Year after year, day after day,minute after minute, billions ofnon-human animals are slaughteredfor several purposes andaims (food, clothing, entertainment,research). An analogoussituation whose objects were humansinstead of animals wouldobviously never be accepted. Butwhy do we tolerate and even justifyone practice while deploringthe other? The answer is far frombanal: this book is an attempt atfinding it beyond the everyday life,through politics and philosophy.