Chickens. Not comic, not politics.

Hey Matt – 

Just encountered an argument re: beef consumption vs chicken consumption. Essentially, the argument boils down to 

1. Cows require much more pasture, and therefore, vast amounts of land are used to raise them.
2. There are lots of wild animal deaths involved in clearing land through habitat loss, etc.
3. Therefore, it's not clear that chicken is the most harmful kind of animal consumption. 

What are your thoughts? I can’t see the numbers on this specifically, but I suppose it makes sense that the more you cage animals and keep the operation “efficient,” the fewer wild animal deaths will result from habitat destruction.

 

First of all, every sentient being will die. All wild animals die. We can't "prevent deaths" or "save lives." We can only cause more or less suffering. 

The argument above assumes that wild animals have excellent lives. This seems to be very unlikely, as evolution selects against happiness and for hunger & fear. 

I would not want to come back as a wild animal. I would much rather be reincarnated as a cow who grazes with a rancher dedicated to my health and protection. Although the death would not be great, it would almost certainly be quicker and less bad than the average death of a wild animal (by disease, starvation, or predation).

A chicken, OTOH, has been bred to suffer, regardless of their environment (which is also horrible). 

Chickens are also so cheap as to be disposable. The last time I did the calculations for the US, more chickens suffer to death every day (i.e., died slowly before the slaughterhouse) than cows who are actually slaughtered.

I understand that many people are wedded to the idea that beef is the worst, just as most people also assume “wild” animals are simply an unquestioned “good.” Our inherent bias for mammals and "nature" blinds us to reality. 

Humans are rationalizing animals, not rational. First, we like what we like, and then we "choose" the arguments that support what we want. 

(It is a similar argument to "OMG, methane!" Or "Vegan First, Vegan Only.")

(It is the same with “smart” people in the United States who are dedicated to the worst human beings around; example.) 

Those of us who truly take suffering seriously can only do what we can do. To make a difference, we can't spend inordinate amounts of time answering questions that will always be followed by more questions. Instead, we can lay out our case to more people.