I personally think that the animal exploitation argument is the strongest for veganism or vegetarianism, not any of the ones appealing to some naturalistic rule or that no organism should be exploited. Yes, animals provide humans a very efficient nutritional source that plants can't give us, but a) we stopped eating the majority parts of animals that are not meat, and b) that doesn't justify animals raised in cruelty, without any regard for their wellbeing, standing in their own feces all day and so on.

Our current scientific understanding of plants is that since they don't have a nervous system, they can't feel pain. And that while they react to stimuli (facing the sun for example) they don't exhibit any form of consciousness. Unfortunately there have been more and more claims to the contrary, but not backed up by studies.

[–] usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I have some bad news for you about the dairy industry in that they very much do kill cows. Cows producing milk requires producing constantly impregnating them. That means a lot of babies, only some of which are female and produce milk. They're seperated from their mothers and if male, killed because they're seen as waste (and would use the cow's milk because that's who the milk was meant for). Then female cows are also still usually killed after there milk production begins to decline because they're less profitable

[–] stufkes@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

Yes: it's the exploitation that have us kill the cows, not the actual milking. I know some people that are vegetarian but only get their products from a local farm. This is of course very expensive and not an option to many, but it would still be consistent with the moral stance against exploitation.

[–] commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 months ago

they aren't constantly pregnant, and the vast majority of even male calves are brought to full weight before slaughter.

[–] nifty@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

I complete agree that veganism is about reducing animal pain, suffering and exploitation. Personally, I think if you’re taking care of your chickens and cows like they’re almost pets, then there’s nothing wrong with eating eggs or drinking milk. That’s how my ancestors used to get their produce, from their own chicken or cow, which were treated well and humanely. They didn’t eat the meat of those animals, but other animals though 👀 I want to be vegan eventually, but I like the idea of symbiotic and humane relationships with other animals