--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is increasing social concern about…" description: "\"There is increasing social concern about our use of nonhumans for experiments, food, clothing and entertainment. This concern about animals reflects bo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/gary-l-francione-8902_animal_there-is-increasing-social-concern-about_327104.jpg" --- # There is increasing social concern about our use of… ![“There is increasing social concern about our use of nonhumans for experiments, food, clothing and entertainment. This concern about animals reflects both our own moral development as a civilization and our recognition that the differences between humans and animals are, for the most part…” quote by Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/gary-l-francione-8902_animal_there-is-increasing-social-concern-about_327104.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/gary-l-francione-8902_animal_there-is-increasing-social-concern-about_327104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/gary-l-francione-8902_animal_there-is-increasing-social-concern-about_327104.jpg) > “There is increasing social concern about our use of nonhumans for experiments, food, clothing and entertainment. This concern about animals reflects both our own moral development as a civilization and our recognition that the differences between humans and animals are, for the most part, differences of degree and not of kind.” [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal concern for animal use signals moral progress and acknowledges humans and animals differ mainly in degree, not kind. **In simple terms:** Animal welfare concerns show moral growth. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on our shared moral responsibilities. Themes ethics animal rights civilization development moral philosophy Mood thoughtful concerned Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - policy advocacy - consumer choices - educational campaigns - research ethics - legislative reform Key Concepts speciesism moral development rights theory Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing degree differences affect our ethical choices? - What policies best balance human and animal interests? A Different Perspective Critics argue human needs may outweigh animal considerations in some contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Humans and animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans-and-animals/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-development/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Recognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognition/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) ## Related quotes > [“In sum, reliance on cognitive characteristics beyond sentience to justify the use of nonhumans in experiments requires either that we assume that these characteristics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francione-gary-l/in-sum-reliance-on-cognitive-characteristics-beyond-sentience-to/) [Francione, Gary L](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francione-gary-l/) > [If our system continues without modification involving environmental and social concern, we will face an economic and social break down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/if-our-system-continues-without-modification-involving-environmental-2/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [If our system continues without modification involving environmental and social concern, we will face an economic and social breakdown of our outdated monetary and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/if-our-system-continues-without-modification-involving-environmental/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [“Like I said before, Rudy says, it's all about differences. Something about humans really doesn't like them, when they are the very thing we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/like-i-said-before-rudy-says-it-s-all-about-differences-something/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) > [“When we say that humans have a “right” not to be used for these purposes, this means simply that the interest of humans in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garylfrancione/when-we-say-that-humans-have-a-right-not-to-be-used-for-these/) [GaryLFrancione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garylfrancione/) > [ Since the 1940s, we've been saying there are no differences, we \[humans\] are all identical. We're going to know at year end if that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-enriquez/since-the-1940s-we-ve-been-saying-there-are-no-differences-we-humans/) [Juan Enriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-enriquez/) > [It is strange that you show concern about animals and endangered species, but breathenot a word about the collapse of human values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/it-is-strange-that-you-show-concern-about-animals-and-endangered/) Mak\_786 > [Our economic order is tightly woven around the exploitation of animals, and while it may seem easy to dismiss concern about animals as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/our-economic-order-is-tightly-woven-around-the-exploitation-of/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [To be well used, creatures and places must be used sympathetically, just as they must be known sympathetically to be well known...The "animal scientist"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-be-well-used-creatures-and-places-must-be-used-sympathetically/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [No consideration at all is given to the interests of the "pests" - the very word "pest" seems to exclude any concern for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/no-consideration-at-all-is-given-to-the-interests-of-the-pests-the/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Perhaps to them and their peers their ecological consciousness is a bigger sign of prestige than a fur coat. Perhaps they feel on more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavenka-drakuli/perhaps-to-them-and-their-peers-their-ecological-consciousness-is-a/) [Slavenka Drakulić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavenka-drakuli/) > [Since lawyers are thinkers and not feelers, and their moral development is locked into the rigidity of maintaining law and order, they often come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thane-rosenbaum/since-lawyers-are-thinkers-and-not-feelers-and-their-moral/) [Thane Rosenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thane-rosenbaum/) > [As blacks, we need not be afraid that encouraging moraldevelopment, a conscience and guilt will prevent social action. Black children without the ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-comer-2/as-blacks-we-need-not-be-afraid-that-encouraging-moraldevelopment-a/) James P Comer > [“A steady recognition that the evils which prevent the fullness of moral development are precisely the elements which are also the source of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/a-steady-recognition-that-the-evils-which-prevent-the-fullness-of/) [Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## More by Gary L. Francione > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Humans treat animals as things that exist as means to human ends. That's morally wrong. Sexism promotes the idea that women are things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/humans-treat-animals-as-things-that-exist-as-means-to-human-ends-that/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“The notion that animals are not self-aware is based on nothing more than a stipulation that the only way to be self-aware is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/the-notion-that-animals-are-not-self-aware-is-based-on-nothing-more/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [There is no morally coherent difference between fur and other animal clothing, such as leather, wool, etc., just as there is no morally coherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/there-is-no-morally-coherent-difference-between-fur-and-other-animal/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [We cannot talk simultaneously about animal rights and the 'humane' slaughter of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-cannot-talk-simultaneously-about-animal-rights-and-the-humane/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [We can no more justify using nonhumans as human resources than we can justify human slavery. Animal use and slavery have at least one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-can-no-more-justify-using-nonhumans-as-human-resources-than-we-can/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Because animals are property, we consider as "humane treatment" that we would regard as torture if it were inflicted on humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/because-animals-are-property-we-consider-as-humane-treatment-that-we/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Not only are the philosophies of animal rights and animal welfare separated by irreconcilable differences... the enactment of animal welfare measures actually impedes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/not-only-are-the-philosophies-of-animal-rights-and-animal-welfare/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Being vegan is easy. Are there social pressures that encourage you to continue to eat, wear, and use animal products? Of course there are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/being-vegan-is-easy-are-there-social-pressures-that-encourage-you-to/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“Sentience is a means to the end of continued existence. Sentient beings, by virtue of their being sentient, have an interest in remaining alive;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/sentience-is-a-means-to-the-end-of-continued-existence-sentient/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [It costs us so little to go vegan. It costs animals so much if we don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/it-costs-us-so-little-to-go-vegan-it-costs-animals-so-much-if-we-don-t/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [In order to be a teacher you've got to be a student first](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/in-order-to-be-a-teacher-you-ve-got-to-be-a-student-first/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defence of these uses is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-do-not-need-to-eat-animals-wear-animals-or-use-animals-for/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [But if there were two dogs left in the universe and it were up to us as to whether they were allowed to breed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/but-if-there-were-two-dogs-left-in-the-universe-and-it-were-up-to-us/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [If you are not vegan, please consider going vegan. It’s a matter of nonviolence. Being vegan is your statement that you reject violence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/if-you-are-not-vegan-please-consider-going-vegan-it-s-a-matter-of/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Explore all 77 Gary L. Francione quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is increasing social concern about our use of nonhumans for experiments, food, clothing and entertainment. This concern about animals reflects both our own moral development as a civilization and our recognition that the differences between humans and animals are, for the most part, differences of degree and not of kind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gary L. 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