[slimsag]

I see this type of thinking a lot - where someone assumes that 'in a good natural environment' all animals are just peacefully living their lives and thriving. And to some extent, sure, animals in a rain-forest are gonna thrive better than in an industrial wasteland.

People have a romantic view of nature. Nature is fucking _brutal_, unforgiving, and horrific. Starving to death, living with severe infections, broken limbs, chunks of flesh missing, and hopefully reproducing before you meet your fate - that's how most animals in nature live out their lives.

As humans, we've gained the unique ability to greatly control not only our environment, but also other living creatures' environments, and 'unnatural' is not inherently bad. Nature is, more often than not, extremely horrific for living things.

Could we live in a decent environment, where the food paste we eat tastes pretty good and keeps you at optimal health - somewhere between starving and overweight? certainly possible, some pet owners do this. But that's not natural, that's just 'optimal for long-term health' - which is only one input to life happiness.