Davis Post 5 (Week 6)

In chapter 4 of Eating Animals, "Hiding/Seeking," a distinct example of the "loaded question fallacy" is manifested through a proposition given to readers by "the last poultry farmer," and serves as a conclusion to not only the farmer's personal account, but the chapter as a whole. In an effort to reinforce his opinion that the life of an animal is far more significant than its means of death, the anonymous farmer offers a personal experience detailing the unfortunate events surrounding the birth of his nephew's child. The nephew and his wife were told their child would not survive as soon as it was born, and were only briefly able to experience holding their daughter before she passed. The farmer continues, saying "they just thanked the Lord she was alive, even it was only for twenty minutes," and concluded with the loaded question: "so how you gonna approach that?" Providing an answer that disagrees with the farmer's thesis on suffering/perception in relation to animals without appearing impersonal and cold simply isn't possible. You may readily disagree with and argue against his point, but because he directly illustrates it with such a personal tragedy, any answer differing from his own view would result in severely disparaged credibility.