The Trolley Problem

One of the classic thought-experiments in philosophy is the trolley problem. For the people that haven’t heard of it before:

Imagine an empty trolley running out of control down a track. In its path are five people. The trolley will kill those five people unless you pull a lever and change the direction of the tracks. However, the new path leads to a person standing alone. Whoever the trolley hits is sure to be killed. Do you pull the lever?

It’s an interesting, but morbid, conversation starter. 

Now I’ll give you another problem, an alternative trolley problem more relevant to this blog…

Imagine an empty trolley running out of control down a track. In its path is nothing, absolutely nothing. To make this realistic, let’s say eventually the trolley would hit a wall but the wall is strong enough to withstand the impact of the trolley so no damage would be done. Alternatively you can pay the operator of the tracks £5 to change the direction of the trolley. The new path leads directly to a cow and the trolley would hit and kill the cow. Do you pay the operator?

I can’t take credit for this thought-experiment, I found this meme on Reddit: 

This meme hits the vegan nail on the vegan head.

When I asked (non-vegan) Wonderful Husband what he would do, he said that he would do nothing, and then he added…

“because you’d have to be sadistic to hit the cow.”

OK maybe he didn’t say it in a way that deserves bold, red font. But he said it!

He’s a non-vegan speaking the vegan truth. Although he didn’t like it when I extended the vegan thought-experiment to the supermarket… 

Do you see the similarities in paying the operator and paying a supermarket? Both cause unnecessary death. If you do see similarities that make you feel a bit strange then maybe consider putting your money towards cruelty-free foods at the supermarket. For example, don’t eat dead cow burgers, you could try a different kind of burger…

Mushroom-Quinoa Burger

This is my absolute favourite burger at the moment.
We make them in bulk and freeze them. To me they
taste quite meaty (but I haven’t had meat in over 10
years so my opinion might be slightly void).

Sweetcorn & Chickpea Burger

This is another tasty go-to burger for Wonderful Husband
and I. We make it at least once a month and it’s super healthy,
unless you melt Violife cheese on top of the burger like me.

Portobello & Peach Burger

These burgers are quite a lot of faff to make, but
if you don’t mind faff then you should totally go
for it because they are super tasty (and juicy!).

Blackbean Burger

We haven’t tried these burgers yet, but they are supposed
to be incredibly healthy so I’ll have to make some
time for them one day.

BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich

Pulled pork is one of Wonderful Husband’s favourite foods
so these sandwiches are definitely a high priority for us to try. 

Green Goddess Pesto Burger

I LOVE PESTO! Who doesn’t love pesto? You don’t exist.
Pesto + Burger = Love.

All burger photos have been stolen from their corresponding linked website.

 

So finally, I’m super interested to know what you’d do. Would you pay the operator and kill the cow or would you let the trolley keep going (and instead go home to make one of the yummy burgers listed above)? I’m looking forward to reading your comments below. 

Thanks for reading 💚