This, very much this.SnakeoilSage said:Being superior to animals means we should be responsible when exploiting them. It doesn't give us the right to be cruel to them.
I'm probably going to advocate my views poorly, I'm extremely tired but I'll try to bring some semblance of reason to my statements.
I'm a strong advocate for animal rights, and when I was much younger I did join PETA along with a host of other organizations (WSPA, RAN, WWF, etc..). At this point in my life though I'm very much against PETA; not because of what they're trying to accomplish, but the means they're using. Demeaning and threatening people will never encourage them to see your views, you'll only push them further away, and in some cases they'll end up becoming exactly what you're fighting against. While any other day I'd be happy to see an organization garnering so much attention, far too much of it with PETA is negative.
Anyway, enough about PETA. As for specifics, I understand people eat meat, it's just part of life. I wouldn't have a problem with it if the animals that were used had a healthy life, weren't pumped full of drugs or forced to live in repulsive conditions.
It's a touchy subject for me I suppose. We don't have the right to treat animals as disgustingly as we do. And the fact people so easily disengage from the fact the food on their plate was once ever a living creature saddens me thoroughly. I have many reasons behind my beliefs, but for now I'll just surmise it all by saying the way we treat animals now is devastating to their potential; could you imagine what the world would be like in a few hundred/thousand years if we didn't restrict the ability for animals to adapt?