Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Why Animals Matter for Pandemics, Climate Change, and Other Catastrophes

273 Pages·2022·22.617 MB·English

by  Jeff Sebo

Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves

Saving Animals,
Saving Ourselves
Why animals matter for pandemics,
climate change, and other catastrophes
JEFF SEBO
1
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sebo, Jeff, author.
Title: Saving animals, saving ourselves : why animals matter for pandemics,
climate change, and other catastrophes / Jeff Sebo.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021049878 | ISBN 9780190861018 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780190861032 (epub) | ISBN 9780190861025 (updf)
Subjects: LCSH: Animal welfare—Moral and ethical aspects. |
Nature—Effect of human beings on. | Environmentalism.
Classification: LCC HV4708 .S43 2022 |
DDC 636.08/32—dc23/eng/20211220
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021049878
DOI: 10.1093/ oso/ 9780190861018.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Integrated Books International, United States of America
For Dale

Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
1. Introduction: Saving animals, saving ourselves 1
1.1. The drowning fawn 1
1.2. The year of global crisis 4
1.3. A perfect moral superstorm 6
1.4. What this book will do 9
1.5. What this book will not do 12
2. Animal ethics in a human world 15
2.1. Introduction 15
2.2. Species, nations, and generations 16
2.3. Individual and collective responsibility 19
2.4. Utilitarianism in theory 22
2.5. Utilitarianism in practice 24
2.6. Rights theory in theory 27
2.7. Rights theory in practice 30
2.8. A partial convergence 33
2.9. Exploitation, extermination, and ambivalence 35
2.10. Conclusion 38
3. Animals, pandemics, and climate change 40
3.1. Introduction 40
3.2. How we treat animals 41
3.3. Why our treatment of animals matters for animals 44
3.4. Why our treatment of animals matters
for pandemics 47
3.5. Why our treatment of animals matters for climate
change 50
3.6. Why pandemics matter for animals 52
3.7. Why climate change matters for animals 55
viii Contents
3.8. One Health and the Green New Deal 58
3.9. Including animals in One Health and the
Green New Deal 60
3.10. Conclusion 63
4. Limits on inclusion for animals 66
4.1. Introduction 66
4.2. The futility objection 67
4.3. Including animals is not always futile 70
4.4. Even when it might be futile, it can still be morally
required 73
4.5. Summing up 75
4.6. The demandingness objection 78
4.7. Including animals is not always demanding 81
4.8. Even when it might be demanding, it can still
be morally required 84
4.9. Summing up 86
4.10. Conclusion 89
5. Methods of inclusion for animals 91
5.1. Introduction 91
5.2. Supporting research and advocacy 92
5.3. Reducing support for harmful industries 95
5.4. Increasing support for alternatives 98
5.5. Including animals in impact assessments 100
5.6. Including animals in education and employment 103
5.7. Including animals in social services 106
5.8. Including animals in infrastructure decisions 109
5.9. Not blaming or punishing animals for
human- caused problems 111
5.10. Conclusion 114
6. Animals, conflict, and politics 116
6.1. Introduction 116
6.2. A broad, pluralistic coalition 117
6.3. Holistic and structural change 120
6.4. Trade- offs between humans and nonhumans 123
6.5. Trade- offs between individuals and species 125
6.6. Trade- offs between animals 128
6.7. The legal status of animals 131
6.8. The political status of animals 134
Contents ix
6.9. Representation for animals 136
6.10. Conclusion 139
7. Animals, well-b eing, and moral status 141
7.1. Introduction 141
7.2. Weighing nonhuman lives 142
7.3. Which animals count? 145
7.4. How much do they count? 148
7.5. Uncertainty 150
7.6. Aggregation 153
7.7. Other factors 156
7.8. Moral priorities 159
7.9. Moral conflicts 161
7.10. Conclusion 164
8. Animals, creation ethics, and population ethics 166
8.1. Introduction 166
8.2. Evaluating nonhuman lives 167
8.3. What makes life worth living? 170
8.4. Which animals have lives worth living? 173
8.5. The rebugnant conclusion 175
8.6. The swan identity problem 178
8.7. Additional asymmetries 181
8.8. We have no idea what kind of world to
build for animals 184
8.9. But we should start building it anyway 186
8.10. Conclusion 189
9. Conclusion: Of minks and men 191
9.1. The mink pandemic 191
9.2. To cull or not to cull? That is not the question 194
9.3. Lessons for the future 196
9.4. States of emergency 199
9.5. The expanding circle 202
Notes 205
Index 239