Overview

Below I’ve provided a variety of resources for thinking about what ethical responsibilities we have towards nonhuman animals.  In moral philosophy, there are deep questions that we can raise about the moral status of animals, the ethics of consuming meat and other animal-based products, and the justifiability of using animals as test subjects in scientific research.  The resources below are a work in progress, so please feel free to share your favorite resources in the comments below.

General Resources

• Between the Species: an online journal for the study of philosophy and animals
• Tom Regan’s Animal Rights Resources:  Facts, resources and discussion of issues pertaining to animal rights and animal welfare, headed up by Tom Regan, a contemporary philosopher and leading advocate of animal rights.
• The Animal Rights Library: Classic texts on animal ethics, all available online.
• “Animal Minds”: This recent issue National Geographic has an interesting article about the extent to which animals have mental capacities significantly more complex than we once thought. From Alex the talking parrot, to collies that have 300-word vocabularies, to tool-making crows — all really fascinating cases. You’ll also notice that the article discusses how scientists have begun to overcome the old orthodoxy that animals were just “automatons” (a la Descartes). There is also reference to the the sort of dynamic Rosalind Hursthouse has pointed out in connection to animal intelligence studies (see Ethics, Humans and Other Animals), that there is a tendency to “move the goalposts” for what counts as intelligence as soon as we think other animals might have it: “It’s a common complaint among animal researchers. Whenever they find a mental skill in a species that is reminiscent of a special human ability, the human cognition scientists change the definition.”

Food for Thought

What is wrong with ‘intensive’ or ‘factory’ animal farming?  What can we do about it?

• “Room for Debate: Preventing Cruelty on the Farm“: Six authors voice their proposals for how to address animal cruelty involved in industrial farming. (NY Times, May 10, 2011)
• “Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others”: Mark Bittman, New York Times food writer, examines the moral and legal distinction between what counts as humane treatment for pets versus farm animals.
• “Looking Dinner in the Eye”: A provocative article from the New York Times, which discusses the way some chefs (including one of my favorite TV chefs, Jamie Oliver) are trying to confront what they believe to be unacceptable practices in animal farming.
• “Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler”: A recent article from the New York Times about the environmental impact of industrial meat production.
• “I Love You, but You Love Meat”: This is a pretty funny article from the NY Times about couples learning to adjust (or not!) to their partner’s differences in diet.

• 

  Move to Limit ‘Factory Farms’ Gains Momentum: Recent legislative action in states like Ohio, Michigan and California has moved towards alleviating some of the restrictive conditions for animals in intensive farming operations.

• “Considering the Rationales for Factory Farming”: A detailed critique of the assumptions behind the rationales often given in favor of factory farming.
• Intensive Farming Videos: two short documentaries on industrial farming.

Human Nutrition

Do humans need to eat meat in order to survive?  To be healthy?  What about athletes or people with special nutritional needs?  What sacrifices are involved in deciding to give up or reduce the consumption of meat or other animal-based products?  Are there benefits?

• The American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets
  • Overview
  • Articles
  • Guide: Making the Change

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. … The variability of dietary practices among vegetarians makes individual assessment of dietary adequacy essential.

From Vegetarian Diets, The American Dietetic Association

• U.S. Department of Agriculture, ChooseMyPlate.gov, Vegetarian Diets

Vegetarian diets can meet all the recommendations for nutrients. The key is to consume a variety of foods and the right amount of foods to meet your calorie needs. Follow the food group recommendations for your age, sex, and activity level to get the right amount of food and the variety of foods needed for nutrient adequacy. Nutrients that vegetarians may need to focus on include protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.

From USDA, Vegetarian Diets

• The Mayo Clinic, Vegetarian diet: How to get the best nutrition

No matter what your age or situation, a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet your nutritional needs. Even children and teenagers can do well on a plant-based diet, as can older people, and pregnant or breast-feeding women. If you’re unsure whether a vegetarian diet is right for you, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian.

From The Mayo Clinic, Vegetarian Diet

• Also check out this short write-up by CMU’s Grand Central Magazine on the difference between vegetarian and vegan.
• Becoming Vegetarian on the Cheap: Is a vegetarian diet more expensive than one that relies on meat?  20 Something Finance considers the question.

Athletes and Sports Nutrition:

• “Vegetarian Diet for Exercise and Athletic Training and Performing”, The American Dietetic Association
• “Eat Better, Perform Better: Sports Nutrition Guidelines for the Vegetarian”
• Vegan Athlete, collection of resources on sports nutrition for vegan/vegetarian athletes
• “How healthy are vegetarian athletes?”, Research Penn State
• Stories about some pro athletes:
  • “Who says you have to eat meat to be a successful athlete?” ESPN.com
  • “The 247 lb. Vegan: NFL star Tony Gonzalez is out to answer a question: Can a football player live entirely on plants?”  The Wall Street Journal

Humane Animal Farming: Meat, Eggs, Dairy

Although nearly all meat, eggs and dairy products available in the typical supermarket come from producers that employ ‘intensive’ or ‘factory’ animal farming practices, there are still some small farms that give more attention to the treatment and living conditions of animals.  Would supporting these ‘humane’ farmers improve the impact of our consumption on animal welfare?  How do we know what producers are treating animals in a way we find morally acceptable?

From Portlandia: “Is the chicken local?”

• “Like Lambs to the Slaughter”: An article in The Atlantic magazine about the movement among consumers toward meat from local farms.  Are there labels that help identify humane conditions, or do you need to get to know your local farmer?
• “Call to alter labels for animals’ sake”: The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australia’s government commission on law reform has indicated the need for greater consumer information about welfare of food animals.  The most recent volume of the commission’s journal is dedicated to the topic of animal law, including an article by Tom Regan.  The top commissioner has suggested that a system of product labeling that certifies animal welfare (as opposed to other existing labeling that focuses on human health–like the “organic” label) could help to meet the consumer information need.
• Humane Myth: A site with resources aimed at debunking the idea that there is such a thing as “humane” animal farming.  It defines the ‘humane myth’ as “an idea being propagated by the animal-using industry and some animal protection organizations that it is possible to use and kill animals in a manner that can be fairly described as respectful or compassionate or humane.”  There are a series of informative slideshows making the case that most animal foods (meats, eggs, dairy, etc.) that are marketed as “humane” come from animals raised in conditions not much better than those on standard ‘intensive’ or ‘factory’ farms.
• Animal Welfare Institute: A non-profit organization promoting higher animal welfare standards in agriculture and laboratories, which also runs a certification program for farms that adopt humane practices.
• EatWild.com: A resource site with information about humane animal husbandry, the benefits to animal welfare, and state-by-state resources for finding products from local farms (Michigan farm map).
• Eat Well Guide: A directory of sources for non-industrial, locally grown and raised food.

Scientific Testing on Animals

When, if ever, is it justifiable to use animals as test subjects?  Is it morally right to treat an animal like a dispensable resource?  Do the gains of scientific knowledge, especially in biomedical applications, justify the regimes of stress and suffering imposed on test subjects?

“Pepper, the Stolen Dog Who Changed American Science”: A stunning narrative in Slate magazine about the development of animal testing practices and laws in the United States, from Pavlov’s experiments on dogs to today.

• “Three U.S. agencies aim to end animal testing”: USA Today reports that several U.S. agencies are taking up an initiative to phase in alternatives to the use of animals in many kinds of testing. Excerpt: “Historically, toxicity has been identified by injecting chemicals into animals and seeing whether they were harmed….The new systems the agencies hope to use rely on human cells grown in test tubes and computer-driven testing machines. They allow the scientists to examine potentially toxic compounds in the lab rather than injecting them into animals.” For you scientists, there is a more detailed explanation of the new methods in a recent issue of the journal Science (fulltext is available through CMU Library online).

Further Reading

Albergotti, Reed. “The 247 lb. Vegan.” Wall Street Journal 25 Jan 2008. Web.

Clark, Stephen R. Animals and Their Moral Standing. 1st ed. Routledge, 1997. Print.

Clark, Stephen R. L. The Moral Status of Animals. Clarendon Press, 1977. Print.

Coetzee, J. M. The Lives of Animals. Princeton University Press, 1999. Print.

Diamond, Cora. “Eating Meat and Eating People.” Philosophy 53.206 (1978): 465-479. Print.

Engber, Daniel. “Pepper, Part 1: Where’s Pepper?” Slate 1 Jun 2009. Web. 1 Jun 2009.

—. “Pepper, Part 2: Man Cuts Dog.” Slate 2 Jun 2009. Web. 5 Jun 2009.

—. “Pepper, Part 3: Pepper Goes to Washington.” Slate 3 Jun 2009. Web. 5 Jun 2009.

—. “Pepper, Part 4: Brown Dogs and Red Herrings.” Slate June 4, 2009. Print.

—. “Pepper, Part 5: Me and My Monkey.” Slate 5 Jun 2009. Web. 6 Jun 2009.

Engel, Mylan. “The Immorality of Eating Meat.” The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, ed. Louis Pojman. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. 856-890. Print.

Feinberg, Joel. “The Rights of Animals and Unborn Generations.” Rights, Justice, and the Bounds of Liberty: Essays in Social Philosophy. Princeton University Press, 1980. 318. Print.

Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food. Free Press, 2002. Print.

Friend, Catherine. The Compassionate Carnivore: Or, How to Keep Animals Happy, Save Old MacDonald’s Farm, Reduce Your Hoofprint, and Still Eat Meat. Da Capo Press, 2008. Print.

Hursthouse, R. Ethics, Humans and Other Animals: An Introduction With Readings. Routledge, 2000. Print.

Leahy, Michael P. T. Against Liberation: Putting Animals in Perspective. Routledge, 1994. Print.

Midgley, M. Animals and Why They Matter. University of Georgia Press, 1998. Print.

Regan, T. The Case for Animal Rights. University of California Press, 2004. Print.

Regan, Tom, and Jeffery Moussaieff Masson. Empty Cages: Facing the Challenge of Animal Rights. New Ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005. Print.

Rollin, B. E. Animal rights and human morality. Prometheus Books Buffalo, NY, 1981. Print.

—. The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Science. Iowa State University Press, 1998. Print.

Saletan, William. “Animal-Rights Farm.” Slate 1 Jul 2008. Web. 2 Jul 2008.

“Salon.com News | Old McDonald had a pharm.” Web. 11 Jun 2008.

Sapontzis, Steve F. Food for Thought: The Debate over Eating Meat. Contemporary Issues. Prometheus Books, 2004. Print.

Schulte, Brigid. “Saving Michael Vick’s Dogs.” The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Web. 7 Jul 2008.

Scruton, R. Animal Rights and Wrongs. Claridge Press Ltd., 2000. Print.

Singer, P. Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for Our Treatment of Animals. Cape, 1976. Print.

Singer, Peter. In Defense of Animals: The Second Wave. 1st ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2005. Print.

Sunstein, Cass R., and Martha C. Nussbaum. Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions. Oxford University Press, USA, 2004. Print.

Weida, William. “Considering the Rationales for Factory Farming.”  Presentation: March 29, 2004.