Save Animals
J Agric Environ Ethics (2008) 21:579–596
DOI 10.1007/s10806-008-9110-0
Vegetarian Meat: Could Technology Save Animals and Satisfy Meat Eaters?
Patrick D. Hopkins Æ Austin Dacey
Accepted: 24 June 2008 / Published online: 11 July 2008
Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008
Abstract Between people who unabashedly support eating meat and those who adopt moral vegetarianism, lie a number of people who are uncomfortably carnivorous and vaguely wish they could be vegetarians. Opposing animal suffering in principle, they can ignore it in practice, relying on the visual disconnect between supermarket meat and slaughterhouse practices not to trigger their moral emotions. But what if we could have the best of both worlds in reality—eat meat and not harm animals? The nascent biotechnology of tissue culture, originally researched for medical applications, holds out just such a promise. Meat could be grown in vitro without killing animals. In fact, this technology may not just be an intriguing option, but might be our moral obligation to develop. Keywords Animal suffering Á Animal welfare Á Artificial meat Á Biotechnology Á
Carniculture Á Cultured meat Á Food production Á In vitro meat Á Moral vegetarianism Á
Tissue culture
The Problem of Eating Meat and Caring for Animals
Modern American society loves to watch television cooking shows—the creativity, the sensuousness, the clever techniques. But chances are, if a lamb were dragged in and killed at the beginning of the program, most of the viewers would find themselves less interested in the lamb chop recipes. They would be too horrified or disgusted to enjoy the rest of the
P. D. Hopkins (&)
Department of Philosophy, Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson,
MS 39210, USA e-mail: hopkipd@millsaps.edu
A. Dacey
Center for Inquiry, 80 Broad Street, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10004, USA e-mail: adacey@centerforinquiry.net
123
580
P. D. Hopkins, A. Dacey
program.1 And yet, if the lamb’s flesh is brought in
DOI 10.1007/s10806-008-9110-0
Vegetarian Meat: Could Technology Save Animals and Satisfy Meat Eaters?
Patrick D. Hopkins Æ Austin Dacey
Accepted: 24 June 2008 / Published online: 11 July 2008
Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008
Abstract Between people who unabashedly support eating meat and those who adopt moral vegetarianism, lie a number of people who are uncomfortably carnivorous and vaguely wish they could be vegetarians. Opposing animal suffering in principle, they can ignore it in practice, relying on the visual disconnect between supermarket meat and slaughterhouse practices not to trigger their moral emotions. But what if we could have the best of both worlds in reality—eat meat and not harm animals? The nascent biotechnology of tissue culture, originally researched for medical applications, holds out just such a promise. Meat could be grown in vitro without killing animals. In fact, this technology may not just be an intriguing option, but might be our moral obligation to develop. Keywords Animal suffering Á Animal welfare Á Artificial meat Á Biotechnology Á
Carniculture Á Cultured meat Á Food production Á In vitro meat Á Moral vegetarianism Á
Tissue culture
The Problem of Eating Meat and Caring for Animals
Modern American society loves to watch television cooking shows—the creativity, the sensuousness, the clever techniques. But chances are, if a lamb were dragged in and killed at the beginning of the program, most of the viewers would find themselves less interested in the lamb chop recipes. They would be too horrified or disgusted to enjoy the rest of the
P. D. Hopkins (&)
Department of Philosophy, Millsaps College, 1701 North State Street, Jackson,
MS 39210, USA e-mail: hopkipd@millsaps.edu
A. Dacey
Center for Inquiry, 80 Broad Street, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10004, USA e-mail: adacey@centerforinquiry.net
123
580
P. D. Hopkins, A. Dacey
program.1 And yet, if the lamb’s flesh is brought in
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