Speciesism : Discrimination at the root level

Speciesism is the final and most deeply accepted form of discrimination in our culture. Speciesism assumes that humanity is set apart from the animal world, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Humans (aka homo sapiens sapiens) are and will always be bound by genetic lineage to squirrels apes and fish.

It is undeniable that humans possess a number of faculties not found in any other species; Speech, writing, complexity of analytical thought, and self reflection, but none of these abilities change the fact that we belong to the animal kingdom. Though there are those who come from a religious background who would dispute this, (the creationist for example, that think that the earth was created in seven days) the evidence of a common origin is overwhelming. We share the same dna coding patterns as mice and fish, only a slight change in our dna arrangement makes us human. If you have any doubts about this just look at what is being done with genetic engineering these days.

Yet in spite of the understanding that we share a common origin, the vast majority of our culture, scientist included, tend to regard humans as separate and superior to all other forms of life. When you look at the characteristics that are used to set humans above the rest of the animal kingdom, and try to use that description to decide whether that creature is worthy of basic respect and protection, you step into very dangerous territory. What about human children who are born with severe mental and physical handicaps? There are children born every year who have a lower capacity of thinking and communicating than a pig, and yet no sane human society would allow that child to be used and abused the way livestock is. Clearly it is not intelligence and speech that should determine the treatment an entity receives, but rather something else, something deeper.

Non-human animals are capable of emotion. they communicate among themselves in ways we are only beginning to understand, and they even possess certain mental and perceptual abilities that we don't even have, and yet the vast majority of humans still continue to set themselves apart from animals entirely. This mental separation between human and animal is understandable in a way, without it how could we justify the way we treat them? In fact, how would we justify owning them at all?

We are the only species on the face of this earth that claim to own their prey from birth to death. We are the only creature that has completely eliminated the possibility that our prey could escape us, or even that their children could escape us. There is a word for this practice when it is applied towards humans: Slavery.

It wasn't that long ago that people from Africa were considered inferior, and could be owned and abused as white people saw fit, and it wasn't that long ago that a person standing against this practice was labeled as a left wing extremist. The greater portion of our society now rejects this kind of thinking when it comes to humans, but when it comes to animals, all of our ethics of equality and rights are completely thrown out the window. Speciesism, is virtually identical to racism and sexism. All depend on an inherent sense of separateness and superiority of the dominate group, and an denigration and objectification of the dominated.

If I were to tell you that a company that you were supporting monetarily regularly boiled dogs alive would you continue to support that company? I could be wrong, but I am under the impression that even if you were not a rabid animal rights activist you may be inclined to boycott that particular company. Do you eat pork? If you do, it might be of some interest to you that every day thousands of pigs in modern slaughter houses are accidentally boiled alive due to high line speeds. If your next door neighbor had a habit of dismembering cats alive wouldn't you call the police? This happens to cows every day, and you pay the person who does it every time you buy beef!

It's time we reconcile the contradictions in our ethics regarding animals. On one hand we condemn the abuse of animals such as dogs cats and companion rabbits, while at the same time turning a blind eye to much more blatant atrocities when committed on our behalf for the sake of a hamburger or a sausage. There is an alternative to this. It's simple, stop eating meat.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not that hard, and not only is a vegetarian or vegan diet less damaging to the environment and to animals, but it is also significantly healthier.

Click here for more information about how to get enough protein from a meatless diet.