Some of the greatest human minds seemed to think so:
For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.
PythagorasWhat I think about vivisection is that if people admit that they have the right to take or endanger the life of living beings for the benefit of many, there will be no limit to their cruelty.
Leo TolstoyOur task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.
Albert EinsteinNothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
Albert EinsteinNon-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
Thomas EdisonThe greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mahatma GandhiIn their behavior toward creatures, all men are Nazis. Human beings see oppression vividly when they're the victims. Otherwise they victimize blindly and without a thought.
Isaac Bashevis SingerWhile we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth?
George Bernard ShawAtrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research.
George Bernard ShawFeel free to comment regarding the question posed in the thread title and the quotes shared in the O.P. as well as sharing any other quotes by great minds on the subject.Living Graves
By George Bernard Shaw
We are the living graves of murdered beasts,
Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites.
We never pause to wonder at our feasts,
If animals, like men, can possibly have rights.
We pray on Sundays that we may have light,
To guide our footsteps on the path we tread.
We’re sick of War, we do not want to fight –
The thought of it now fills our hearts with dread,
And yet – we gorge ourselves upon the dead.
Like carrion crows, we live and feed on meat,
Regardless of the suffering and pain
We cause by doing so, if thus we treat
Defenseless animals for sport or gain,
How can we hope in this world to attain
The PEACE we say we are so anxious for.
We pray for it, o’er hecatombs of slain,
To God, while outraging the moral law.
Thus cruelty begets its offspring – WAR
I appreciate that this is a sensitive topic but can we all please, please, please maintain a level of civility and respect for one another that is becoming of Avalon as well as making every effort to stay on topic : I feel this subject is too important to be reduced to another "food fight" as Fred so aptly put it previously.