The answer for the question: is meat murder?

is no

In todays health and science oriented world, there are many different views on human diets.

One of the most controversial topics is the consumption of meat, which has created a break

between vegetarians and vegans who follow their diets because of moral reasons and the meat

eaters. The former group states that eating meat is murder, with which statement I do not agree.

I believe that eating meat is not immoral and it is a significant part of a balanced human diet.

First of all, I would like to call attention to the fact that murder is a term that is used because

humans have a unique ability to realize and fear death, which animals are supposedly incapable

of. However fond and protective I might feel towards animals, I must state that in this matter,

they seem to be inferior to humans. In this case, even if it happens among terrible circumstances,

in which topic this essay does not intend to immerse itself, killing an animal for its meat is not

murder (Moritz, 2013).

Secondly, meat has historically and evolutionally been an important factor in the

development of the human race. For example, eating nutritionally valuable meat can be more

easily chewed than root foods of nearly the same nutritional benefits, which has allowed the

human brain to use more of this saved energy and evolve into a larger and better functioning

organ (Kluger, 2016), as well as caused the jawline and teeth to form the aesthetic skull humans

have today. Thus, the historical and evolutional influence cannot be defied.

However, one might say that this was the past, the modern humans do not need any more

meat for their development. This is not true, as a healthy diet needs to balance plant foods with

meat even today. Meat is a significant source of iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, high

biological value protein, and vitamin B12 as well as other B complex vitamins (De Castro

Cardoso Pereira & Dos Reis Baltazar Vicente, 2013). It is true that the human body cannot

access all necessary nutrients from meat only, so it needs plant-based foods as well, but it would

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not be able to function the best. Therefore, the healthiest diet consists of the right amount of

meat as well as vegetable foods.

As animals do not have the same realization and fear of death as humans do, so killing one
for its meat cannot be called murder, and eating meat is both evolutionally and nutritionally
important for a human diet, it can be concluded that eating meat is not wrong, but rather
necessary. However, I must add that no matter how significant it might be to include meat in
peoples diet, I can agree with that the methods in use today in factory farming are unnecessarily
cruel and inefficient.

References

De Castro Cardoso Pereira, P. M., & Dos Reis Baltazar Vicente, A. F. (2013). Meat nutritional

composition and nutritive role in the human diet. Meat Science,93(3), 586-592.

Kluger, J. (2016, March 9). Sorry Vegans: Here's How Meat-Eating Made Us Human.

Retrieved May 21, 2017, from http://time.com/4252373/meat-eating-veganism-evolution/

Moritz, A. (2013, November 4). Why It Isnt Wrong To Eat Meat. Retrieved May 21, 2017,

from http://www.aaronmoritz.net/2013/11/04/why-it-isnt-wrong-to-eat-meat/