How to Be a Conscious Eater

25

THE CONSCIOUS CARNIVORE:

ANIMAL WELFARE EDITION

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n a nation that spends innumerable hours a year watching

cat videos and pampers its dogs with plush beds and toys,

we treat chickens and pigs and cows in ways we would never

treat felines and canines. Or pet birds for that matter. And

then, we eat the animals we just did all that awful stuff to.

For conscious carnivores, it helps to be aware of the “Five

Freedoms,” which is considered the gold standard for animal

welfare. Since it was first proposed in the United Kingdom

decades ago, this framework has been widely adopted by

groups such as the American Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals that are committed to the fair treatment of

animals under human care. The Five Freedoms are:

freedom from hunger and thirst,

freedom from discomfort—meaning to be sheltered and

given enough space to move and rest comfortably,

freedom from pain, injury, or disease—meaning to be

treated expeditiously in the latter two cases,

freedom from fear and distress—meaning given condi-

tions that don’t cause psychological suffering, and

freedom to express the normal behaviors that a given

species would exhibit in nature, like walking around or

pecking or grazing.

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