Consider the intelligence of pigs as well. Even if cows, sheep, deer, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, et al. all sit below the "I don't want to eat you" cutoff point, pigs should probably be above it.
I begrudgingly agree.
Intelligence is just one thing we can consider when deciding what's morally acceptable to kill and consume. Genetic proximity to humans clearly matters to many people as well: lots of people stick to seafood and/or poultry despite the fact that octopuses and some birds can be quite intelligent.
Sociability could be a third factor. Pigs are smarter than dogs, cows are smarter than horses, but we choose not to eat dogs and horses because they more readily comprehend and obey our commands, enabling us to connect with them on a basic social level.
Sure, but it's pretty obvious that fish and chicken are very stupid animals, and those mammals are much smarter, so I'm not sure that genetic proximity is as important as you think it is. Octopuses are the only real standout here: they really are quite intelligent, which is even more remarkable because they're invertebrates. And yes, some birds are quite intelligent (like crows), but we don't eat those types of birds (probably because they're just not very good as food).
>cows are smarter than horses, but we choose not to eat dogs and horses because they more readily comprehend and obey our commands
Who's "we"? Horsemeat is very easy to find in restaurants here in Japan. It's not bad if cooked properly, but it's a lot like deer meat. Deer are pretty stupid too (probably about as smart as cows), but they aren't normally eaten either, and it's because most people just don't like the taste that much (it's "gamey"), and it's difficult to cook. Cows taste better than horses because they have a lot more fat.
Also, octopuses have been mentioned here many times, but in the US they aren't a terribly popular food item, whereas here in Japan they're very common (along with squid). So differing cultures and culinary traditions I think have a lot to do with it too, just as with horses above.
Does "smartness" carry inherent moral worth? That would be an interesting principle to hold, given what it might entail for humans.
Well that seems to be the assumption in this discussion thread.
>That would be an interesting principle to hold, given what it might entail for humans.
If you're implying that stupid people should be used as food, that's already been addressed elsewhere in this thread: cannibalism is very rare among other animals that are much stupider than us, and for good reason: there's a big risk of disease (such as prion diseases).
However, if we were visited by aliens that found humans tasty, the morality of offering up our stupidest members of society as food for them might be an interesting argument.
"Look into the eyes of a chicken and you will see real stupidity. It is a kind of bottomless stupidity, a fiendish stupidity. They are the most horrifying, cannibalistic and nightmarish creatures in the world."
Now, you still might think that not being born at all is a better alternative, of course. I'm only pointing out it's a different dilemma.
We don't look at human life in that lens, it's a whole can of worm, but we can agree that ending someone's life is viewed separately from whether that person could have not existed in the first place.
cruelty_cow = IntModifier * Animal_Intelligence /(AmountOfProvidedMeat/Deaths) * FrequencyOfEatingThisAnimal
Solve for:
Min (cruelty_cow + cruelty_pig + cruelty_octopus + ...)
Where AmountOfProvidedMeat > NeededMeatForHealthyDiet
And Cost * AmountOfProvidedMeat < Food_Budget
I've generally found that maximizing on Fish, Chicken, and Cow (in that order) seems to be the best bet. I tend not to touch veal, lamb, or octopus.
If you refuse to eat even humane veal (free to roam and milk-fed), then IMO you should refuse dairy entirely.
It might also be worth considering that the entire concept of humane dairy is questionable. It depends on separating mothers from calves, and either eating the latter or weaning them at far too young an age, or both. Cows are dumb, but they're not that dumb, and more importantly they are prey mammals with strong "familial" instincts. The process is fundamentally at least somewhat cruel.
The human body is an amazing thing that is simultaneously a fucking pain in the ass. There is no "one truth" for food.