Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics Kenneth R

THE PALGRAVE MACMILLAN ANIMAL ETHICS SERIES Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics Kenneth R. Valpey The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series Series Editors Andrew Linzey Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics Oxford, UK Priscilla N. Cohn Pennsylvania State University Villanova, PA, USA Associate Editor Clair Linzey Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics Oxford, UK In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the ethics of our treatment of animals. Philosophers have led the way, and now a range of other scholars have followed from historians to social scientists. From being a marginal issue, animals have become an emerging issue in ethics and in multidisciplinary inquiry. Tis series will explore the challenges that Animal Ethics poses, both conceptually and practically, to traditional understandings of human-animal relations. Specifcally, the Series will: • provide a range of key introductory and advanced texts that map out ethical positions on animals • publish pioneering work written by new, as well as accomplished, scholars; • produce texts from a variety of disciplines that are multidisciplinary in character or have multidisciplinary relevance. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14421 Kenneth R. Valpey Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics Kenneth R. Valpey Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Oxford, UK Te Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series ISBN 978-3-030-28407-7 ISBN 978-3-030-28408-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28408-4 © Te Editor(s) (if applicable) and Te Author(s) 2020. Tis book is an open access publication. Open Access Tis book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. Te images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. Te use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Te publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Te publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional afliations. Cover illustration: Filip Cargonja; released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) Tis Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG Te registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For all who would care more for our kin, including kine In the memory of my preceptor, Swami Prabhupada, whose care begins to sprout within me Series Editors’ Preface Tis is a new book series for a new feld of inquiry: Animal Ethics. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the ethics of our treatment of animals. Philosophers have led the way, and now a range of other scholars have followed from historians to social scientists. From being a marginal issue, animals have become an emerging issue in ethics and in multidisciplinary inquiry. In addition, a rethink of the status of animals has been fueled by a range of scientifc investigations which have revealed the complexity of animal sentiency, cognition, and awareness. Te ethical implications of this new knowledge have yet to be properly evaluated, but it is becoming clear that the old view that animals are mere things, tools, machines, or commodities cannot be sustained ethically. But it is not only philosophy and science that are putting animals on the agenda. Increasingly, in Europe and the United States, animals are becoming a political issue as political parties vie for the “green” and “animal” vote. In turn, political scientists are beginning to look again at the history of political thought in relation to animals, and historians are beginning to revisit the political history of animal protection. vii viii Series Editors’ Preface As animals grow as an issue of importance, so there have been more collaborative academic ventures leading to conference volumes, special journal issues, indeed new academic animal journals as well. Moreover, we have witnessed the growth of academic courses, as well as university posts, in Animal Ethics, Animal Welfare, Animal Rights, Animal Law, Animals and Philosophy, Human-Animal Studies, Critical Animal Studies, Animals and Society, Animals in Literature, Animals and Religion—tangible signs that a new academic discipline is emerging. “Animal Ethics” is the new term for the academic exploration of the moral status of the non-human—an exploration that explicitly involves a focus on what we owe animals morally, and which also helps us to understand the infuences—social, legal, cultural, religious, and political—that legitimate animal abuse. Tis series explores the challenges that Animal Ethics poses, both conceptually and practically, to traditional understandings of human–animal relations. Te series is needed for three reasons: (i) to provide the texts that will service the new university courses on animals; (ii) to support the increasing number of students studying and academics researching in animal-related felds, and (iii) because there is currently no book series that is a focus for multidisciplinary research in the feld. Specifcally, the series will: • provide a range of key introductory and advanced texts that map out ethical positions on animals; • publish pioneering work written by new, as well as accomplished, scholars, and • produce texts from a variety of disciplines that are multidisciplinary in character or have multidisciplinary relevance. Te new Palgrave Macmillan Series on Animal Ethics is the result of a unique partnership between Palgrave Macmillan and the Ferrater Mora Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Te series is an integral part of the mission of the Centre to put animals on the intellectual agenda by facilitating academic research and publication. Te series is also a natural complement to one of the Centre’s other major projects, the Journal of Animal Ethics. Te Centre is an independent “think tank” for Series Editors’ Preface ix the advancement of progressive thought about animals and is the frst Centre of its kind in the world. It aims to demonstrate rigorous intellectual enquiry and the highest standards of scholarship. It strives to be a world-class center of academic excellence in its feld. We invite academics to visit the Centre’s Web site www.oxfordani- malethics.com and to contact us with new book proposals for the series. Oxford, UK Andrew Linzey Villanova, USA Priscilla N. Cohn General Editors Foreword As human populations have increased, so also the need for food has increased. With the global introduction of mechanized agriculture, the demand for and consumption of meat have grown, in both total and per person. Today, it is estimated that 56 billion land animals are killed for food every year, including 800,000 cows every day around the world (www.sentientmedia.org). Because so few people have direct contact with the process of food production, it can be all too easy to ignore the tremendous amount of sufering inficted on animals for the sake of human sustenance and, in many instances, human vanity, luxury, and status. Tis book ofers important insight into what might be done in terms of awareness of this problem and describes possible small-scale solu- tions. As Margaret Mead once commented, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, organized citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” For many centuries, the cow has been deemed sacred in India and advocates for vegetarianism have been quite efective in developing a healthy cuisine that does not include meat, fsh, or eggs. In terms of harm reduction to both the xi xii Foreword animals and the human body itself, plant-based diets have grown in popularity throughout the world. Vegetarianism can be a complex undertaking. Important leaders of modern India, including Dayananda Saraswati, M. K. Gandhi, and B. R. Ambedkar advocated adoption of a meat-free diet, each for dif- ferent reasons. However, Gandhi asserted that one should allow oneself to be killed for the protection of the cow, but must not kill in order to defend a cow. Some would argue that even the gifts of the cow such as milk and ghee and by-products such as cheese and yogurt must be abandoned because of the inevitable maltreatment of the cow and the possible ill efects to human health of a dairy-heavy diet. Tis book employs the ethical decision-making processes of three contemporary thinkers in outlining the case for cow protection. Philosopher Vrinda Dalmiya expands the ethics of care developed by Carol Gilligan to include the non-human realm. Political scientist Jonathan Haidt posits that loyalty and sanctity must be included with care, along with reliance on reliable data. Teologian Larry Rasmussen advocates the formation of anticipatory communities that demonstrate the possibility of enhanced goodness.

Load more