Arguments Against Vegetarianism

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Human beings can survive simply on the sustenance and nutrients provided by a vegetarian diet. This fact is not up for contention as cultures throughout time and amongst various geographic locations have utilized fruits and vegetables as their main source of nutrition. Even with this truth in mind, meat remains a staple within the diets of many households across the world. Fish, chickens, cows, pigs, boar, alligators, ducks, and many other animals are often times marginalized as resources only meant to satisfy the hungers within society. Both a plant based diet and a meat based diet can provide an individual with an adequate source of protein, vitamins, and essential oils needed for survival, but yet humans choose to subjugate animals to various degrees of cruelty in order to offer themselves the luxury of a meat based diet. …show more content…

Regardless of the plausibility of this statement, the question as to whether humans are morally obligated to adopt a vegetarian diet is quite controversial. Peter Singer notes that the utilitarian ideology requires individuals to adopt a vegetarian diet based upon the notion that animals can conceivably experience pain and pleasure (Singer, 328). While advocates for a more carnivore focused lifestyle like Dominique Lestel, argue that the consumption of meat is morally permissible on the grounds that it is harvested ethically and sustainably (Lestel, 1-160). Each side of this controversy is compelling and persuasive. Nevertheless, in this paper I will argue that due to the prima facie nature of the argument in support of vegetarianism and the infeasibility of a society based upon a vegetarian lifestyle, I cannot conclude that there is a moral obligation for

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