Seeing as I am a fan of absolutism, it's funny that I am going to proceed to try and defend incrementalism. However, I think it is something that must be done. And often, the best cases of defense are made by those who are in opposition.
I have read many, many books on the issue of mass-slaughtering and what not of animals. From Johnathan Safran-Meyer to Michael Pollan, all the literature says the same thing: the human-animal consumption is no longer a relationship but a form of genocide. CAFO's to corn, it's one big corrupt system from the top down. However, the same literature also describes a harsh reality of this system that is not often recognized: it is firmly anchored. According to the FDA, citizens of the United States consumed over 33 million dead cattle in 2009. That number is only increasing with each passing year. And as population grows, the need for food grows as well. Thus, the system will only get bigger.
Now, if one were to say put all the CAFO's out of business and return cattle to ranchers and casual grazing, the whole food system in the United States would undoubtedly collapse. It is likely there would be riots in the streets, as meat disappeared from store shelves and prices sky-rocketed for what little was left. This seems extreme, but I think we all know it to be true.
Now this system of food grew up over hundreds of years. A desire for cheaper food at greater rates did not spring overnight. Thus, a challenge to the system cannot be raised overnight either. Instead, one must take morally right steps over time. Protests of the meat industry and boycotts of their products would be as effective as any mass shut down. Legislation to prevent such treatment of animals (as the UK, Sweden, and several other EU nations have done) should be enacted in time.
This may seem "morally negligent, but it is truly the only logical way. To bring it back to what Bridgette was saying about slavery, I think I would say this: slavery was abolished overnight, but its root still grows in the American nation today. Think about it.
I think you actually meant to respond to me, not Bridgette. When you say slavery's "root still grows in the American nation today", are you saying we still live in a racist society? Because I completely agree, but that doesn't mean abolishing slavery was not important and effective.
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