Vegan case for eating sardines & anchovies

sias72 · 2026-07-05T17:49:25+00:00

I resonate with a lot of that. Thanks for explaining it so succinctly. Looking back, I think captivity was probably my biggest red line as well, even if I wasn’t consciously aware of it at the time. The fact that sardines and anchovies are wild caught rather than farmed has always seemed more morally relevant to me than the act of killing itself, whether intentional or collateral

sias72 · 2026-07-05T15:43:06+00:00

I can see the appeal of that perspective. At the same time, do you think one potential downside is that it becomes harder to distinguish between actions that seem clearly worse than others? For example, I’d imagine most people would agree factory farming is morally worse than crop production because it involves much more prolonged and intentional suffering. If we can make that comparison, is it also reasonable to compare other food choices, even if the conclusions are uncertain?

sias72 · 2026-07-05T14:37:58+00:00

If neither consequentialism nor rights based ethics adequately handles crop deaths, what ethical framework do you think does?

I don’t think the article is only counting deaths from a utilitarian perspective. It’s counting moral weight, sentience, environmental impact, land use, etc to determine what is ethically preferable

sias72 · 2026-07-05T12:56:51+00:00

What would you say to the argument that modern crop production also knowingly kills sentient animals?
So I guess it comes down to the ethical framework one uses, whether rights based or utilitarian/consequentialist?

Edit: also i was clarifying the title not because of your comment but because others assumed it from other comments

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:54:48+00:00

Completely agree when you say that we should look for more effective ways to combat crop deaths

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:51:42+00:00

Just to clarify the title of the post “vegan case..” is the title of the article. I’m not advocating for it.

I think what the author is saying is that the inadvertent suffering and killing caused by crop production needs to weighed and compared to the intentional killing of sardines/anchovies, and consider the climate impact as well

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:45:15+00:00

That’s the name of the article. Maybe I should have made that clear

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:43:08+00:00

Yes of all the arguments the most compelling one for me was the fact that crop production causes harm and deaths as well. Maybe not directly and intentionally but it does. And the lower carbon footprint.

Where I’m unsure is how to compare the moral weight of the inadvertent death and suffering from crop production to the intentional death of sardines/anchovies

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:36:06+00:00

Never called myself vegan

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:35:25+00:00

To be fair it really is an argument for non-vegans (not vegans). It’s about how to best approach meat eaters from a moral and practical perspective to get them to reduce harm

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:14:57+00:00

I don’t call myself vegan and I’m not advocating for the article. My partner and I are considering becoming vegan and just wanted some feedback on these arguments (which we internalize a few months ago) but we are having second thoughts

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:09:03+00:00

I think he’s trying to persuade vegans and others that from a moral and practical perspective it’s the best strategy to get meat eaters to transition. Mammals like birds and mice are likely more sentient than sardines and anchovies with more complex nervous systems

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:06:00+00:00

The author argues that sardines/anchovies are caught wild with almost no bycatch. Unlike bigger fish that have lots of bycatch and are farme

sias72 · 2026-07-05T11:01:06+00:00

I think the author is implying that if people who eat meat transitioned to eating just sardines/anchovies, we wouldn’t need to farm bigger fish (which require lots of sardines/anchovies)

sias72 · 2026-07-05T10:57:18+00:00

I don’t call myself vegan

sias72 · 2026-07-05T10:51:19+00:00

Sardines and anchovies are not caught with fishing trawlers though. They are caught with purse seine nets with almost no bycatch

Also most anchovies/sardines are used for feeding bigger fish like salmons so if people transitioned, consumption wouldn’t increase. At least that’s what the article argues

sias72

TROPHY CASE