When's the last time YOU saw a pig in person?

As the title of this post suggests, this entry will be about the ethics of eating animals. I am responding to chapter eleven of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," in which Michael Pollan conveys both sides of the carnivore-vegetarian dilemma. Simply put - is it morally wrong to eat meat?

Because of the inhumane treatment of animals on industrial farms, it seems as though we either gain knowledge and become vegetarians, or simply remain ignorant to these conditions and continue eating meat. Because animals are living creatures, don't they receive fair treatment and equality? Just because we are capable of expressing thoughts and conveying our intelligence as human beings, does that mean that we can rightfully exploit other creatures?

Unfortunately, we have been left deeply confused about our connection to animals - on one end, eating meat is traditional, sociable, delicious, and it provides us with protein and other nutrients. But the industrial slaughter is inhumane! Surely if we were able to look a pig or a cow in the face, we'd change our minds about eating meat.

Michael Pollan displayed this dilemma in a way that I never thought of before - a way that even more so justifies the idea of eating meat in my mind. Pollan states that domesticated animals cannot survive in the wild , and without us, they would have become extinct by now. So, we're actually allowing these animals (with the exception of pigs) more time to live! And this is where meat-eaters should make the change: people who really care about the treatment of animals should ensure that their meat products come from farms that treat their animals with care. True, meat would be much more expensive, but isn't it worth it give money to organizations that to regard animals with respect?