Let Them Eat Hake? Nussbaum and Veganism

There’s a tension at the heart of Justice for Animals. 1 Some humans, says Nussbaum, can realize important capabilities only through consuming certain animal products—through not adopting a vegan diet. Consequently, the entitlements of some humans conflict with the entitlements that the capabilities approach grants to the animals these humans (would) eat. After all, animal agriculture almost invariably involves killing animals, violating animals’ bodily integrity, controlling animals’ life prospects and affiliations, and limiting animals’ ability to sense, reason, and play. Is this tragic conflict resolvable? Or must we accept that one group—certain humans or certain animals—lose out?