Regarding Bob Stevens’ response to Rifkin’s editorial “A Change of Heart About Animals”, I would like to point out that Stevens’ arguments are quite weak. Most noticeable is Stevens’ overt use of hyperbole, by which he attempts to poke holes in Rifkin’s writing. While Rifkin simply mentions the practice of providing pigs with toys to keep them happy, Steven’s makes the unnecessary claim that providing pigs with toys shows that they matter more than children, and that this will ultimately lead to children having no toys. Not only is this a fallacy (a slippery slope fallacy to be exact), but this is obviously not true. With all of today’s manufacturers and caring parents, it’s highly unlikely that this sort of thing would happen. As well, Stevens’
