ABSTRACT
Like many vital matters of today, the moral issue of eating animals calls for both individual and societal consideration. Eating animals is firmly embedded in most cultures, economic systems, and religions, as well as in many family traditions; it exists along a continuum of animal welfare and across a spectrum of contexts. Industrialized animal production has been the subject of criticism due to associated environmental hazards and documented violations of animal welfare. Serious deliberation of industrialized animal production brings to light weighty issues such as animal pain and sentience; antibiotic overuse and resistance; ineffective processing of excrement, methane, and other wastes; corn production and land use; the well-being of farm and slaughterhouse workers; and meat-heavy diets leading to cardiovascular disease.
