Quote Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant View Post
Okay I reread Xei's and Taosaur's discussion and thought of something. If everyone gradually became vegan, that wouldn't really save animals in the conventional sense either. What would happen is that less cows, pigs, chickens, etc. would be born in the first place. So animals would only be saved if saving meant not being subjected to life at all.

... Right?

It seems that some vegans/vegetarians think that if they don't buy meat one day, a cow somewhere that is standing in line for slaughter will suddenly be let free. Doesn't work that way.
Yeah that's quite right, it's the greatest problem with vegetarianism.

What meat eaters do is effectively give life to animals which wouldn't have existed in the first place.

It's the only pragmatic solution really. The vegetarian solution would have be to raise livestock, feed it, and then let it live out its natural lifespan... which is of course ridiculous, for a start because it's completely economically unfeasable.

However, the lives that we do create should be respected. They shouldn't be subjected to needless pain.