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The symbolism of meat-eating is never neutral. To himself, the meat-eater seems to be eating life. To the vegetarian, he seems to be eating death.

— Mary Midgley Animals and Why They Matter (1983)

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More quotes by Mary Midgley

The notion that we "have a nature" far from threatening the concept of freedom, is absolutely essential to it.

All moral doctrine, all practical suggestions about how we ought to live, depend on some belief about what human nature is like.

Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (1979)

Let us start by considering why the attempt to glorify science on its own cannot work.

Are You an Illusion (2014)

But if it only means "likely to have many descendants," then there is no reason for treating it as an advantage at all.

Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (1979)

Selection does not work by cutthroat competition between individuals, but by favouring whatever behavior is useful to the group.

Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (1979)

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There is no love sincerer than the love of food.

George Bernard Shaw Man and Superman (1903)

If you are eating well and your condition is pure and clean, life itself becomes like the dreams or visions that you have when sleeping.

Michio Kushi Spiritual Journey: Michio Kushi's Guide to Endless Self-Realization and Freedom (1994)

Vegetarianism is an ideal way to actualize the Torah's vision of a world in which the divine spark in all creation is respected and revered.

Bonnie Koppell

Vegetarianism is a way of life that we should all move toward for economic survival, physical well-being and spiritual integrity.

Thomas Berry

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Mary Midgley (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.