The least harm principle may require that humans consume a diet containing large herbivores, not a vegan diet
About PhilPapers
General Editors:
David Bourget (Western Ontario)
David Chalmers (ANU, NYU)
Area Editors:
David Bourget
Gwen Bradford
Berit Brogaard
Margaret Cameron
David Chalmers
James Chase
Rafael De Clercq
Ezio Di Nucci
Barry Hallen
Hans Halvorson
Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa
Michelle Kosch
Øystein Linnebo
JeeLoo Liu
Paul Livingston
Brandon Look
Matthew McGrath
Michiru Nagatsu
Susana Nuccetelli
Gualtiero Piccinini
Giuseppe Primiero
Jack Alan Reynolds
Darrell Rowbottom
Aleksandra Samonek
Constantine Sandis
Howard Sankey
Jonathan Schaffer
Thomas Senor
Robin Smith
Daniel Star
Jussi Suikkanen
Lynne Tirrell
Aness Webster
Other editors
Contact us
Learn more about PhilPapers
David Bourget (Western Ontario)
David Chalmers (ANU, NYU)
Area Editors:
David Bourget
Gwen Bradford
Berit Brogaard
Margaret Cameron
David Chalmers
James Chase
Rafael De Clercq
Ezio Di Nucci
Barry Hallen
Hans Halvorson
Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa
Michelle Kosch
Øystein Linnebo
JeeLoo Liu
Paul Livingston
Brandon Look
Matthew McGrath
Michiru Nagatsu
Susana Nuccetelli
Gualtiero Piccinini
Giuseppe Primiero
Jack Alan Reynolds
Darrell Rowbottom
Aleksandra Samonek
Constantine Sandis
Howard Sankey
Jonathan Schaffer
Thomas Senor
Robin Smith
Daniel Star
Jussi Suikkanen
Lynne Tirrell
Aness Webster
Other editors
Contact us
Learn more about PhilPapers
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 16 (4):387-394 (2003)
| Abstract |
Based on his theory of animalrights, Regan concludes that humans are morallyobligated to consume a vegetarian or vegandiet. When it was pointed out to him that evena vegan diet results in the loss of manyanimals of the field, he said that while thatmay be true, we are still obligated to consumea vegetarian/vegan diet because in total itwould cause the least harm to animals (LeastHarm Principle, or LHP) as compared to currentagriculture. But is that conclusion valid? Isit possible that some other agriculturalproduction alternatives may result in leastharm to animals? An examination of thisquestion shows that the LHP may actually bebetter served using food production systemsthat include both plant-based agriculture and aforage-ruminant-based agriculture as comparedto a strict plant-based (vegan) system. Perhapswe are morally obligated to consume a dietcontaining both plants and ruminant(particularly cattle) animal products.
|
|||||||||
| Keywords | animal production animal rights least harm moral vegetarianism vegan | |||||||||
| Categories | (categorize this paper) | |||||||||
| DOI | 10.1023/A:1025638030686 | |||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 22,488 |
| External links |
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server Configure custom proxy (use this if your affiliation does not provide a proxy) |
| Through your library |
|
No references found.
Jonathan Matheson (2016). Moral Caution and the Epistemology of Disagreement. Journal of Social Philosophy 47 (2):120-141.
Andy Lamey (2007). Food Fight! Davis Versus Regan on the Ethics of Eating Beef. Journal of Social Philosophy 38 (2):331–348.
Bob Fischer (2016). Bugging the Strict Vegan. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 29 (2):255-263.
Stijn Bruers (2015). The Core Argument for Veganism. Philosophia 43 (2):271-290.
David Fraser (2012). A “Practical” Ethic for Animals. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 25 (5):721-746.
View all 6 citations / Add more citations
Gary E. Varner (1994). In Defense of the Vegan Ideal: Rhetoric and Bias in the Nutrition Literature. [REVIEW] Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 7 (1):29-40.
Evelyn Pluhar (1992). Who Can Be Morally Obligated to Be a Vegetarian? Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 5 (2):189-215.
Jonny Anomaly (2009). Harm to Others: The Social Cost of Antibiotics in Agriculture. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 22 (5):423-435.
Rebecca Bamford (2005). The Nietzsche Diet and Dr Atkins’s Science. In Lisa Heldke, Kerri Mommer & Cynthia Pineo (eds.), The Atkins Diet and Philosophy. Open Court
Gary E. Varner (1994). Rejoinder to Kathryn Paxton George. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 7 (1):83-86.
Kathryn Paxton George (1994). Discrimination and Bias in the Vegan Ideal. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 7 (1):19-28.
Nathan Nobis (2002). Vegetarianism and Virtue: Does Consequentialism Demand Too Little? Social Theory and Practice 28 (1):135-156.
Kathryn Paxton George (1990). So Animal a Human ..., Or the Moral Relevance of Being an Omnivore. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 3 (2):172-186.
Andy Lamey (2007). Food Fight! Davis Versus Regan on the Ethics of Eating Beef. Journal of Social Philosophy 38 (2):331–348.
Ann Reed Mangels & Suzanne Havala (1994). Vegan Diets for Women, Infants, and Children. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 7 (1):111-122.
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads553 ( #1,952 of 1,937,939 )Recent downloads (6 months)77 ( #4,893 of 1,937,939 )How can I increase my downloads? |




