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I'd just like to contribute a few points to the thread-
First, if you believe that animals have consciousness, they have reasoned behaviors- they weigh benefit vs. risk. But why does a cat "play" with a mouse? The benefit to the cat is not immediately apparant, because it's prolonging it's meal, wasting it's energy, and is at risk of the meal escaping. If the cat truly had reasoned behavior wouldn't it eat it right away instead of creully batting it around? Instinct and evolution motivates the cat to practice it's hunting skills with a captive target. This argues against conscious behavior and for instinctual reactions.
Second. Our type of vegetarianism is a new phenomenon, where people don't eat meat because they're squeamish (morally outraged) about killing animals. I don't think it's because of a new, higher sense of moral awareness, but rather a disconnection from the earth. We live in a world where many people that have grown up in cities have barely even seen animals, let alone raise them. The majority have never killed an animal for their supper, dressed a kill, gone hunting. We don't spend much time thinking about where that hamburger came from. We keep pets that function as family members. We personify the actions of cats and dogs, and lend these attributes to most life on earth. A lot of vegetarians have a "turning point", where they witnessed an animal being butchered/killed/slaughtered, seen a PETA video, or simply realized the cute picture they had in their head of what it was to be a cow was now on their plate.
This disconnection and subsequent return to reality is a shock. "How could this animal, that has all these human attributes (that i've given to it) be killed outright just for my meal? I'm going vegetarian." Personally, I don't think vegetarians have a firm handle on the delicate cycle of life and death. Earth is a Zero sum game. We have to compete for scarce resources. For you to have, another has to "have not".
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"Asking a bomb squad if an old bomb is still "real" is not the best thing to do if you want to save it." - denim
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