Of course we should not be using animals for “frivolous” purposes, such as entertainment, but how can you expect people to give up eating meat?

This may seem like a reasonable question but again it shows the view that many people hold that we have the right to treat animals as commodities.

If it is not okay to treat animals as entertainment why is it okay to use them as food? Particularly if you consider that animal agriculture is the most significant source of animal suffering in the world today and there is absolutely no need for it. Animal agriculture has devastating environmental impacts, partly due to the amount of energy expended to keep the industry going. This energy could be better used to feed more of the world’s humans.

Regrettably for those who like to eat meat, this is no argument, and a taste for meat in no way justifies the violation of a moral principle. Our conduct merely demonstrates that despite what we say about the moral significance of animal interests, we are willing to ignore those interests whenever we benefit from doing so–even when the benefit is nothing more than our pleasure or convenience.