[mmmllm]

The point is that you're not relegating another sentient being's life to lower than that of your own. You refuse to accept the torture and murder of another species.

In doing so, you dramatically expand your empathy and understanding of what it is to be a living thing, and hence you gain an inner connection to nature and animals that is hard to describe. At least that's my personal experience.

[pabs3]

You are still relegating other life you eat as lower than yours, just not the sentient ones. Also there are the animals that die horrible deaths during machine harvesting. The modern monoculture cropping taking away habitat from nature, and destroying land in the process. Theres also the unethical food transport to get it to you as well.

[uncircle]

You can be empathetic about life and still recognise your biology and your place in the ecosystem. Usually cultures around the world celebrated this fact by being thankful and mindful of the food in front of them, especially if you yourself have slaughtered the animal.

One should be free to avoid eating the meat of sentient life; but one should also be free to accept that their body functions best by eating like the apex predator they are. Seeing the world in black-and-white is what causes all the ills in the world: being human is accepting that we are a walking bag of paradoxes, and perfection is unattainable.

The lack of judgement is why I personally admire self-described vegetarians much more than militant vegans, always trying to convert the world to their righteous image. Live and let live.

[mmmllm]

If we are all apex predators, then why do we have laws? Why can't the strongest person attack someone and take their money? Why can't someone kill a dog and eat it?

Why don't we just poop wherever we want, for that matter?

Because we are more than animals. We can be better. We must be better.

Ironic to use 'live and let live' in that context.