Pastoral farming used to be highly controversial in human society when there were no alternatives for the resources it provided. On the one hand, the species chosen for this activity would never achieve such numbers in the wild. Humanity provides these animals with shelter and food, protects them from their natural enemies, and tends to numerous cattle diseases. On the other hand, humanity does it solely by benefiting itself with the cattle products. Animals are raised to be killed and eaten, experiencing different forms of “abuse” in the process from milking to poor living conditions and attitudes.
The topic used to be controversial; however, the verbs’ past tense is the most important part of that sentence. The strongest moral justification for pastoral farming was humanity’s need for food, especially considering the rate with which the population grows. More specifically, the need for nutrition was accompanied by the absence of a reasonable alternative. Nowadays, various nutrition’s alternatives to animal foods are available in society, and their number, quality, and accessibility continue to grow. I think these alternatives have not yet developed enough to replace animal food completely. However, I hope that, at some point, the alternatives’ quality and accessibility might be able to overcome the economic value of pastoral farming.
I think that utilitarian ethical theory supports my vision of the pastoral farming issue the most. According to Dimmock and Fisher (2017), it emphasizes the greater good for as many people as possible. While it might not be morally permissible to treat the cattle how it is treated today, it attends to the needs of billions of people living in the world, which, I think, is a greater good. Another part of utilitarian ethical theory that supports my view is the theory’s hedonistic origins. As soon as it becomes more economically profitable to shift to food alternatives, I believe humanity will make its move.
Reference
Dimmock, M., & Fisher, A. (2017). Ethics for A-level. Open Book Publishers.