Cow ethics ctd.
Marginal Revolution tackles the relevant and complicated world of cow ethics:
If each cow brought to life adds even some small bit of cow utility to the grand total of cow welfare must not beef eaters be lauded, at least if they are hungry enough? Or is the pro beef-eater argument simply repugnant?
Maybe it’s ruining the fun to say so, but the distinction is that, at least to our knowledge, cows are unaware of their impending doom, or at least handle it very well. Overall quality of life for a cow could be very good up until the very last moment. The real challenge is not just the “pro beef-eater argument,” that cows will eventually be slaughtered, but that their lives are often of poor quality.
Then there’s the question of whether an additional marginal cow lowers the quality of life of each existing cow. One could make the argument that additional cows tend to decrease beef prices, forcing ranchers to lower costs by treating cattle worse in some way (overcrowding, low-quality feed, etc).
-John
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- Professional ethics
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- What is the opportunity cost of your turkey?
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