Vegetarianism

 List 3 reasons why you think someone would become a vegetarian.

 Vegetarianism is the practice of following a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs.  A vegetarian does not eat meat, including red meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, and shellfish, and may also abstain from by-products of animal slaughter such as cheese.animal slaughter  The are many different kinds of vegetarian diets (continuum)  A vegan diet excludes all animal products, such as dairy products, eggs, and usually honey. Many vegans also seek to avoid using any other animal-derived products, such as clothing and cosmetics.vegananimal products  Semi-vegetarian diets consist largely of vegetarian foods, but may include fish or poultry, or other meats on an infrequent basis. Semi-vegetarian

 The earliest records of vegetarianism come from ancient India and ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE. In both instances the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence towards animalsIndiaancient Greece nonviolence  In the Western world, the popularity of vegetarianism grew during the 20th century as a result of nutritional, ethical, and more recently, environmental and economic concerns.

 Health  Religion  Ethics  Environment

 Ali G talks animal rights…

 Rights Brainstorm Venn Diagram Human rightsAnimal rights

 Should animals have rights?  What would they be?

 Some people follow vegetarian or vegan diets not because of moral concerns involving the production of meat and other animal products in general, but the treatment involving the raising and slaughter of animals.vegan

 founder of the animal liberation movement, Peter Singer, believes that if alternative means of survival exist, one ought to choose the option that does not cause unnecessary harm to animals.animal liberation movementPeter Singer  Most Ethical Vegetarians argue that the same reasons exist against killing animals to eat as against killing humans to eat.

 Ethical Vegetarianism has become popular in developed countries particularly because of the spread of factory farming. factory farming  Some believe that the current mass demand for meat cannot be satisfied without a mass-production system that disregards the welfare of animals

 Animal rights, also referred to as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings

 Critics argue that animals are unable to enter into a social contract or make moral choices, and for that reason cannot be regarded as possessors of rights,social contract  They believe only humans have duties and therefore only humans have rights.

 A parallel argument is that there is nothing inherently wrong with using animals as resources so long there is no unnecessary suffering, a view known as the animal welfare position.animal welfare  There has also been criticism, including from within the animal rights movement itself, of certain forms of animal rights activism, in particular the destruction of fur farms and animal laboratories by the Animal Liberation Front.animal rights movement Animal Liberation Front

 How should human-animal relations be?  Should we eat dead animals?  Does the animal make a difference? (ie dog)  Should we feel guilty if we eat meat that has suffered?  Do we ‘own’ animals?  Should they be protected from suffering?

 NZ Open Rescue – Piglet Rescue (2008)  Sunday

 Interview a celebrity who has become vegetarian. Include:  3 important ideas about animal rights