“Animals are, as a matter of law, solely means to human ends.  As such, their value is measured in terms of their usefulness to humans, and not in terms of their own interest, the existence of which cannot be denied”

~ Gray Francione, Professor of Law, Rutgers University.

Isn’t being a vegetarian more humane then eating meat?

There is no moral distinction between eating animal products (milk, cheese, and eggs) and eating animal flesh.  Animals used in the dairy and egg industry, live in the same horrendous conditions as animals raised for meat.  Once their “usefulness” expires, animals in the dairy and egg industry are sent to the same slaughter houses as the animals raised for meat.  Their treatment is the same and their life ends in the same manner  -  it is the same suffering and death.  To truly respect animals, we must recognize that they are not property and adopt a vegan lifestyle.

There is no such thing as ‘humane’ meat, dairy, or eggs.

Animals on al farms are treated as economic units to be used for profit  -  the owners’ interests trump the interests of the animals in all cases.  Animals still face body mutilations (branding, de-beaking, castration), face the harms of transport, and all eventually end up at the slaughterhouse years before they would die naturally.  Further, unwanted animals  -  such as male chicks in the egg industry  -  are killed days after birth. Male calves are taken from their mothers and face the horror of the veal industry.

There is no moral distinction between how animals are treated on factory farms and how animals are treated on farms certified under labels such as “free range”, “organic”, “cage free”, “humane certified”, or “compassionately killed”.

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“The animals of the World exist for their own reasons.  They were not made for humans anymore that black people were made for whites or women for men.”

~ Alice Walker

The property status of animals results in their use as food, clothing, entertainment, testing, etc...This status directly leads to the appalling conditions in which they are forced to live, because their interests are not taken seriously.

It is most rational to exploit ones property for the maximum profit and it is profitable to kill and inflict suffering on animals.  The only abusive practices condemned by the law are those that tend to limit the owner’s financial gain and thus do not have animals’ interests in mind, but rather those of the property owner.  For example, it is illegal to starve farm animals to death (an inefficient use of property), but legal to temporarily starve egg laying hens because it causes them to produce more eggs.  Both acts cause incredible suffering, but only one increases profit.

“The institution of human slavery was structurally identical to the institution of animal ownership.  Because a human slave was regarded as property, the slave owner was able to disregard all of the slaves’ interests if it was economically beneficial to do so.”

~ Gary Francione

Obviously, animals do not need exactly the same rights as humans, but the right to not be treated as someone’s property, to not be harmed or to not be killed are just as important to other animals as they are to us.

If you accept that animal interests matter and you condemn the unnecessary suffering of animals, align your actions with your belief.  You have the power to instantly effect positive change in the World.  What you do today matters.  By going vegan, you are setting an example or respect and responsible living AND you’re rejecting the property status of animals.

Visit Gary Francione's website: Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach

Click here for Gary Francione's Abolitionist Approach Pamphlet