ABSTRACT

I. Introduction: Advocating Vegetarianism ........................................ 464 A. The Health Argument ............................................................... 465 B. Animal Rights............................................................................. 465 C. Environmental Concerns........................................................... 466 D. Social Evolution......................................................................... 467 E. Stewardship................................................................................ 468

II. Moving Beyond “Yeah, But …” ..................................................... 471 A. Philosophical Argument, Personal Conviction and

Practical Actions ........................................................................ 471 B. David Hume and the Movements of Human Sentiment ....... 473 C. A Brief Personal Interlude........................................................ 473

III. On the Virtues of Vegetarianism .................................................... 475 A. Sympathy.................................................................................... 475 B. Compassion................................................................................ 476

IV. Conclusion........................................................................................ 476 A. Morally Praiseworthy Vegetarianism ........................................ 477

References .................................................................................................. 478

For more than 20 years, noted philosophers, conservationists, and health advocates have aggressively called for people to embrace the vegetarian way of life. Over these years, the burden of proof has fallen upon the advocates of vegetarianism. In popular literature and obtuse philosophical treatises, the benefits of meat eating are increasingly questioned, and the harms are more and more evident. This includes harm to the creatures prepared for slaughter, the land on which they depend, and the people who eat their flesh. Advocates of vegetarianism argue that virtually no one and no thing is truly better off as a result of the modern-day meat industry.