Anthropomorphism-:The attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to nonhuman organisms or inanimate objects.

It would help our discussion along, Mr Prendergast, if you didn't try to distort my side of our conversation.

>>You argue that the fuss is about the cruelty not the eating, but, as I argue in the article, why is this considered cruelty? It doesn’t seem that what the dog endured was significantly different to what other animals endure as standard practise.<<

The subtext of the dog having its throat cut by a "chronic solvent sniffer living in a humpy" surely indicates that the death was unnaturally cruel, when compared to the more clinical conditions of an abbatoir.

>>We can argue about what is “natural”<<

Again, in the context of my post - "Humans are not natural herbivores" I would have thought that we could take as read that the evolution of humans to their present state was sufficient evidence for the "natural". If you prefer to argue that "humans are not natural omnivores", then I think you would need to put forward some solid evidence to that effect.

Instead, you maintain the argument (one with which I am completely conversant, given the daily reminders from my partner) that because we are able to survive without meat, we - by definition - should survive without meat. But as you happily admit, in order to do so we have to manufacture suitable alternatives.

>>individuals with particularly high iron requirements... can take a (vegan) supplement... B12 is available in vegan supplements and fortified foods. I get mine mainly from (fortified) soy milk. It is also present in some savoury yeast flakes, mock meats etc.<<

Perhaps it is as well that you live in leafy Perth suburbia. You might have difficulty with your diet in a more "natural" environment

Thanks for your feedback @MarkB4:

‘It's intelligent to love, even the cow or carrot. :) Just treat and eat it with respect, if you have to.’

Two points relating to this in reference to a couple of my arguments. Firstly, when we’re talking about a carrot we are talking about an “it” (not sentient), but when we are talking about a cow we are talking about someone not something – not an “it” (sentient). So there is a big difference there. Also, we do not have to eat cows (or other animals). I explain these points in the article and in more detail in my comments above.

Thanks for the comments @TurnRightThenLeft:

Glad to hear you agree with the initial thesis. Regarding your conclusion that we should be able to eat dogs, I agree that if it is okay to eat pigs then it is okay to eat dogs, but I disagree that we should be eating dogs.

‘I wouldn't want to eat an animal I'd gotten to know personally, be it dog, cow or pig.’

Of course it is easier to treat someone as an object by consuming them if we haven’t got to know them. But when it comes to being a unique, sentient individual who values their own lives, the animals we’ve gotten to know personally are no different to the countless animals we never meet but whose lives are ended in brutal ways.

No worries @Atman, happy to discuss this issue with anyone who is willing to engage with it.

1) Yes, we need to eat to stay alive, but we do not need to eat animal products to stay alive. We can get more than enough protein without eating animal products. So we eat for survival, but most people choose to eat animal products for trivial reasons such as enjoyment, convenience, habit etc – there is a necessity to eat, but not to eat animal products.
2) Other animals killing each other is very different from humans killing each other. Other animals such as lions kill out of necessity, we kill other animals for trivial reasons, as I explained in point 1.
3) Yes I’m aware of articles along these lines. People need to distinguish between people who starve their baby/do not adequately provide them with nutrients, and vegans. Yes, some people do not provide their baby proper nutrition and some of these HAPPEN to be vegans - this is not BECAUSE they are vegans. Many other people who aren’t vegan also do not provide their baby with proper nutrition and this is not put down to their lack of veganism. Here are just a few of the many healthy vegan children: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren
4) When we say our dog is sad or enjoys the company of another dog I have never heard claims of anthropomorphism. Yet when similar things are said about animals we farm, this word always comes up, even though these animals lead similarly complex lives to our companion animals. Fortunately, at least according to an interview with an animal behaviourist I recently listened to, the use of this term to stop any discussion and investigation into the lives of other animals is happening less and less – and what was once dismissed as “anthropocentric” is now being embraced by nearly everyone studying animal behaviour: http://animalvoices.ca/2010/12/21/wild-justice/
5) I’m unsure about the second sentence, but yes I encourage people to not be cruel to animals but not to stop other animals harming others if they need to for survival.

*Other animals such as lions kill out of necessity, we kill other animals for trivial reasons, as I explained in point 1.*

Ah that might be lions, but species like our closest relatives,
chimpanzees, choose to eat other species, like monkeys. In fact
for chimps, they are a delicacy. Interestinly enough, the males
who are the best hunters, also get a good share of the sex!

Fact is that if people turned vegan, a whole lot of herbivores
would die a miserable death from overpopulation and starvation.
So predator species eating herbivores etc, is in fact part of
nature. Why should we go against what is natural ?

So you continue to remain confused. The issue is not death, but
suffering. If animals are farmed humanely and naturally, its a
win-win situation, for in the end, we will all be recycled, including
you.

@Yabby:

‘If we farm animals, we are are responsible for their wellbeing.’

Yes, but that doesn’t automatically mean that we should be farming them in the first place.

‘So if my dog is old and sick, is the worst thing that I can do, to have it put down? I don't think so.’

No, but this is very different to what happens in animal industries. These animals are killed far before they would otherwise live to for the sake of profit for these industries. Killing a cow because she can longer produce milk and is therefore no longer profitable for the dairy industry is very different to euthanising a dog who is chronically sick and in pain.

‘Yet all cannot survive, that is the reality of nature. There is only food for so many. Some go to err sheep heaven, but they don't know a thing about it. Given that you too will be devoured by the worms and bacteria one day, why should they be any different?’

There is nothing “natural” about confining animals for our use and we need to eat food, but not animal-based foods – see my comments above. The sheep you have shouldn’t be any different to me, just like me, they should get to live out their lives and die of natural causes, rather than having their throats slit for the sake of someone’s profit.

‘Now in a vegan world, none of those animals would have had a life at all, or perhaps as in nature, simply starve to death with overcrowding or old age. Why is that the better option?’

In a vegan world, these animals that are already here would live out their lives in an animal sanctuary and would live there until they died of natural causes. That is a better option. There would not be overcrowding, because, as you point out, we wouldn’t be breeding these animals to use and kill for animal products.

This is in response to your first comment, I will address your most recent comment separately.