Paper 3:

Maya Nibbe

Dr. Schulte

Philosophy 101

8-5-2023

Does Vegetarianism Really Reduce Animal Suffering?

In 1998, philosopher Peter Singer’s essay “A Vegetarian Philosophy” was published in a book called Consuming Passions: Food in the Age of Anxiety. In his essay, Singer argues that factory farming is morally wrong due to the animal suffering it causes, and we (as humans) are obligated to end suffering caused by factory farming. The best way to end factory farming, at least according to Singer, is for everyone to go vegetarian and/or vegan (Singer). After all, if everyone went vegetarian and/or vegan, then the factory farmed meat industry would collapse, and livestock would no longer be brutally mass produced and killed for food.

However, the collapse of factory farming wouldn’t just benefit livestock. Singer also argues that it would benefit the environment and humanity, as factory farming “… is a heavy user of fossil fuels and a major source of pollution of both air and water. It releases large quantities of methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere…” (Singer).

Therefore, Singer’s conclusion that everyone should go vegetarian for the animals and the environment is very solid, right?

While I agree with Singer that factory farming is morally reprehensible in many ways, and it is in everyone’s best interest to stop factory farming, I don’t agree that everyone going vegetarian/vegan will solve the issues of animal suffering and climate change like he argues it would. I think a vegetarian world would simply go from killing livestock to killing wildlife. And wildlife is just as sentient as livestock. In fact, in some ways, wildlife is even more valuable than livestock, as the environment relies on wildlife to survive.

There are many ways I can defend my position from a scientific standpoint. But for this paper’s sake, I’ll be arguing from a mostly philosophical standpoint as to why I don’t think a vegetarian world would do much (if anything) to reduce animal or human suffering, even if we got rid of factory farms altogether.

To start, in “A Vegetarian Philosophy”, Singer writes, “Collectively, all consumers of animal products are responsible for the existence of the cruel practice involved in producing them.” (Singer). While I agree with Singer that everyone who eats factory farmed meats plays a collective role in the suffering of animals, what about those who eat fruits and vegetables harvested from millions of acres of croplands?

After all, I’d argue that croplands are just as damaging to the environment as livestock are. According to the Environmental Research Service of the USDA, crops diminish wildlife habitat, eat up all of the nutrients in the soil that are essential for plants to grow, and cause pesticides to contaminate the land and water around the crops (ERS). Pesticides are also particularly destructive towards the pollinator population, contributing to the alarming decline of bees (Xerces). If Singer claims, “…all consumers of animal products are responsible for the existence of the cruel practice involved in producing them.” (Singer), then wouldn’t all consumers of plant-based products be responsible for the environmental damage caused by crops? If so, then how does vegetarianism really reduce the suffering caused to animals?

Sure, by going vegetarian, one isn’t directly contributing to the intentional slaughter of billions of livestock. But, turning to vegetarianism hardly seems to reduce suffering to animals. It simply causes more harm to bees and bugs than to pigs and cattle. And, according to an article published in Scientific American, insects are just as sentient as other animals are (Chittka).

Once again, does vegetarianism really reduce animal suffering like Singer claims it would, all things considered? Clearly, I’d say “no”, just based on the negative impacts crops and pesticides have on insects (AKA beings just as sentient as cows and pigs) alone. A vegetarian world would simply go from harming livestock to harming even more insects than we already do, which wouldn’t promote the greater good any more than factory farming does today.

Works Cited:

Chittka, Lars. “Do Insects Feel Joy and Pain?” Scientific American. 1 July 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-insects-feel-joy-and-pain/#:~:text=Bees%2C%20for%20example%2C%20can%20count,experience%20both%20pleasure%20and%20pain.

Environmental Research Service. “Overview.” 9 Sept. 2019. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/natural-resources-environment/environmental-quality/#:~:text=However%2C%20crop%20production%20can%20diminish,quality%2C%20and%20diminish%20water%20supplies.

Singer, Peter. “A Vegetarian Philosophy.” 1998. http://www.animal-rights-library.com/texts-m/singer05.pdf.

Xerces Society. “The Risks of Pesticides to Pollinators.” Accessed 6 Aug. 2023. https://www.xerces.org/pesticides/risks-pesticides-pollinators.