Slaughterhouse Workers
Upon discussing the ethical implications of animal agriculture, common questions arise when it comes to the slaughtherhouse workers and others who work with animal products (such as meat-renderers), and the ethical implications in regards to them. Firstly, there are talks as to how much moral blame falls onto the workers, since they are the ones who are choosing to work such jobs. The other concern comes in the form of adding an extra layer of immorality when we consider how buying animal products in lieu of vegan products effectively forces the workers to endure terrible conditions at these jobs instad of something less horrible.
This article will go over both of these concerns, as well as others.
Do Slaughterhouse Workers Deserve Blame?
It seems intuitive that the people working in the slaughterhouses shoulder some of the blame and cruelty that happens to the animals. But ultimately, they have little if any moral responsibility for what goes on.
Most slaughterhouse workers are not sadists who want to work there because they enjoy suffering they work there often because they don't have any other choice. In the United States, roughly half of slaughterhouse workers are migrant workers from Latin America, often without practical skills, education, or fluency in English. And they also often have families to feed and provide for. On the outside, it's easy to look at this and be appalled and just think they should find other avenues of work, but without really understanding their situation, it is not very fair to pass judgement onto them.
This doesn't necessarily apply to just those who don't have a choice, it applies generally to the vast majority who work there. An argument can be made that, if the slaughterhouse worker chose not to work there, that would be a huge hit to animal agriculture. The issue with that comes in the form of, if one person doesn't do it, someone else will. And given how this is a low-skilled job that pretty much any able-bodied person can do, if one person doesn't work the job, someone else will just come in and take it. Arguably, it's better for a person who isn't willing to work there but does so out of necessity to take the job over someone willing, since the latter is more likely to be a sadistic or mentally unstable person who wants an avenue for unleashing their cruel urges and tendences.
Does this mean the slaughterhouse worker has absolutely no blame? Unlikely. The slaughterhouse worker, even if it is extremely likely to be replaced by someone else, does bear a very, very small amount of responsibility, since there is a non-zero chance that exists that the job would remain vacant. But ultimately, the vast majority of the blame when it comes to animal suffering on farms ultimately come down to the consumer. If it weren't for the consumers continually buying and demanding these products, they wouldn't have to take these jobs, and would instead take something else related to food, as meat will be replaced by plant-based options.
Some may employ a reverse-Nuremburg Defense and argue something along the lines of, the workers are the ones who should shoulder the blame, since they're the ones doing the killing and the people buying the products are just giving them the orders. A less egregious form of this, common amongst anti-capitalists, is that the corporations who own the slaughterhouses and operations shelter most if not all the blame.
Now, there are instances where a slaughterhouse worker deserves blame, such as being excessively cruel beyond what is required of them. It often happens because of the stress of working in such places, and they choose to take it out on the animals. Equally, there are instances where the workers could actually be given some moral credit, if they make an effort to minimize the suffering to the animals in any way they can.
Welfare of Slaughterhouse Workers
Working in a slaughterhouse as one can imagine, is not a very pleasant experience, and workers frequently leave these jobs with PTSD and other forms of trauma.
As discussed earlier, these people often take such horrible jobs as a necessity to feed their families, and these jobs exist because people are creating demand for them. If people stopped patronizing the animal agriculture industry, they'd still be buying food. Instead of beef burgers, people will eat veggie burgers, creating jobs for these people in a Veggie burger factory. As a bonus, they won't be traumatized and morally desensitized.
