Big Think The hidden cost of cheap meat exposed by Peter Singer
Jun 25, 2025
Peter Singer, a Professor of Bioethics at Princeton and author of *Animal Liberation Now*, dives deep into the ethical implications of cheap meat. He challenges societal norms around food, exposing the brutal reality of factory farming and advocating for animal welfare. Singer argues against speciesism, emphasizing that moral consideration should be based on the capacity to suffer. He discusses the rising awareness of vegetarianism and veganism, and the potential of alternative meat products to transform our eating habits for the better.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Conservative Views on Food
- Food choices are deeply rooted in culture and tradition, causing resistance to change.
- People are often unaware of the cruel conditions animals endure for cheap food production.
Pain Defines Moral Status
- Moral consideration should be based on the ability to suffer, not intelligence or language.
- Equal consideration means pain is pain regardless of species, challenging speciesism.
Cruelty of Factory Farming
- Egg-laying hens live crowded in wire cages too small to stretch their wings.
- Breeding sows are confined in stalls so narrow they can't turn around, treatment considered abuse in pets.
