[PHI 2200] Is it wrong to eat animals?

Loren Lomasky gave a talk at St. John's University, titled "Is It Wrong to Eat Animals?," the other day. In support of the claim that it is not morally wrong to eat meat, Lomasky put forth the following reasons:

1. Meat tastes good.
2. Most people like eating meat.
3. Meat is a key ingredient in any cuisine.
4. We don't really know whether animals feel pain or not.
5. For animals that are bred and raised for slaughter, their existence is better than no existence.

Are these good reasons to think that eating animals is morally permissible? What do you think?

[PHI 2200] Singer on fat shaming

Peter Singer argues in favor of "fat shaming" or "public policies that discourage weight gain." In particular, he thinks that overweight people should pay extra for air travel, since "in terms of the airplane's fuel consumption, it is all the same whether the extra weight is baggage or body fat."

What do you think?

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[PHI 3000] What is knowledge? Look it up!

According to Merriam-Webster Online, know (verb) means:

Do any of these (1a/1b/2a/2b) make for a good definition of propositional knowledge (i.e., knowing that p)?