On the “Value” of Non-Human Life
Society teaches us that the intrinsic value of a chicken is not on a par with a human child. That belief does not negate the value of that non-human life. There are many ways that we are positively equal: in our ability to suffer (all animals possess highly developed central nervous systems), in our sentience (cognitive awareness of our existence), in our ability to fear, in our desire to live (and none of us will willfully give up our lives when victimized). Animals are also emotionally complex and socially wired. All of these aforementioned traits have been scientifically established and proven (resources below). They don’t need to communicate in the manner that we do. They don’t need to use sophisticated technology.
Intelligence shouldn’t even be an issue, since we do not deny mentally challenged humans less rights and treatment than geniuses. With that said, animals possess many markers of impressive intelligence, such as problem solving, tool usage, reasoning, counting, tracking and the list goes on and on.
With the overwhelming scientific consensus of sentience and animals’ ability to suffer excruciating pain and loss as a result of their objectification, the vegan message of causing as little harm as possible, whenever feasibly possible, is not only valid, but it is just.
On Sentience:
Scientific acceptance of animal sentience was documented in 2012 by the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, a prominent international group of cognitive neuroscientists, neuropharmacologists, neurophysiologists, neuroanatomists and computational neuroscientists. http://fcmconference.org/img/CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf
After 2,500 Studies, It’s Time to Declare Animal Sentience Proven:
http://www.livescience.com/39481-time-to-declare-animal-sentience.html
http://www.livescience.com/49093-animals-have-feelings.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201306/universal-declaration-animal-sentience-no-pretending
https://www.ciwf.org.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2009/b/boyle_2009_neuroscience_and_animal_sentience.pdf