Milburn, J. orcid.org/0000-0003-0638-8555 (2017) The animal lovers' paradox? On the ethics of 'pet food'. In: Overall, C., (ed.) Pets and People : The Ethics of Companion Animals. Oxford University Press ISBN 9780190456085
Abstract
Animal lovers normally contribute to significant harm inflicted upon nonhuman animals. This is because dogs and cats are fed animal-derived foods, which are the product of death and suffering. This chapter presents an argument suggesting that, typically, people have an obligation to feed their companions a vegan diet. The claim is then defended against three challenges—from dignity, naturalness, and freedom, respectively—that are unsuccessful. A final challenge, from health, is more problematic, and a four-pronged approach to companion veganism is defended. For dogs, people’s moral and political obligations roughly coincide: individually and collectively, people should switch their dogs to vegan diets. For cats, people’s obligations diverge: while individually they should minimize the impact of their companions’ diets, as members of society they have an obligation to come to a greater understanding of how the negative impact of cats’ diets can be fully eliminated.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Christine Overall and the Author. This is an author-produced version of a chapter subsequently published in Pets and People. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | veganism; companion animal; pet food; dignity; dog; cat; naturalness; freedom; health |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 04 Mar 2020 11:07 |
Last Modified: | 05 Mar 2020 20:10 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190456085.003.0013 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:157880 |