Because they’re cute and people don’t like the idea of eating cute things
I don’t particularly like animals, and tend to think farm animals are gross (and :im-vegan: regardless )
Pokemon are cute like mascots, or emojis. Thinking about eating them makes me think about eating like funkopops or something. I struggle to even think of them as made of meat.
But some carnists will readily admit cows and pigs are cute and still eat them
Different types of cuteness
A Pokemon is designed to be considered the ultimate companion for a person, as they say “Every Pokemon is someone’s favorite” and the idea of eating that hits a nerve
Farm animals are taught to us to be sources of food, so even if they’re cute, they’re still seen as a food source first and foremost
Are they really different types of cuteness? Maybe cows and pigs aren’t as cute as Pikachu, but rabbits exist… Not to mention Farfetch’d is pretty much just a duck, and the article is about Lechonk which isn’t much cuter than a real pig beyond perhaps the name. And then there’s the fact that many real animals killed for food are babies which tend to be viewed as more cute. I just don’t really get it.
And a lot of people have favorite animals too, but you’d be hard-pressed to find an animal nobody has eaten - and not rarely, some of these animals can be regularly eaten by humans without significant outrage from people who love those animals (rabbits, horses).
(I’m operating under the assumption that we’re not discussing the merits of veganism but simply whether or not it should be surprising that people view animals and Pokémon differently - I don’t think cuteness or indoctrination are relevant factors when it comes to justifying animal exploitation but they can explain mindsets for sure)
That’s a good point. People have an aversion to eating dogs for the same reason - if your culture hasn’t gotten you used to the idea of seeing an animal as food, your empathy will naturally kick in at the thought of killing and eating it.
Cows and pigs definitely have personalities. I agree that Pokémon express emotions in a more human-like way, but if you consider that cats and dogs have personalities, so do cows and pigs. They’ve just been commodified to an extreme degree. The only difference between cats/dogs and animals farmed in the West is just cultural habits. u/ssjmarx put it well: “People have an aversion to eating dogs for the same reason - if your culture hasn’t gotten you used to the idea of seeing an animal as food, your empathy will naturally kick in at the thought of killing and eating it.”
I don’t use “it” to describe animals mostly for this exact reason.
Farm animals sometimes have names - some dairy capitalists even enjoy telling you which specific named cows were exploited for your milk. But I suppose this is a pretty standard marketing thing - corporations love to simultaneously humanize animals and bring attention to the fact that they’re exploited.
