4 ms·

In a natural world, these animals would have the choice to reproduce (or not). You're forcing them to reproduce and then saying, "Well, it's OK, because they wo

by fnovd 9y ago

In a natural world, these animals would have the choice to reproduce (or not). You're forcing them to reproduce and then saying, "Well, it's OK, because they wouldn't exist otherwise." If these animals truly wanted to reproduce in this environment, we wouldn't need to artificially inseminate them. There are many species that stop reproducing depending on their environment. In zoos, this can be a big problem. If it were humans in this situation, would you feel the same way? Is your treatment of them excused because you "allowed them to live"? Why is it OK to do this to a pig but not, say, a dog? Or a gorilla?

Swizec 9y ago
> In a natural world, these animals would have the choice to reproduce (or not) In a natural world these animals wouldn't exist. There's no such thing as a cow in nature. There are things that are almost like a cow, but they're not cows. Most of the plants and animals we breed for food are not represented in nature nature. > Why is it OK to do this to a pig but not, say, a dog? Dogs are bred for food in some parts of the world.
- tjr 9y ago
  Dogs are bred for food in some parts of the world. And elsewhere, dogs have been bred for their appearance at the expense of their health or functional traits, on the whims of people running competitions. See, for example: https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Wars-Border-Battled-American/dp/0983484503/ https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Wars-Border-Battled-American/dp/0...
- wil421 9y ago
  Just to add a bit. Tomatoes were a small yellow berry. Europeans thought they were poisonous for a while because they are nightshades.[1] Milk and beef cattle are most likely descended from Aurochs.[2] [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato [2]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs
louithethrid 9y ago
The natural world you talk about is goone ( what a nice, woody sort of word)and wont come back. Extrapolating from what was as a template for future behaviour is always a way towards certain disaster.

by fnovd 9y ago

Swizec 9y ago

> In a natural world, these animals would have the choice to reproduce (or not) In a natural world these animals wouldn't exist. There's no such thing as a cow in nature. There are things that are almost like a cow, but they're not cows. Most of the plants and animals we breed for food are not represented in nature nature. > Why is it OK to do this to a pig but not, say, a dog? Dogs are bred for food in some parts of the world.

tjr 9y ago
Dogs are bred for food in some parts of the world. And elsewhere, dogs have been bred for their appearance at the expense of their health or functional traits, on the whims of people running competitions. See, for example: https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Wars-Border-Battled-American/dp/0983484503/ https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Wars-Border-Battled-American/dp/0...
wil421 9y ago
Just to add a bit. Tomatoes were a small yellow berry. Europeans thought they were poisonous for a while because they are nightshades.[1] Milk and beef cattle are most likely descended from Aurochs.[2] [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato [2]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs

louithethrid 9y ago

The natural world you talk about is goone ( what a nice, woody sort of word)and wont come back. Extrapolating from what was as a template for future behaviour is always a way towards certain disaster.