Molly Farris

September 21, 2014

UWRT-1102
Response Paper #3/4
In his article, Ethics of Eating Meat, Peter Singer uses the harsh reality of the
meat industry to argue that there is no humane way to raise animals, and therefore
people should change the way they eat. In her blog post, Open Letter to Angry
Vegetarians, Jenna Woginrich challenges the ideas that Peter Singer discusses and
proves to the angry vegetarians that there is a humane way to raise animals. Woginrich
explains that no one is perfect in the way they eat. Both authors explain the ethics of
eating meat by talking about the treatment of animals during their lives.
Peter Singer quoted Joel Salatin who said, People have a soul. Animals dont.
Its a bedrock belief of mine. Unlike us, animals are not created in Gods image, so
when they die, They just die. Jenna Woginrich would likely disagree. She believed in
raising her animals in the most ethical way possible. She stated, When I kill a chicken I
end one life. A life I was present for, grateful for, and worked hard for. The difference
between Singer and Woginrich is that Singer believed that it is never ethical for an
animal to be killed for someone to eat. Woginrich on the other hand believed that
although it was not necessary for people to eat animals, the animals should be treated
in the most humane way.
Singer gives his readers the treat of a play-by-play slaughtering. He describes,
Bright red blood flows down a metal trough and Razor-sharp boning knives flash. He
uses this point to show that even the most humane farms are brutal when it comes to

the slaughtering of animals, which in his mind is unethical. Oppositely, Woginrich

explains how she is far more ethical when it comes to the slaughtering of her animals.
She explains, I employed a small butcher and his staff to come to my farm so these
pigs never have to be loaded into a truck and driven away to a slaughterhouse. She
takes pride in raising her animals in the most humane way possible. Even Singer would
have to agree that this is the most ethical approach.
Woginrichs strongest, most convincing argument is that it is not possible to eat
something without killing an animal or two in the process. She explains, A trip to your
local grocery store for tofu and spinach leaves may not include a single animal product
but the harvesting of such food costs endless animal lives. One of Singers solutions
includes having farms that raise animals switch to raising plant crops. He explains,
farms that now raise animals would replace animals would convert to growing crops or
else go out of business, and humans would replace animal protein with plant protein.
Woginrich would counter with: But if you are not using oil to fertilize your crops then
you are using organic material: manure, blood, bone, bone, fish, etc. In the argument
between these authors, there is no clear right answer.
For Peter Singer and Jenna Woginrich the solution for their arguments is to take
only what you need and treat it in the most ethical way possible. In this case, Jenna
Woginrich believes that it is best to raise animals on a family farm and give them the
most humane treatment possible. Peter Singer believes that it is better to stay away
from meat and go to a diet of plant protein. Whichever method murders less animals is
the obvious way to go, but it is also based on personal opinion.