Slave Welfare and Animal Welfare

I was talking with Sherry Colb yesterday and she referred to a post she had written some time ago. See here. The post provides an innovative interpretation of the biblical sources for the Rabbinic teaching that meat is not to be consumed with dairy. As Colb says, “I want to propose that we interpret ‘do not cook a kid in his mother's milk’ to mean that we should not be consuming baby animals and, ultimately, any animals at all.” She builds on that verse and, she argues, that since we reject the biblical toleration of slavery among other things, we must adapt Biblical teachings to modern times and must necessarily be selective about its moral teachings. Her post contains eloquent discussions about the treatment of animals and an interesting comparison of slave welfarism and animal welfarism. The post ends with a chilling disclosure about her family history. Well worth reading.