But killing non-"sentient" beings is not. IMO it's a vacuous and ridiculous distinction that only distracts us from living sustainably within our environments.
I'm not sure what your criticism is. There is no way to describe a sentient being without those two words. A sentient?
I think it is naive to believe anyone can live a perfectly moral life. The difficulty of the project doesn't mean we should delude ourselves about our choices and actions.
I commend anyone who acts. Even reducing meat consumption to only six days a week, or what have you, is praiseworthy. I give myself, and others, no quarter when it comes to ethical living. I don't hesitate to admit that I fall woefully short of sainthood.
My criticism is that saying one branch of the tree of life deserves freedom from harm, and the rest don't deserve the same rights, is totally ridiculous.