Consider Everything

Do you know or remember some of the virtues listed in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin? I will focus on three. The virtue of Temperance: Eat not to Dullness, Drink not to Elevation. The virtue of Frugality: Make no Expense but to do good to others or yourself (waste nothing). The virtue of Moderation: Avoid Extremes-duh! These three should, to most people, be guidelines when it comes to eating in a physically proper style. That being said, we don't, or at least shouldn't, eat something out of existence since we are in control of our ecosystem. We are not mindless beasts. I do hear the argument of human eating plants being most ideal, that the fate of all animals would be left to natural selection while we remain with clean hands, but are we not blessed in bringing order, balance, and stability to our surroundings. Were we not blessed with a role, a responsibility of preserving the life that we are indirectly indebted to. If we don't eat in moderation, and a species were to go extinct, a domino effect would transpire, causing severe disruptions in our ever so great food web. We can't impose our rule of eating habits onto all other carnivores who are more primitive then us, but that does not mean we can take steps towards aiding other animals which indirectly aid us. It is of great importance to support our primary producers, the ones who are at the bottom of the life stratification, since they are literally are our indirect providers. So before you worry about the ethics of killing flesh, you should be more concerned about their even being flesh to begin with. Again, its all about moderation. "Do you think much about the (possible) moral status and (probable) suffering of animals involved? If you do, what ethical convictions have you worked out that permit you not just to eat but savor and enjoy flesh-based viands?" The ethical conviction is that nothing goes to waste as long as you serve as the regulator for not bringing about great elevation or dullness, but rather balance. Again, it's all about moderation. You, or rather we as a society, should understand that by dealing harm, we are immediately held accountable of countering the negativity with positive reform. Human sin is heavy, and hopefully, one day, it can be washed away, in a world without drastic decrease of certain life. Preservation and mindfulness is our atonement.