Scoresman
Footballguy
Vegans, especially those whose philosophical foundations are similar to those found in the books of Peter Singer (which is a large number of Vegans), claim that their eating habits stem from a utilitarian desire to reduce harm and suffering in the world.
Imagine a few centuries, perhaps a millennia ago when chickens were still jungle fowl only to be found in southeast asia. I haven't found a source to estimate how many chicken-ancestors were in the world at this point but let's make an assumption that it was several million. Each chicken would be born and immediately have to learn how to find food and avoid being eaten. If you were a chicken you'd likely see your mother, father and dozens of siblings killed during your lifetime. If you were lucky enough to find a mate, you'd witness you mate and your children being horribly eaten, starving to death, or dying of disease. This is what kept the chicken's population stable for millions of years, it's a basic fact of life.
Currently there are ~80 billion chickens slaughtered each year by humans, though the yearly population is certainly higher than that if you count wild birds, egg laying birds, and birds not yet old enough to slaughter. How could we possibly reach this number from the estimate I gave earlier? It can only be because every chicken who would have starved in the above scenario was fed by humans. Every chicken who would have been eaten by wild animals before adulthood was protected by humans. Every chicken who would have fallen sick was cured and healed by humans. The fact that the chicken was exceptionally tasty to another species was its greatest evolutionary benefit.
Most importantly, eaten chickens has reduced the suffering of chickens globally by a drastic amount
Imagine a few centuries, perhaps a millennia ago when chickens were still jungle fowl only to be found in southeast asia. I haven't found a source to estimate how many chicken-ancestors were in the world at this point but let's make an assumption that it was several million. Each chicken would be born and immediately have to learn how to find food and avoid being eaten. If you were a chicken you'd likely see your mother, father and dozens of siblings killed during your lifetime. If you were lucky enough to find a mate, you'd witness you mate and your children being horribly eaten, starving to death, or dying of disease. This is what kept the chicken's population stable for millions of years, it's a basic fact of life.
Currently there are ~80 billion chickens slaughtered each year by humans, though the yearly population is certainly higher than that if you count wild birds, egg laying birds, and birds not yet old enough to slaughter. How could we possibly reach this number from the estimate I gave earlier? It can only be because every chicken who would have starved in the above scenario was fed by humans. Every chicken who would have been eaten by wild animals before adulthood was protected by humans. Every chicken who would have fallen sick was cured and healed by humans. The fact that the chicken was exceptionally tasty to another species was its greatest evolutionary benefit.
Most importantly, eaten chickens has reduced the suffering of chickens globally by a drastic amount
