Pigs are as smart as dogs. Why do we eat one and love the other?

[C C]

COMMENT: Moral development in all kinds of areas never achieved tenability and widespread adoption until technological advancements, prosperity, and security about resources provided alternatives and new possibilities. In this case, it requires synthetic meat becoming popular with future generations. Unlike swine easily making a feral transition, some domesticated breeds of animals would die-out or be successfully eliminated as free-roaming menaces unless animal hobbyists and their exhibition shows kept them going. Survivalists would also maintain heritage/heirloom populations of legacy livestock, to maintain their independence from commercial industry and its potential collapse.
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https://www.vox.com/21363401/pigs-dogs-s...telligence

EXCERPT: . . . So why do we treat the animals we eat in ways we would never, ever treat our pets?

For the third season of the Vox Media Podcast Network series Future Perfect, we delve into how the meat we eat affects all of us. In this episode, we speak with Lori Marino, a neuroscientist who studies animal behavior and intelligence, to try to understand this paradox on our plates.

Marino makes it clear that pigs — and even chickens — are intelligent, emotional beings worthy of our moral consideration. She also helps us understand why we don’t consider them morally worthy... (MORE - the podcast)

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Chickens actually can make good outdoor pets (indoors requires bird diapers). But urban and suburban ordinances banning them make it impossible or difficult for many people to own one or two even recreationally. Not to mention the problems of protecting them from dogs, cats, and predatory wildlife.

[Syne]

No, moral development didn't require technological developments, prosperity, and resource security. And no, synthetic meat doesn't magically make natural meat immoral. Natural morality includes the natural food chain, where some animals are more valued as food depending on their cost to benefit ratio. Dogs do not offer the meat and calories of a fattened pig, and I would doubt that dog meat has superior flavor/texture to make up the difference. Relative animal intelligence is just not a factor in natural morality, which is the only objective standard for morality.

[Zinjanthropos]

Pet dogs have set our evolutionary machinery in motion. Their domestication may have affected us. Have we, the top predator, since evolved to think sympathetically of our prey because of our long lasting relationship with dogs? Quite possibly the first predator on Earth that feels sorry for eating prey. There is no way that feeling can be how our ancestors felt, IMHO. Plus can’t believe T-Rex felt terrible about chowing down some poor unfortunate Duckbill. 

Although I think it’s the way life works. Life in general is ensuring we survive or at least doing its best. A little tweak here and there, different strokes for different folks and in case of an apocalyptic event there will be survivors.