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DA1. Animal Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility

Statement

Please read the reading materials from Chapter 12 of the Corporate Social Responsibility textbook that you find in the reading assignment. Based on what you have learned in this unit, answer the following questions:

  • Does reading this chapter make you less likely to buy leather and fur products, or not? Why or why not?
  • Does reading this chapter make you more likely to go vegetarian in your food consumption (if you are not already), or not? Why or why not?
  • Do you feel that the consumption of meat and the use of leather and fur are “natural” and therefore acceptable? Why or why not?
  • Does an “ethical” company owe any duty to animals, or are ethical duties only owed to humans?

Answer

The relationship between animals and humans changed significantly throughout the human history; at first, most animals were predators that we seek to hide from; then we discovered that we can eat them, so we started to hunt them; then we discovered that they can be beneficial while alive, so we started to domesticate them in farms; and in modern times, we realized that humans and animals have common ancestors (according to the theory of evolution) and that animals have feelings and can suffer.

The reading from Chapter 12 of the Corporate Social Responsibility textbook (Jimenez & Pulos, 2016) presented a good overview of the origins of the animal rights movement and reasoning behind it. It also presented some hard facts about the textile and meat industries.

To produce leather and fur, (Jimenez & Pulos, 2016) states that animals are kept poor conditions, and killed with cruelty, and even if the leather/fur can be extracted while keeping the animal alive, the sheering process is painful and usually leaves the animal with open wounds that takes long time to heal. All of these facts make me less likely to buy leather and fur products as a form of pressure on the producers to change their practices.

Producing meat was no different, (Jimenez & Pulos, 2016) states huge number of animals get killed every year, killed with brutality, and often animals get dragged to slaughter while having babies. All of these facts make me more likely to go vegetarian; in fact, I tried to be vegetarian in the past, but it was hard so I stuck to reducing as much as I can the amount of meat I consume.

As stated earlier, the relationship between humans and animals was always natural, and we have an entire branch in the animal kingdom that depends on animals eating the meat of other animals; the balance in Earth’s ecosystem depends on this consumption to keep the number of animals within the planet’s capacity; there is also a challenge that if we rely more on plants, there will be pressure on the land and water resources to support our food needs; and also large proportion of land is not suitable for agriculture, but it can be used to grow grass that feeds animals (Content, 2018).

On the other hand, (Jimenez & Pulos, 2016) and (Content, 2018) presented good reasons to move to vegetarianism; like reducing carbon emissions and carbon footprint generated by the meat industry; better health; and reducing the suffering of animals. So, it is a tough choice to make, but I believe that voluntarily reducing the meat consumption (not total cut), and seeking meat from producers who apply humane farming and cruelty-free practices is the ethical choice until science gives us better insights on the topic.

Finally, an ethical company owes a duty to animals; as per corporate social responsibility towards society and environment where animals are part of. Customers have also the duty to enforce this by choosing to buy from companies that apply ethical practices towards animals while boycotting companies that don’t.

To conclude, the increasing number of human population and advancements in technology produced a state that was never seen before in the history of the planet; so maybe comparing the nature of human practices in the past with the current ones is not a fair comparison; what was always natural may not be acceptable anymore; but we should let the science guide us to best practices that are ethical and sustainable.

References

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