a related issue:
When confronted with the overwhelming moral case against [factory farming], most people’s brains start to malfunction. They start to make terrible arguments that they’d never make in any other context.
When people torture animals as children and go on to become serial killers, in hindsight, we consider that animal torture to have been indicative of their future horrific behavior. We similarly exhibit disgust towards people who engage in bestiality. We share gifs of cute animals on social media and feel-good stories of couples adopting dogs who would otherwise have been euthanized.
Meanwhile, by ordering a single chicken sandwich at a restaurant, we’re subjecting an animal to torture much worse than bestiality, or the machinations of would-be serial killers.
As you’ve asserted, the answer to whether or not it’s ethical to eat factory farmed meat is overdetermined. Any sufficiently rational person who accepts that extreme suffering for trivial benefits is wrong should realize that supporting factory farming is wrong. Apart from appeals to wild animal effects, I think any justification of eating factory farmed meat is either sociopathy or motivated reasoning produced by profound cognitive dissonance.
It’s unfortunate that few of even the most conscientious people have the willpower to not torture thousands of sentient beings over their lifetime for the sake of trivial pleasures.
Great content as always, Matthew!
The degree of cognitive dissonance most people hold in their opinions on animal cruelty is astounding. As you wrote regarding a related issue:
When people torture animals as children and go on to become serial killers, in hindsight, we consider that animal torture to have been indicative of their future horrific behavior. We similarly exhibit disgust towards people who engage in bestiality. We share gifs of cute animals on social media and feel-good stories of couples adopting dogs who would otherwise have been euthanized.
Meanwhile, by ordering a single chicken sandwich at a restaurant, we’re subjecting an animal to torture much worse than bestiality, or the machinations of would-be serial killers.
As you’ve asserted, the answer to whether or not it’s ethical to eat factory farmed meat is overdetermined. Any sufficiently rational person who accepts that extreme suffering for trivial benefits is wrong should realize that supporting factory farming is wrong. Apart from appeals to wild animal effects, I think any justification of eating factory farmed meat is either sociopathy or motivated reasoning produced by profound cognitive dissonance.
It’s unfortunate that few of even the most conscientious people have the willpower to not torture thousands of sentient beings over their lifetime for the sake of trivial pleasures.