--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we are not given the option to live…" description: "\"“If we are not given the option to live without violence, we are given the choice to center our meals around harvest or slaughter, husbandry or war. We..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/jonathan-safran-foer-136_choice_if-we-are-not-given-the-option-to-live-w_1759785.jpg" --- # If we are not given the option to live without violence… ![“If we are not given the option to live without violence, we are given the choice to center our meals around harvest or slaughter, husbandry or war. We have chosen slaughter. We have chosen war. That’s the truest version of our story of eating animals.” quote by Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/jonathan-safran-foer-136_choice_if-we-are-not-given-the-option-to-live-w_1759785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/jonathan-safran-foer-136_choice_if-we-are-not-given-the-option-to-live-w_1759785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/jonathan-safran-foer-136_choice_if-we-are-not-given-the-option-to-live-w_1759785.jpg) > ““If we are not given the option to live without violence, we are given the choice to center our meals around harvest or slaughter, husbandry or war. We have chosen slaughter. We have chosen war. That’s the truest version of our story of eating animals.”” [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that choosing to eat meat involves a moral choice between peaceful agriculture and violent slaughter, highlighting humanity’s complicity in animal suffering. **In simple terms:** Eating meat is a moral decision between farming and killing. Key Takeaway Consider the ethics of your diet. Themes ethics animal rights food choices Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - dietary decisions - activism - educational discussions Key Concepts Moral philosophy environmental impact consumer responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives align with your values? - Can society shift toward less violent food systems? A Different Perspective Moral choices are complex and culturally embedded. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Chosen Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chosen-slaughter-1208400/) [Eating animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-animals/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Given Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-choice/) [Slaughter Chosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaughter-chosen-1208398/) [Slaughter Husbandry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaughter-husbandry-1208399/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [If we are not given the option to live without violence, we are given the choice to center our meals around harvest or slaughter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/if-we-are-not-given-the-option-to-live-without-violence-we-are-given/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Almost always when I told someone I was writing a book about "eating animals", they assumed, even without knowing anything about my views, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/almost-always-when-i-told-someone-i-was-writing-a-book-about-eating/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [We need a better way to talk about eating animals, a way that doesn't ignore, or even just shruggingly accept things like habits, cravings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/we-need-a-better-way-to-talk-about-eating-animals-a-way-that-doesn-t/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Language is never fully trustworthy, but when it comes to eating animals, words are as often used to misdirect and camouflage as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/language-is-never-fully-trustworthy-but-when-it-comes-to-eating/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Cruelty...prefers abstraction. 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I liked the way it felt to have someone look for me, to hear my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/one-day-i-wandered-away-from-her-and-hid-i-liked-the-way-it-felt-to/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [If nothing matters, there's nothing to save.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/if-nothing-matters-there-s-nothing-to-save/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“It was one of the best days of my life, a day during which I lived my life and didn't think about it at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/it-was-one-of-the-best-days-of-my-life-a-day-during-which-i-lived-my/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“The appearance was misleading- human dreams; rubbish heaps abundant yet ephemeral sudden and splendid, only to wilt and perish”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-appearance-was-misleading-human-dreams-rubbish-heaps-abundant-yet/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“the entirety of human society and moral progress represents an explicit transcendence of what’s “natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-entirety-of-human-society-and-moral-progress-represents-an/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Food is not so much a symbol of freedom as the first requirement of freedom. 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Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. 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