Meat, Because We Want To

Why do human beings eat meat, and by extension, why do human beings create it? Why do we torture and kill animals when there are viable alternatives? I have wanted to know the answer to this question for some time, and have explored various avenues. There are the psychological defence mechanisms preventing many from seeing animals as people (the aversions), and there are the ideologies that hold humanity above other species (a delusion), but I wonder if there’s a missing piece: the desire. Are people aware of their actions, and on some level, choose to eat meat for the very purpose of creating suffering? I ask because in all my conversations with carnists over the years, conversations I would prefer to skip, conversations they usually start, mind you, one detail has always been hard to understand. With enough tender care and compassion, carnists can be shown a path away from delusion and aversion, yet many cling desperately to their desire for meat. In most cases what they crave is the food, not the suffering required to produce it, but a few have shown a form of glee for the process requried to create it, with various justifications to make it palatable (e.g. human superiority, appeal to nature, etc). I must conclude that some people just want to hurt others, at least consciously, and animals are simply a convenient targets, for they have no means of protest or retaliation. It shouldn’t be surprising, for abuse is causual and common in modern society, and the root of all abuse is simply the desire to inflict suffering as a means of coping. The abuse of animals has reached such a heinous scale though, and sorrow is the only sensible emotional response, but perhaps if we learn what causes cruelty, we can prevent it from spreading. I must investigate cruelty.