Plant-Based Diet vs Non-Vegetarian Diet: What Exploits Earth’s Resources?
One of the most common defences of non-vegetarian food is framed as logic, not desire. It is often said: “If humans stop eating animals, they will continue to live and consume crops for their entire life, causing even more loss to the Earth.” At first glance, this sounds reasonable. But philosophy teaches us to slow down, examine assumptions, and ask: what is being taken for granted here? Argument 1: “Animals will keep eating crops if we don’t eat them” What it assumes: Animals exist independently of human demand as they keep on doing reproduction, and their consumption of crops is inevitable. What happens in reality: Farm animals are part of artificial breeding. They are selectively bred, artificially inseminated, and multiplied only because humans want meat, dairy, and eggs. If demand declines, farmers do not maintain the same number of animals indefinitely. Breeding reduces. Male chicks are considered an unwanted byproduct of the egg industry and are killed shortly after hatc...