A Moral Argument For Veganism
Veganism has great benefits for health, people, and planet. However, the primary reason to go vegan is for the animals. This post explains why that is so.
A Moral Argument For Veganism
"Our case for veganism is this argument:
(1) If a practice causes serious harms that are morally unjustified, then that practice is morally wrong.
(2) The practice of raising and killing animals for food causes serious harms to animals and some human beings.
(3) These harms are morally unjustified.
(4) Therefore, the practice of raising and killing animals for food is wrong.
This argument depends on an uncontroversial moral principle that most people already accept: it is wrong to cause serious harms that are morally unjustified."
Source: Hooley, D., & Nobis, N. (2015). A moral argument for veganism. Philosophy comes to dinner: Arguments about the ethics of eating, 92-108.
That's it. There is really nothing more that needs to be said. Veganism is good for your health, good for people, good for the planet. But at its core, veganism is a moral principle—a moral imperative—rooted in not causing serious harms to animals. Therefore, being morally vegan is something that is done "for the animals." And when you become vegan for the animals, you get all the other benefits, such as good health and a healthy planet, as a natural bonus! That's a pretty good deal if you ask me.
As physician, best-selling author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, Dr. Micheal Greger, puts it: “The most ethical diet just so happens to be the most environmentally sound diet and just so happens to be the healthiest.”
I urge you to read "A Moral Argument For Veganism," by By Dan Hooley (U. Toronto) and Nathan Nobis (Morehouse College). It is a wonderful essay that explores in-depth the argument presented above. You can find that essay here.
Mahalo for reading. Aloha.