Vegetarianism and virtue: does consequentialism demand too little?
I will argue that each of us personally ought to be a vegetarian. (1) Actually, the conclusion I will attempt to defend concerns more than one’s eating habits in that I will argue that we should be “vegans.” Not only should we not buy and eat meat, but we should also not purchase fur coats, stoles, and hats, or leather shoes, belts, jackets, purses and wallets, furniture, car interiors, and other traditionally animal-based products for which there are readily available plant-based or synthetic alternatives. (Usually these are cheaper and work just as well, or better, anyway.) I will argue that buying and eating most eggs and dairy products are immoral as well. (Since it’s much easier to avoid all fur, leather, and wool than all eggs and dairy products, I mention those first.) My conclusion might even imply that outfitting one’s self in what has been, in recent history, the most “philosophical” of fabrics–tweed–is immoral too! Many arguments defending the moral obligation to become ve
