Nobody likes to lose a good friend or a pet, and the majority of the population loves animals. However, evidence points that people don't like animals as much as they claim to because the majority of the population tends to over look the genocide that exists this very instance. Gandhi once wrote, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated"(Why Vegan? 1) Gandhi brings up a good point because the issue of Animal Rights is in fact an issue of one's moral code. To define the morality and ethics, this paper will refer to Ayn Rand's definition taken from the book, The Virtue of Selfishness. Rand describes itthis way, "It is a code of values to guide a man's choices and actions that determine the purpose of his life" (Rand 13). Can the common

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ven worse, if you were to perform live surgery on that animal and drip poison into eyes all day ,well then that animal is going to feel pain. The truth is that Vivisection wastes money and lives that could otherwise be spared.

1. American Anit-Vivisection Society. Home page. 17, Mar.2000 http://www.aavs.org/

rs"(Why Vegan? 2). If that's not enough animals are harmed a number of other ways in slaughterhouses. Like castration, which involves cutting the animals testicles off with a knife, with no anesthetic for economic purposes. Not to mention the number of times a cow is branded with third degree burns.

animal products with the information given in this text can you really say that you love your animals?

Some common arguments for the beef industry would be the all classic, meat is good for you. It is supposed to contain vitamins and minerals that are not otherwise found. However, this argument is not true, it is a fact that vegetarians and vegans have a far healthier diet than a meat eater. Michael Klaper, MD has stated that, "The human body has no more need for cow's milk than it does for dog's milk, horses' milk, or giraffes' milk"(Why Vegan? 9). In fact plant foods have been known to protect the body from cancer. Animal foods like meat, can raise the risk for cancer because of the compounds found in it. Vegetarians don't have to worry about heart disease associated with saturated fat from red meat. Another common argument is that it has been going on forever, since primitive man.

The first form of oppression comes from probably one of the most grotesquely cruel practices of all. Did you know that from buying your toothpaste to buying your cosmetics, you open yourself up for the opportunity to participate in the funding of Vivisection? PETA, an international non profit organization designed to protect the rights of animals has defined the term as, "Vivisection is the practice of experimenting on live animals" (PETA 1). Let's start with the large amount of animals Vivisection effects. The American Anti-Vivisection Society reports that, "Between 25 and 50 million animals are killed in American Laboratories each Year"(www.aavs.org/Doc). Animal's such as mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, cats, dogs, primates, sheep, cows, and pigs are subjected to the effects of Vivisection. The tests are conducted by government agencies, corporations, hospitals, the military, and chemical companies. The single largest financier and advocate of vivisection would have to !

It all boils down to oppressive power structures and the way that they are designed. Oppressive power structures are institutions of thought created to oppress the weaker race, ethnicity, gender, and species. The struggle for Animal Rights and the issues involved are no different than the struggle for women's rights. They are both used as biological machines, one confined to a life of reproduction and domesticity, and the other confined to life of torture and death. People, often times, argue that humans are smarter than animals so it doesn't matter. If we are so smart , than can't we realize that Vivisection and the Meat industry are wrong? If you enslave and mistreat your animal you're probably going to do the same thing to your child. It all comes back to morals. Speciesism is the belief that our society is the only one worthy of ethical consideration. This promotes the idea that those who are weaker and indifferent are to be exploited because we can do so. "All arguments t!

o prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering, the animals are our equals"(Why Vegan? 14). If we allow humans to live, then why not animals?

Some common words found in the essay are:
Die Slaughterhouse, Bernard Rollin, Klaper MD, PETA Computer, Animal Rights, Vivisection Meat, Anti-vivisection Society, John Draize, , Selfishness Rand, love animals, animal rights, vegan 5 animals, vegan 2, majority population, treatment animals, vegan 5, animals claim, anti-vivisection society, 5 animals, american anti-vivisection, american anti-vivisection society, oppressive power structures, ethical treatment animals, people ethical treatment,
Approximate Word count = 2506
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)