6 ms·
A single hog being killed for 150000 kcal of sustenance is a lot more morally acceptable than 50 minks being killed for a single luxury coat. It's not cognitive
by j_4 6y ago
A single hog being killed for 150000 kcal of sustenance is a lot more morally acceptable than 50 minks being killed for a single luxury coat. It's not cognitive dissonance to think this.
(numbers from quick, non-exhaustive googling)
- flavor8 6y agoDoes the cognitive sophistication of the animals (their ability to feel emotions, form long term memories, etc) factor into that? Pigs are highly sophisticated. Minks probably less so.
- xcambar 6y agoI’d suggest you’d have to factor the perceived sophistication of the species as much as the direct benefits for the homo sapiens facing the moral dilemma (you). Dogs, pigs, cows, are good examples with varying cultural responses. So... “depends on who you ask”.
- user5994461 6y agoGoogle Snippet: To make one fur coat, it takes 150-300 chinchillas, 200-250 squirrels, 50-60 minks, or 15-40 foxes, depending on the animals' subspecies.
- ornornor 6y agoI don’t agree. Pigs are on the same cognitive level as dogs. Would it be morally acceptable to kill and eat a (big) dog for its 150000 calories after raising in terrible conditions for a few years?
- ljf 6y agoI agree btw - but most pigs are killed after just 20 to 24 weeks - though yes breeding mothers are kept in terrible conditions for years.
- logifail 6y ago> raising in terrible conditions ...source? Farming doesn't have to be intensive. We get milk from a nearby farm. Given we mostly walk there the "food miles" would be precisely zero.
- ornornor 6y agoNot intensive farming is less bad than intensive farming but in your example, a cow still needs to have a calf and that calf slaughtered for milk to keep coming. And that cow will be killed off the moment it stops making enough milk which is a fraction of its natural life span. It’s not like not intensive farming is innocent either. And for shit and giggles, check what’s the proportion of industrially farmed meat vs non intensive that’s sold every day.
- autosharp 6y ago> Farming doesn't have to be intensive. We get milk from a nearby farm. Given we mostly walk there the "food miles" would be precisely zero. Sure, that is nice but in no way representative. More than 99% of produced hogs do live in horrific conditions. The fact that you know of a happy hog doesn't relate to the vast majority of hogs.
- nkrisc 6y agoI don't see why it matters if it's a dog or a pig. But to answer your question: it depends on a lot of factors, if you really want to go down the morality rabbit hole. I guess I'll say it's less morally acceptable to slaughter a dog for food that's kept in terrible conditions than one that's kept in good conditions.
- jen20 6y agoIt seems to be becoming less acceptable in one of the few places to actually do that.
- ornornor 6y agoKinda my point. Why are dogs not ok but pigs no problem.
- user5994461 6y agoFor reference, a pig is 3-10 dogs, more if you're talking about the smallest dogs.
- danielmain 6y agoHave a Whale more calories than a person?