Ethics of Eating Animals

In the seventeenth segment, Pollan delves into a variety of topics, one of which is vegetarians' attitudes toward the ethics of eating animal products. A slew of questions hangs in the individual's head until he sits down to eat. Pollan then watches Paul Singer's "Animal Liberation" before ordering steak at the Palm. The main message of the book is to implore the listener to refrain from consuming animal products because it is immoral to slaughter animals.

Pollan also investigates the agony and suffering that animals endure while slaughtered and, for a while, becomes vegetarian. In the ancient days, persons slaughtering animals could look into their eyes before committing the act. Pollan question’s himself whether or not the act of looking into the animals’ eyes was a sign of guilt. Another key question that Pollan asks himself is: “Animals treat each other bad, why should we treat them any better?” (Pollan 310).

Pollan explores the diverse dilemmas regarding the consumption of animal products. The author’s decision to become a vegetarian for a while assists him in evaluating the arguments that animal activists such as Paul Singer pose. Therefore, the author brilliantly tackles the ethics of consuming animals. Another key feature that was manifest in the chapter is that Pollan had a flexible mind when exploring the topic. The author did not have a common stand and evaluated both the vegetarian and non-vegetarians’ argument from a liberal perspective. Singers’ sentiments force Pollan to be a vegetarian for a while so that he could understand the thoughts and concerns of these people. The author then critically analyzes the perspectives of non-vegetarians and concludes that honoring animals plays a vital role in shaping an individual’s eating habits.

Work Cited

Pollan, Michael. The omnivore's dilemma: A natural history of four meals. New York; Penguin, 2006.