There could be something that is at least deontologically iffy about killing gigantic numbers of sentient beings for comparatively pedestrian purposes. If one isn’t completely certain of consequentialism, then that might weigh into ones considerations.
It also seems much less likely that animals are going to be treated well enough than for factory farming to be outlawed and/or superseded by clean meat. This is kind of answered by your answer to the hypothetical objection in your last paragraph, though.
Re your first point, indeed, though if one believes in deontology, hence in rights, you may also think there’s something iffy about denying many sentient beings happy lives (ended by painless deaths), which is what I argue they should have. (And there is no plausible middle ground in which cows & chickens would be bred in large numbers and well treated but not eaten—i.e. get to live the lives of pets.)
Re your second point, I can envisage a scenario in which factory farming (i.e. conditions that make animals unhappy) is outlawed, and/or meat is mostly superseded by lab/plant products, but much smaller amounts of expensive happy animal meat are still produced, because (a) it tastes better (or has better texture etc.) to most people, or (b) to a few people, or (c) has sufficient cachet & signalling value (e.g. due to rarity/price) that it is treated as if it tastes better.
(And there is no plausible middle ground in which cows & chickens would be bred in large numbers and well treated but not eaten—i.e. get to live the lives of pets.)
The key word in that sentence is probably ‘in large numbers’. However, this seems to ignore the fact that:
‘Pets’ don’t usually produce food. (The prior sentence might be false.)
Both uses can coexist (leaning more towards eating than not, while instances of not still exist).
How many chickens would there be if everyone had a chicken? (More seriously, extrapolating from the past, what’s the upper bound on chicken population, under the ‘lots of people have (a few) chickens’ model?)
Not sure what you mean by ‘both uses can coexist’ - i.e. a chicken treated as a pet then eaten? Unlikely.
You may have more of a point re people owning a hen as a kind of pet (i.e. well treated) in order to lay eggs, rather than be eaten; as some people of course already do. I can see that could become more widespread.
Cf very surprisingly, a few years ago Princess Anne, a noted horse-rider who competed in the Olympics, called for horses to be eaten so as to improve their welfare. (I.e. so those unsuitable, or no longer suitable, for riding still have a value.) She said this in a speech for the World Horse Welfare charity, of which she is president.
Regulations around backyard chickens have been kind of a hotly argued issue in my locality in my lifetime, so that trend is not necessarily always voluntary or irreversible.
(Regarding ‘wild’ animals and middle ground, people may also decide to do things like build birdhouses, provide feeders, and treat injury, which may enhance quality/length of life without making either lifestock or pet of those interacted with. Populations of feral chickens also exist some places, so farm-raised chickens aren’t the only group in consideration for farm-chicken-descended birds.)
Two comments:
There could be something that is at least deontologically iffy about killing gigantic numbers of sentient beings for comparatively pedestrian purposes. If one isn’t completely certain of consequentialism, then that might weigh into ones considerations.
It also seems much less likely that animals are going to be treated well enough than for factory farming to be outlawed and/or superseded by clean meat. This is kind of answered by your answer to the hypothetical objection in your last paragraph, though.
Re your first point, indeed, though if one believes in deontology, hence in rights, you may also think there’s something iffy about denying many sentient beings happy lives (ended by painless deaths), which is what I argue they should have. (And there is no plausible middle ground in which cows & chickens would be bred in large numbers and well treated but not eaten—i.e. get to live the lives of pets.)
Re your second point, I can envisage a scenario in which factory farming (i.e. conditions that make animals unhappy) is outlawed, and/or meat is mostly superseded by lab/plant products, but much smaller amounts of expensive happy animal meat are still produced, because (a) it tastes better (or has better texture etc.) to most people, or (b) to a few people, or (c) has sufficient cachet & signalling value (e.g. due to rarity/price) that it is treated as if it tastes better.
The key word in that sentence is probably ‘in large numbers’. However, this seems to ignore the fact that:
‘Pets’ don’t usually produce food. (The prior sentence might be false.)
Both uses can coexist (leaning more towards eating than not, while instances of not still exist).
How many chickens would there be if everyone had a chicken? (More seriously, extrapolating from the past, what’s the upper bound on chicken population, under the ‘lots of people have (a few) chickens’ model?)
Not sure what you mean by ‘both uses can coexist’ - i.e. a chicken treated as a pet then eaten? Unlikely.
You may have more of a point re people owning a hen as a kind of pet (i.e. well treated) in order to lay eggs, rather than be eaten; as some people of course already do. I can see that could become more widespread.
Multiple chickens owned, most eaten, one (particularly useful one) treated more like a (working) pet.
I think this used to be more common that it is today.
Cf very surprisingly, a few years ago Princess Anne, a noted horse-rider who competed in the Olympics, called for horses to be eaten so as to improve their welfare. (I.e. so those unsuitable, or no longer suitable, for riding still have a value.) She said this in a speech for the World Horse Welfare charity, of which she is president.
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/princess-anne-sparks-horse-meat-debate-416327?fbclid=IwAR3xaBGLcAxC1cox3qmsXCru8HOOUr9NMaDvayfN8ZhUOin4sdyoyrDCF5A
Regulations around backyard chickens have been kind of a hotly argued issue in my locality in my lifetime, so that trend is not necessarily always voluntary or irreversible.
(Regarding ‘wild’ animals and middle ground, people may also decide to do things like build birdhouses, provide feeders, and treat injury, which may enhance quality/length of life without making either lifestock or pet of those interacted with. Populations of feral chickens also exist some places, so farm-raised chickens aren’t the only group in consideration for farm-chicken-descended birds.)