Week 4- Animals in the Food System Flashcards
Is concern for animal welfare always correlated with decreasing meat consumption?
No, people may be concerned about the welfare of agricultural animals prior to their death, but still be okay with the idea of farming and killing animals for consumption.
What are some of the ways that animals are reduced to ‘meat’?
Cultural norms around edibility, remove subjectivity (no names), define animals by their economic value as meat, slaughter to transform into carcass, butcher to transform into meat, package the meat and distance the consumer from the animal.
What are some functional reasons an animal may/may not be considered edible?
If they have higher utility alive or dead, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, health risks.
What are some symbolic reasons an animal may/may not be considered edible?
Cultural meanings (totemism), religious beliefs, social hierarchies.
What was the position of animals in the food system in early stone age societies 10 000 BCE ?
In nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, meat was not a primary food source because it had to be hunted.
What was the position of animals in the food system in the neolithic age 8000-3000 BCE?
Societies began domesticating animals and breeding/raising them for slaughter. Small-scale, sustainable grazing/slaughter practices.
What tech innovations increased animal farming since the 18th century?
Mechanized equipment, chemical fertilizers, larger scale operations, refrigerated railcars, disassembly lines, confinement methods.
What modern methods increase animal farming today?
High water and feed consumption, antibiotic use, hormone use, genetic modification.
What ethical concerns does large scale farming create?
Seeing animals as a product rather than a sentient being, primary focus is profit, poor welfare in confinement, handling, and slaughter.
Why are calves separated from their mothers, and what are the welfare and productivity arguments against it?
Calves are separated from their mothers to prevent disease transmission and make milking easier.
It causes welfare concerns because the calf can’t express normal behaviour (suckling), have social/physical activity, and cause health impacts (lack of digestive hormone).
The separation also decreases the health and productivity of the mother cow and future productivity of the calf.
Do labels indicating animal welfare on meat packaging indicate improved treatment?
No, these are unregulated and often misleading claims.
Is genetic modification of animals a moral/ethical issue or a welfare issue?
In cases where the animal is harmed by the modification (such as increasing growth/muscle) it is a welfare issue because the animal has poor health outcomes. In cases where the modification does not harm the animal, such as increasing pig digestion to make manure less harmful to the environment, there is a moral dilemma regarding the ethics of modifying the pig vs. polluting the environment.
What is a fundamental principle of ethical animal slaughter?
Humans wish to eat meat, and animals have a basic need to not suffer at the time of death. Human wishes cannot override this basic need of animals.
How can pre-slaughter handling/transport impact animal welfare?
The intense stimuli of this process (new environment, new animals, aggressive handling) cause significant fear, distress, and potentially injury.
