“Meat is Murder”?

One day I passed a restaurant with protesters standing in front of it holding up signs saying, “Meat is Murder.” A generation ago it was unthinkable that people would question the consumption of animal meat. But now it looks like there are more and more people condemning it. Where there is freedom of speech everybody can think and say what they want. Still there are unwritten laws of logic against which any viewpoint has to stand the test:

When people make a claim that meat is murder they are equating the killing of animals with killing of men. They are basically saying man and animal are equal with the same right to exist, that there is no difference in the being of an animal and a human. But if this line of reason is carried out further and the killing of an animal is considered a crime as the killing of man is, there are some strange results: What about carnivorous animals? Is that ok that they kill other animals to make a living while it is not ok for mankind to kill animals for eating? And if it is not right for human beings to kill animals this has to count not only for certain animals but for all. So then what about insects etc.? Does mankind put guilt on himself if he – accidently or not – steps on an ant and kills it? Man could not survive a single day without committing a major crime against the life of an animal. What about bacteria?

If the worldview that makes a claim like “Meat is Murder” has no proper answer to the previous questions, it simply doesn’t hold water. It doesn’t make sense and, therefore, is wrong. It is not just a matter if one likes the worldview that condemns killing animals because it is modern or appears to bear empathy. If this worldview is not logical, people who are following it have no right to condemn others who are eating meat.