this post was submitted on 05 May 2025
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I do eat meat, yes.
Edit: Meaning I'm not going to pretend that an offer like that would not sway me. I'll be unhappy about it, cry and have a bad conscience for a very long time until I successfully rationalize it. But seeing as I do eat meat, I feel it would be a lie to pretend that I'm not capable of rationalizing killing an animal for my own indulgence. And uncoupling myself and everyone I love from the horrors of capitalism by simply elevating them above... that's quite a strong incentive. I could even spend a billion dollars on environmental causes, saving millions of bunnies and still have enough left to make everyone I love a multi-millionaire.
I don't actually know where my price is... would I do it for 1000 Euros? No, definitely not. For a million? Likely yes... somewhere between those numbers is the price for my conscience. I hope I never find out where exactly, it's a ghastly thing to know about oneself.
I'm vegan* and I'd do it for 1000€, if that money came out of the pocket of a meat producer. Just numbers-wise, that would probably already be a net-benefit, and I don't really regard my own conscience highly enough to make it sway that price all that much.
Cranial dislocation and instantaneous crushing of the head are some of the most pain-free deaths too, much better than the CO² gassing which would be the default for a bunny this size.
What always fascinates me about dilemmas like this is the cuteness of the animal is such a big factor for people. Would the average answer be the same if it was rat, a fish, a chick or a tiny baby kangaroo? I think it's a nice mental exercise to think about it! My school had a Philosophy class for all the students who didn't go to Religion class, and we basically just solved dilemmas like this all day. It was really beneficial for building your own moral framework and getting comfortable in navigating it.
(* with the relevant exception that I have a snake, so my freezer is full of dead rodents that I'm thoroughly desensitized to)
The cuteness of the creature being a factor is something I absolutely understand. Although I'm entirely in love with arthropods and reptiles and all those creepy crawlers, I would still feel worse about the bunny.
It's an instinctual thing, as mammals we're genetically programmed to love baby mammals and protect them. We usually empathize more with them and some of us even tremble with good feelings when watching or touching them. It is inherently rewarding to pet them and to show them kindness. So it's no wonder we can easily crush something like a roach or a fish. It's harder with chicks and even harder with rats or baby kangaroos since they check more and more of the boxes activating that instinct.
Instincts just that though, we are completely able to ignore it, desensitize or rationalize. Luckily we're (mostly) ruled by our minds and not our instincts.