Lesson video

Hello and welcome to this lesson on the use of animals for food.

I am Miss Kendrick and in this lesson we are going to be looking at farming methods that are used to produce meat.

We're going to be looking at Christian views on animals for food as well as Islamic and humanist views as well, and we're going to be applying some of those ethical theories.

Now in this lesson, we are going to be talking about animals being killed for meat, and the treatment of animals as well.

So, this might be a sensitive topic for you.

And if it is, then please do the rest of this lesson with a trusted adult nearby who can support you.

For this lesson, you're going to need a pen or pencil, a different coloured pen or pencil to make corrections in additions to your work, and some paper as well.

So we're going to start by looking at some key concepts and if you've been doing these lessons and this unit along with me, then you'll be familiar with some of these already.

I'm going to give you a little recap of each of them and the one we've got at the bottom in bold is going to be a new one for you if you are just doing this unit.

So firstly, you've got khalifah, which is the Islamic word for steward.

So in Islam, there is the belief that Muslims will be judged on whether or not they've been good stewards of the world because they believe the world belongs to Allah.

We've also got this word stewardship here as well because that's relevant to Christian views about the world, that is the teaching to rule over every living creature and to care for the world.

So many Christians will believe that stewardship's a really important part of their responsibility.

We've got sanctity of life.

Now this links more to Christian views about human life, but I'm mentioning it in here because many Christians would argue that human life is more important than animal life.

And so that might raise the question of how we can treat animals.

So the sanctity of life is the belief that all life is human life, is sacred because it's made by God.

We've got the idea of dominion here.

It's a Christian idea that humans have a rule over creation.

So that's very different to stewardship or khalifah 'cause it's the idea that you can do anything you want.

And there is not an idea of dominion in Islam, it's just in Christianity.

We've got utilitarianism, which is the ethical theory which says that we should do the action that brings about the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

And this is a non-religious ethical theory.

And I've made my way down the list to Halal.

So you might be familiar with the term Halal, especially if you've been doing the Islamic practises or the Islamic beliefs unit.

Now the word halal simply means lawful or permitted.

And it's often used to refer to meat that is allowed under Islamic food laws.

So an important thing to remember with the word halal, is that it doesn't mean food law, but food that is considered lawful is often known as halal.

You might see halal butchers and things like that.

Things that are forbidden, including certain food is called haram.

So certain food under Islamic law would be known as haram.

And Islamic food laws outline which animals can be eaten, as well as how they're slaughtered, and how they should be treated in their lives, and we're going to look at this in a little bit more detail later on in the lesson.

But first, you're going to pause the video and see if you can write down some definitions for these key terms. So what are some of the challenges when it comes to using animals for food? Well, we're going to look at three main challenges.

Those are not going to be the only ones, but these are the three ones that are most often referred to.

Firstly, we've got the issue of battery farmed or intensively farmed animals.

So this is when animals are packed into very small spaces.

And these animals will often be kept in these spaces for their entire lives.

So if you imagine and A4 piece of paper, a battery farmed hen may spend its entire life in a cage with the amount of a A4 piece of paper to move around in.

Now, this means that animals in those situations are often disease-ridden.

So a disease spreads very rapidly at such a high concentration with animals.

The animals themselves are often deformed from not being able to move around.

And in the case of chickens, many chickens that are bred for meat are bred so that they will be really big and have lots of meat on them, but that means that they're legs don't develop quickly enough and they're often unable to walk as well.

Now as the human population has grown, the demand for meat has really risen.

And so, lots and lots of farms have taken on these methods to provide cheap meat for people.

And although standards vary around the world, farms which intensively farm animals keep them in conditions that we often wouldn't accept for our family pets, for example.

And that lots of people would consider to be very, very cruel.

Due to our farming practises, chickens are now actually the most numerous bird in the whole world.

There's more chickens than there are birds of any other species.

And about 70% of those chickens only live for 45 days.

In horrendously overcrowded conditions.

So they're bred to grow fast and then to die.

So many people would object to these farming methods, because they would say that they are cruel to the animals and they would also often say that it doesn't produce good quality food either, and that lots of people who can't afford to buy better quality food end up eating this meat, which isn't actually very healthy.

Animal welfare, generally, is another challenge when it comes to the question of whether or not it's ethical to eat meat.

So even in scenarios where animals are free-range, where they're well looked after, where they've got space to roam around and present natural behaviours, lots of people would still say that it's unethical for them to be killed for meat.

And this is because animals are sentient beings.

What that means is that they have an ability to think, not in the same level as humans, but they can express emotions, such as fear, and they can feel pain.

I'm sure all you need to do is take your cat or dog or whatever pet you've got to the vet and you see how frightened they can be.

And so lots of people would argue that it is unethical to kill animals for meat because they would say that animals are thinking, feeling beings, in a similar way to humans.

And finally, in recent years, one of the biggest challenges to eating meat has come from climate change activists.

This is because research has shown that changing our diet could be the one of the biggest ways to impact climate change.

This is because rearing animals for meat requires more energy than growing crops, and lots of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere when rearing animals.

So for example, huge areas of rainforest is cleared regularly to provide grazing for cattle.

Lots and lots of crops are used to feed animals to be killed for meat, rather than go directly to humans.

So this is why you might have seen lots of people giving up meat or reducing how much meat and dairy they eat because they believe that that's going to be the best way that an individual can respond to the challenges of climate change.

So what we're going to do now is you're going to pause and answer a few questions on the challenges that we face when it comes to deciding whether or not it's ethical to use animals for food.

So some Christians argue that the Genesis story suggests that Adam and Eve were originally vegetarians in the Garden of Eden.

And this is because in the creation story, there's a verse that's from God that says, I have given you every grain and every fruit from the trees to have as your food, and says that the leaves and the plants are given to animals for their food.

So some Christians believe in a pre-fallen world.

So before Adam and Eve sinned, humans were vegetarians.

Additionally, Adam is told to rule over living creatures and all the animals are brought to him for him to name them.

And this is where we've got Christian ideas about stewardship, that there's a responsibility to care for animals and care for creation.

We can also argue that animals are part of God's creation, so many Christians would say that if they're created by God, they are valuable in and of themselves, and therefore they shouldn't be killed.

But what we do have in the Bible later on is that after the story of Noah and the Ark, God gives humans permission to use animals for food.

So many Christians would argue that maybe that wasn't God's original plan, but expressed permission is given for animals to be used for food.

And then later in the Old Testament, animals are used for ritual sacrifice, and this is something that is commanded by God.

So many Christians would say again, that if God has commanded the ritual sacrifice of animals which were then divided and used for meat for food, then they would say that that would be an acceptable thing to do.

And finally, Christians follow Jesus's example and on many occasions, Jesus is referred to as eating fish in particular.

So if Jesus, who Christians believe was the incarnation of God and the perfect example of how to live, well if he ate meat, then surely they would argue it's okay for humans to eat meat.

So here I've got two key quotations.

I've referred to them a couple of times in my explanation.

So firstly, I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.

I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat.

So that's from the creation story, when Adam and Eve are placed in the garden.

And later on, where we've got the story of Noah's Ark, and after the flood is over, God and Noah make a new covenant, a new agreement, and this is part of it.

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.

And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

So many Christians would use this verse to say that God gave humans expressed permission to eat meat, so therefore it must be ethical to use animals for food.

So we're going to pause, you're going to answer a couple of questions, and you're going to have these quotations on that slide as well to help you.

So how might Christians respond to some of those challenges we talked about when it comes to using animals for food? So many Christians will buy free-range meats if they are able to.

They say that they can ensure that that animal has not been ill-treated during its lifetime, and that it's been able to move around and not be in overcrowded conditions.

Also, many Christians may choose to reduce how much meat or dairy they eat in response to climate change, as they believe this is part of stewardship, or they might choose to completely become vegetarian or vegan.

So many Christians might be reconsidering how much they eat meat now, in a way that they might not have done in the past because of this response to climate change and these issues of stewardship.

So there's no rule in Christianity about being vegetarian.

I want to be really clear about that.

But some Christians may choose to be due to a personal choice based on some of these issues.

So now we're going to look at the Islamic views on use of animals for food.

So Islamic views will be guided by rules about what is considered halal.

So, this is a different dimension to what we've got in the Christian beliefs because in Christianity, there aren't rules about what food can be eaten and what can't, but in Islam there is.

So as I said at the beginning of the lesson, certain animals are haram, which means forbidden, including pork, which is pigs, and birds of prey.

Another part of halal food is that animals must be slaughtered in a particular way, and the animal must not have any diseases.

So that's actually going to be part of making sure that animal is treated well, because if that animal has a disease when it's slaughtered, then it can't be considered halal.

And following these food laws is a really important part of submission to Allah, which is one of those key ideas in Islam.

So we're also going to have the role of khalifah in here.

Now, the role of khalifah means that Muslims should treat animals well.

So that means they should avoid abuse, neglect, and ill-treatment.

Because that is part of being a good steward of Allah's creation.

And factory farming is seen as going against the principle of compassion.

So compassion is showing love towards other people, and also you can show compassion to animals as well, treating them in a loving way.

So factory farming is seen as going against that.

To be halal, I've already said animals must be slaughtered in a particular way.

And two aspects of this is that the throat must be cut with a sharp knife and the blood must be drained, and that it should not be done in front of other animals.

Now, many Muslims would argue that this limits the distress caused to the animal and that it's a very humane way of slaughtering them, which might be more humane than some practises at some slaughterhouses.

However, this has been controversial because some animal rights groups would argue that killing the animal by cutting their throat is less humane 'cause they might say that animal suffers more.

Because it's not stunned or anything before it is killed.

So this is actually a bit of a controversial issue, which you might've seen some newspaper reports about and things like that.

And it's a very challenging one because Muslims would say that they want to submit to Allah, and they want to follow Allah's rules about how meat is slaughtered, but they also want to make sure they are not causing unnecessary harm to the animals as well.

So they're going to want to really balance those views, and make sure they're being good khalifas, as well as keeping the food laws.

So we're going to pause for a minute so you can answers some questions on the Islamic views on using animals for food.

So we need some evidence that we can use to talk about Islamic views on using animals for food.

And I've got two pieces here.

The first one is from hadith talking about Muhammad.

And Muhammad is said to have been kind to animals and treated them respectfully.

And we've got one particular example of him requesting that eggs be returned to a nest after he saw how distressed the mother was.

And that suggests that Muhammad saw real value in these animals and recognised their ability to feel distress.

And here we've got a quotation that links to what is considered halal food.

He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah.

So we've actually got a couple of different parts of the food laws in here.

So animals that have been found and that they're already dead.

Like maybe an animal that's been killed by a predator or something like that.

They're considered forbidden.

They're not halal, they're haram.

The animal must be completely drained of its blood as well.

The flesh of swine, so we've already talked about pork being forbidden.

And that which has been dedicated to other than Allah.

So, this links to worship of idols.

So historically, where Muslims were living, lots of people, who were polytheists or non-Muslims, would sacrifice animals on an alter to another God.

So Islam forbids that that meat is eaten.

And this also links to the practise of slaughtering animals in Islam, where the person killing the animal dedicates it to God.

So I'm going to give you an opportunity to copy down these quotations and I want you to explain how they support the Islamic view.

So how are Muslims going to respond to some of those issues we looked at about using animals for food? So Muslims are only going to purchase halal meat and they will ensure that it comes from a certified, reliable halal butcher.

And that should also ensure that that animal has been well-treated because that's part of what makes the meat halal.

But some Muslims may also choose to be vegetarian.

So that might be due to climate change issues, like we've looked at previously.

It might be because they live in an area where it's very difficult for them to get halal meat.

So maybe if they live in a country where there's very few Muslims, or very few Muslims in their area, there might not be a halal butcher in their area.

In which case, they would probably eat a vegetarian diet in those circumstances.

So those are two ways in which Muslims might respond to these issues today.

We're going to look at the humanist view now.

So many humanists would argue that humans should reduce suffering, and that would include animal suffering.

Some humanists may become vegan or vegetarian, again in response to climate change, as they may argue that overall, this will bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

And again, they would argue that this fits with the principle of utilitarianism.

So utilitarianism is not just about seeking what will make people happy, it's also about reducing suffering.

And so avoiding the practise of intensive farming would help to avoid suffering, or reduce suffering.

So we're going to finish this lesson by looking at an evaluate question.

And the question we're going to look at is this statement, eating meat is unethical.

Discuss.

So you need to explain some reasons for and against this statement.

Start thinking about who would agree and who would disagree and why.

You need to use what you've learned in this lesson.

And you'll also need a conclusion which will say which side of the argument that you think is convincing.

You can refer to Christianity, Islam, and humanism in your answer, but please do refer to a religion because this is RE.

Don't just talk about humanism.

You need to talk about other religions as well.

And this question is an interesting one, because it's one where you can make distinctions in your conclusion.

So what that means is that you might say some people may agree to an extent because, or you might talk about what type of meat might be considered unethical such as that which has been intensively farmed, and which might be considered ethical.

So those are a couple of things for you to think about.

First, before we answer, I'm going to get you to pause and bullet point some ideas of what you could use for this question.

Okay, before you give writing an answer a go, just a couple of things to remind you of.

So you must use evidence in your answer.

So you've written down a couple of quotations in this lesson.

So you need to make good use of them to support what you're saying.

Remember that religious people get their views from their scriptures, okay? So even if somebody has a liberal interpretation of the Bible, for example, they're still using the Bible as a starting point for a lot of their beliefs.

So use the Bible, use the Quran to support what you're talking about.

And make sure you know which verse belongs to which religion.

You need evaluations.

Explain why one point is stronger than the other.

And you need a clear judgement in your conclusion.

And I did say earlier that you might agree to an extent, or disagree to an extent and add a bit of an explanation as to why.

That's absolutely fine, as long as you're not just writing a summary.

Oh, in conclusion, Christians think this, Muslims think that, the end.

You need to say, oh, I agree to an extent because of these reasons, but I also disagree a bit because of these reasons.

So, you need to just give a really clear judgement.

So, let's give writing a go.

Thank you so much for all of your hard work in this lesson.

I hope you found it really interesting.

Do make sure you're always practising writing those longer answers.

I know it can feel a bit long, but it's really one of the most important things you can do.

So thank you again for all of your hard work, you can now go and do the exit quiz.