So you’ve heard about species, but have you heard about speciesism? Speciesism is the idea of human supremacy, a belief that humans are the superior creatures, giving us the right to exploit and discriminate against other animals for our own benefit. As defined in Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, it is “ a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of other species.” Unfortunately, this toxic mentality is extremely common in today’s society. It is normalized for animals to be imprisoned, used for experiments and tests, and slaughtered all for the benefit of humans. This treatment of animals then leads to a debate over “morality” and the “moral importance” of animals. Supporters of speciesism resort to the argument that “morality is an opinion” as their reasoning behind the torture of animals. This often has negative impacts, as it changes the unfair treatment of animals from a fact to an opinion.
The concept of speciesism also includes favoring particular animals over others when it comes to treatment. There has often been discrimination against certain animals, as seen through a prominent division of animal groups. Many have made distinctions between what they view as food and what they view as pets. Animals such as chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs, and fish fall into the “food” category, where they are severely exploited and tortured. When confronted about these practices, people often refer to their personal desires, needs, and interests. The same people who classify certain animals as food also classify their pet as a member of their family. Why are certain animals favored over others? Why is the slaughter of particular animals justified? These are all questions that we should ask ourselves when considering our choices.
Sadly, society perpetuates these norms and divisions of animal groups to young children. We are not always taught about how animals are actually treated. We go to zoos and aquariums to view locked up animals as a form of entertainment. We are steeped in this belief that human impulses outweigh animal rights. It’s time to change that. No animal deserves to be exploited or mistreated for human benefit.
Now you’ve heard about speciesism, and why we should not support it. As humans, there's so much we can do to overthrow speciesism. You might be surprised how little things like washing your hair and going to the zoo negatively impact animals everyday.
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