1. What is the initial challenge in
advocating equal rights for animals? Being looked upon as a joke, a radical,
and a freak. Other movements started this way but are now held as mainstream ideas.
He uses the example of women’s rights.
2. Since animals and humans are not the
same, what is the basis for equal treatment of animals? They are sentient
beings, meaning they suffer, they feel pain, anxiety, trauma. Our empathy
revolts at allowing cruelty to be inflicted upon feeling beings. As Alice
Walker has said: “I know, in my soul, that to eat a creature who is raised to
be eaten, and who never has a chance to be a real being, is unhealthy. It’s
like…you’re just eating misery. You’re eating a bitter life.”
3. What does it mean when we say that
animals, like humans, have interests? Rights are given to those who have
interests, which includes the capacity for suffering and the capacity for joy.
We don’t fret the fate of a rock that we kick because the rock has no
interests. In contrast, an animal is not “unconscious automata.” All the signs
of pain in humans are evident in animals: writhing, screaming, facial
contortions, increased pulse rate, elevated levels of stress hormones, etc.
4. What is a speciesists? The
overwhelming majority of humans are speciesists, that is they respect and
acknowledge the interests of humans over other animals. Most humans are ready
to cause pain to animals for their own benefit. We talk about the sanctity of
human life but not animal life, for example. This benefit might include eating
animals as food, hunting them for sport, experimenting on them for medical
research, fighting them for entertainment, killing them for furniture, car
seats, clothing, etc.
5. If speciesism is morally abhorrent,
then can one be good in other areas? Or does the speciesism contaminate the
entire being? See Why We Love Dogs by Melanie Joy.
6. What is Singer’s purpose (in Chapter 2) in
graphically describing animal research and speciesism? Is this the kind of
people we want be? Speciesism encourages sadistic behavior.
7. What are some common defensives of
animal experimentation? How convincing are they? Explain. http://www.stopanimaltests.com/f-pointcounterpoint.asp
8. A lot of the animal torture
experiments have predictable outcomes, like learned helplessness (shock),
trauma (tearing infant monkey from mother), etc. What’s the justification of
such experiments?
9. How does Singer evidence that much
animal experimentation is a mindless, cruel waste of money? No public records,
no data, obvious findings, no disclosure of what really happens to the animals,
tax money spent on dubious outcomes.
10.
What
is the process of indoctrination that allows us to torture animals? See page
70, Chapter 2.
11.
How
does packaged food sanitize the slaughter of animals? It blocks our empathy
because it’s not an animal; it’s a product. We eat pork, not pig, steak, not
cow, but chicken is chicken. Go figure.
12.
What
is misleading about the idea of a farm? Consider the real abattoir, the slaughterhouse
with glass walls and we would all be vegetarians according to Paul McCartney.
13.
What
is the life of egg-laying hens? And what kind of death do they usually suffer?
Consult The Face on Your Plate.
14.
What
do farmers do to chicken beaks? See 101 and 102.
15.
Of
all the commonly eaten animals in the Western world, which one is most
intelligent? See page 119.
16.
What
harms a pig’s lungs? Ammonia, constant exposure, no respite.
17.
What
is the process of making veal? 129-136
18.
What
are the traumas of a dairy cow? 137-139 A beef cow? See 154.
19.
Would
killing your own meat make you a vegetarian? Explain. 150
20.
For
Singer, our compassion for the animals should translate into what kind of
behavior in the beginning of Chapter 3?
21.
Is
it possible and practical to raise animals humanely for our consumption?
22.
Are
animals an efficient source of protein in terms of the environment, resources,
etc.?
23.
According
to Singer, our becoming vegetarians is the first step in what? 161 We are
changing our entire lives to protest and put an end to speciesism with our
lifestyle and our ability to defend our position and educate others about the
evil, cruelty, and moral bankruptcy of speciesism.
24.
According
to Singer, can we object to speciesism and still eat eggs? 162
25.
Is
meat eating growing or diminishing today? Sadly, it’s increasing in developing
countries.
26.
Is
it efficient to feed cows for our protein? 165.
27.
What
are the advantages of grain over animal foods? See 167.
28.
Can
we “disguise” meat on our plate? Explain. See 178.
29.
How
has the Bible shaped our attitude toward animals? 185-198
30.
How
did the philosopher Descartes shape our attitude toward animals? 201
31.
How
did
32.
What
are the causes of speciesism today? 213-248
Part Two. Counterarguments: Refutations of Vegetarianism
1. The argument that the Age of
Agriculture, which vegetarianism depends on, wreaks havoc on the species. See
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn and his website.
2. The argument that vegetarian, and
especially vegan diets, are dangerous and ignore biology and human evolution.
3. Beyond Vegetarianism. Org
4. NYT article “Death by Veganism” by
Nina Planck
5. Lierre Keith’s website, her book, and
her YouTube lectures.
6. Michael Pollan’s contention that
vegetarianism is to war against nature.
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