Do only human interests matter morally, or is the natural world intrinsically valuable?

Is the
environment valuable only because human beings value it? In your view, is our current treatment of
animals, in particular, factory farming, morally legitimate? Should animals have rights?

I believe that the natural world is intrinsically valuable and matters morally. I do not believe that is only
because humans’ value it. There are many things that occur within nature that we rely on and
contribute to our lives like pollination, water purification, food and materials for shelter and
medications. I read a great article on Mongabay.com, “What does Nature give us?” that discusses what
nature gives us and the importance of those things to human life. The resources that the natural world
provides are not free and are not unlimited. We have to respect that and be aware of the extent of our
impact has on the natural world. There are many ways that as humans, we can get what we need from
the natural world without causing excessive amounts of damage. The article, “Conservation needs to
recognize nature’s intrinsic value, researchers say” discusses that “80% of the Earth’s land mass is
influenced by human activity. ‘Habitat loss and the introduction of non-native species are having a
tremendous impact on plants and animals,’ said Vucetich. ‘If conservation policies are guided solely by
human interests, then we’re dishonoring the moral value of those creatures’” (Oregonstate.edu).

I do not believe that our current treatment of animals in factor farming is morally legitimate. Animals
have a moral worth and humans should respect their moral worth. The animals in factory farms are
usually raised in inhumane, horrific conditions until they are sent to slaughter where they are put
through extreme amounts of stress and anxiety. The animals that are born and raised within these
factory farms don’t just suffer for a few hours or days but their entire lives. These animals possess many
of the same attributes as humans such as their ability experience emotions and to feel pain. This ability
to experience and feel pain is not considered. These animals should have rights just as humans do.
According to Huemer, “At a minimum, we ought to refrain from inflicting enormous pain and suffering
on other beings for the sake of obtaining comparatively small gastronomic pleasures. This is a special
case of the general principle that one should not cause extremely bad things to happen in order to
obtain small benefits for oneself” (cato-unbound.org). Huemer continues on to state “We not only
should avoid directly torturing other creatures; we also should not pay other people for such torture.
One does not avoid responsibility for a wrong doing by outsourcing it to others” (cato-unbound.org).
Forcing the animals to exist is the conditions they do is torture to the animals and violates our ethical
standards of how we should treat animals as well as our moral obligation to the animals.

Works Cited

"Conservation Needs To Recognize Nature's Intrinsic Value, Researchers Say". Life At OSU, 2020,
https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2015/feb/conservation-needs-recognize-nature%E2%80%99s-
intrinsic-value-researchers-say.

"Does Nature Have Value Beyond What It Provides Humans?". The Conversation, 2020,
https://theconversation.com/does-nature-have-value-beyond-what-it-provides-humans-47825.

Hance, Jeremy. "What Does Nature Give Us? A Special Earth Day Article". Mongabay Environmental
News, 2020, https://news.mongabay.com/2011/04/what-does-nature-give-us-a-special-earth-day-
article/#:~:text=Everything%20humans%20have%20needed%20to,such%20as%20climate%20and
%20nutrients.
Huemer, Michael. "What Do Humans Owe Animals?". Cato Unbound, 2020, https://www.cato-
unbound.org/print-issue/2596.