Eating Meat Is Unethical
As generations pass, humankind has found ways to evolve not only their lifestyles but also their diets. According to researchers, studies have shown that humans have evolved into eating more meat and fewer plants.
However, since human survival is not at stake, eating meat is unethical, and people should go back to living off of a plant-based diet like our ancestors.
People have claimed that 2019 would be “the year of veganism” due to the increase in the number of vegans in the U.S. over a short period of time. According to Vegan-demographics, 88% of people in the U.S. classify themselves as omnivores, 4% classify as vegans, and 8% classify as vegetarians. However, in 2008, the U.S. only had 0.5% of the population were considered vegan and 3.2% were considered vegetarian.
Loading ...Due to the mass increase of converting to a plant-based diet; technology has played a huge role in how we perceive the meat industry. People are now posting traumatizing events that happen behind the scenes of slaughterhouses and how people are treating animals unfairly. PETA has tried to make society realize that there is no “humane” way of killing an animal. Because animals have feelings, it would be unethical to inflict pain on another living being.
According to PETA research, the food industry has caused the most mass suffering and death among animals. The living conditions of most animals are filthy and they have to live in constant fear and torment. In almost all cases, animals are also separated from their family making them feel more alone and scared to face death. The need for meat in America has made our nation a more selfish country due to the unwillingness to understand what another animal is suffering through.
The need for meat in America has made our nation a more selfish country due to the unwillingness to understand what another animal is suffering through.
— Mariam Alashmawi, Junior
People tend to say that if a lion’s allowed to eat meat, then humans should be allowed to eat meat as well. However, due to the difference in evolution between a human and a lion, lions can’t help but eat meat. Humans evolved into eating meat in order to survive since they didn’t know how to farm yet and because plants were scarce during the time of winter. Humans had to adapt, although, they were considered herbivores because of the shape of their teeth and also how well they could digest foods. Lions have been eating meat since the beginning of their time and they also have a different digestive tract and shape of teeth.
By lowering the amount of meat people consume, it will decrease the amount of torture animals go through. It’s unethical for people to eat meat considering humans don’t do it out of survival, they do it out of enjoyment. Therefore, people should consider more plant-based diets.
Mariam Alashmawi is a senior and this is her second year as a staff writer for the Silver Streak.
Andy • Nov 28, 2022 at 12:19 pm
Personally, I think meat tastes good so I should eat it.
Chelsea D'Albora • Oct 4, 2021 at 10:14 pm
Someone in these comments said if we didn’t eat meat millions would starve because they can’t afford fruits and vegetables. Realistically, meat consumption plays a big role in world hunger. We use a lot more food to feed animals that we kill than meat that gets produced. Simple google search will tell you that. Also if your saying that killing plants and animals is equally unethical, do me a favor and cut a leave off a tree, then go cut the tail off a pig. You tell me which feels more unethical.
Sukh Bahadur • Jul 23, 2021 at 12:21 pm
Those of you who says plant also suffer as much…then I dare you to kill the food of an animal by yourself or kill the food from a plant … only then you would experience the truth of which feels better…. it’s either killing a plant or an animal feels less hurting to you…☺️
Gabriel sanchez • Apr 22, 2021 at 8:25 am
Eat meat. Meat good for animals.
josiah espigh • Feb 23, 2021 at 10:02 am
this is ridiculous to claim that humans don’t need meat. if we don’t eat meat, the animal population will become out of our control, then they will eat all the plants, then we would have to eat meat, but since there are no more plants, all the animals will die witch means we will die
Alejandra Torrez • Nov 8, 2020 at 12:10 am
If eating meat is unethical, killing millions of plants each day is unethical as well. What about the billions of bugs that are poisoned by the chemicals sprayed on plants? Why do those living beings not matter?
And to claim that eating meat is not essential to humans? Ridiculous! Just because you are fortunate enough to be able to afford fresh vegetables and fruits does not mean everyone is. If all humans cut meat entirely out of their diet millions would die of starvation.
As for the mass factories that keep cows in 4 foot cages and brutally slaughter animals each day, I completely agree that those factories should make some severe changes in how they treat their animals.
But claiming that eating meat is purely unethical and killing plants is not, is contradictory. After all, we as a species are on top of the totem pole and our needs come before other animals’ needs. If you want to argue that cows should have the same rights as humans, that’s a different, but still ridicoulus, story.
Margaux Khoury • Oct 8, 2020 at 2:15 am
Eating animals is not a necessity. I haven’t eaten animals for over 10 years and my health is the best it’s ever been. So if we eat meat simply because we enjoy it, or it’s an addiction, then it’s definitely unethical.
Callum • Sep 17, 2020 at 9:07 pm
This has been a very back and forth argument that has lasted years. In my honest opinion, I would say that eating meat is a need, for thousands of years we’ve eaten meat and it has sustained us. The only problem we have is that the world is way too overpopulated, if there were much fewer people on earth then the meat production companies would slow down and not kill as many humans. I know that even slowing down the production doesn’t stop the whole “killing any living creature is unethical”, but you can also argue that cutting grass and harvesting wheat at a mass production is equally wrong. if I get a massive machine and plow through fields of wheat, then its no different to plowing through a field of cows. There is no study and proof plants feel pain but there is a belief that plants know when you are and are no chewing them down. If I get a spinach leaf and start chewing it, there is a possibility it may feel itself being killed. I mean most people don’t even know plants are even living, they even move, there are timelapse videos on youtube of plants moving all on their own very slowly. Look there’s really no right or wrong answer, the only thing you can do is either like veggies or meat more than after that see what vegetables and meat companies you’d like to support, e.g. inhumane animal production vs free-range cattle, and don’t say “the cows have to go in a warehouse once it’s night time. There is nothing in-humane to cows being in a shed at night then being left out to do whatever in the day.
nathan guzman • Aug 21, 2020 at 1:26 pm
Us as humans need meat to eat. A little known fact is that plants scream when they are being torn to shreds. they just scream at a higher pitch than what we can hear.
nathan • Mar 4, 2020 at 9:18 am
We are omnivores. that’s a fact . We cannot receive all the nutrients we need from plants. We need meat to survive. Some of our ancestors just ate plants, not all of them.
Ethan Baria • Mar 3, 2020 at 10:19 am
Eating meat is 100% a human necessity as we are omnivores not herbivores and also PETA is an absolutely terrible source.Things like B12,D3,Iron and protein and some amino acids are rich in meat which we need.There is such thing as animal cruelty but as long as you give the animal a quick death then I see nothing unethical about it.If we switched to free range cows or organic crops then we will use so so much more space just to produce the same amount.
Zachary Haden • Mar 3, 2020 at 10:12 am
PETA is a biased source, and evolution is theory and can be disputed.
luke stricker • Mar 3, 2020 at 9:28 am
instincts are not “feelings”. animals can’t feel emotions. eating meat isn’t unethical. If animals actually felt any feelings they would be able to communicate them. simply put a mother cow has the natural instinct to protect their young but once they grow up what happens? absolutely nothing they just go on eating grass until they are slaughtered for food for the superior species: humans. also plants are also living beings so if you want to say we shouldn’t eat another living being don’t eat plants either