Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2022
Abstract
In The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?, Bohanec (2013) proposed that farmed animals raised humanely may experience betrayal when slaughtered. I argue based on personal experience that humans often betray trust relationships with farmed animals. Using published scientific literature, I find that typical farmed animals (mammals) and farmed fishes are both cognitively capable of a rudimentary experience of betrayal. However, the manner in which fishes are typically maintained does not present opportunities for human-fish trust relationships to develop. Eating farmed fishes presents fewer ethical implications than eating cows, at least in some cases.
This article was featured in The Case Daily [archived link].
Keywords
aquaculture, animal welfare, farming, humane, self-awareness, sentience, theory of mind
Language
English
Publication Title
Journal of Animal Ethics
Rights
© 2022 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. This article is made available in accordance with the University of Illinois Press' policy which says that the article cannot be photocopied, distributed, or used for purposes other than the terms agreed to by UIP. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Recommended Citation
Oldfield, R.G. (2022). You Can't Betray a Fish: One Reason Eating Fish May Cause Less Harm Than Eating Cows. Journal of Animal Ethics 12(1), 51-58. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/848373.
Manuscript Version
Preprint