Every living entity devours matter to survive. Some of that matter is considered "alive", e.g., animals but not plants or rocks. When a living thing kills another living thing on purpose it is called "murder". Throughout history, animals (including humans) have been killing (murdering) each other in order to further their own agenda (revenge, food, power).
Seen in that perspective, there is nothing wrong with murder. It is just the way life is; survival of the fittest and all that. Without all the murders in history, without something boosting the evolutionary forces, we wouldn't be here.
There are many reasons for murdering another life form: revenge, prevention of aggression, safety, food, sport. Most of these were considered perfectly okay for millennia, if they were considered at all. I imagine they were more like water might be to fish, nothing they think about the least bit.
"how can it be right to keep innocent, thinking and feeling, animals in life-long captivity only to murder them for food at our convenience?"
However, mankind happened to grow conscious and emphatic as well as collaborative (see part of that story here; how motion processing turned into self-awareness and empathy) - and now research shows many animals, in particular primates, show the same characteristics as we do only to a slightly lesser degree. We now understand that other people and animals have feelings; feelings of pain, anxiety and bonding (bordering to friendship and love, according to some oxytocin studies). We simply no longer accept mindless torture, killing for sport or aggression-prevention murders (I elaborate a bit more on rightful violence and revenge in the post My Beliefs).
Hence, if it is wrong to kidnap and murder fellow humans, unless we have a really good reason, how can it be right to keep innocent, thinking and feeling, animals in life-long captivity only to murder them for food at our convenience?
Some cultures don't eat dogs, horses, dolphins and primates (other cultures do all of those things) since they are considered too much like us, too intelligent, too capable of feelings. We didn't know better before, but maybe we do now*. It's just that most of us (not least I) hide behind the food industry and enjoy a nice steak as long as we are spared the gory details of captivity, torture, pain and murder in its history.
Some say farm animals lead a happy life, well fed and cared for. They might, but they are still held behind bars against their will, and end their lives at the hands of an executioner. Some might actually fare better than they would in the wild, and there definitely are more cows, pigs and chicken than there would be without mankind and farming. Many, however live a short life of despair, filth and degradation,... that suddenly comes to a gruesome end.
*maybe we don't; maybe even insects or trees "feel"
I have much belatedly started to come to terms with these things; A couple of days ago I finally decided that I am now a Carnivorous Vegetarian. That means I eat meat, but aim to do it less and less frequently.
First I'll aim for meat-free days, then weeks, then months. I'm going to define meat as land living animals. Thus, for the time being I'll be eating eggs, drinking milk, eating fish, crustaceans, insects, larvae and other unborn or hive-mind like creatures that seem to lack self awareness, memory and feelings. Eggs are admittedly in a grey area, murder-wise, since rooster chicks are considered economically worthless and thus murdered shortly after hatching, either gassed or sliced in high-speed mills. I just hope no research shows fish think and feel much anytime soon, because I can't imagine a life without both land meat and fish meat.
Today is a meat free day. I've lived on eggs (pancakes), dairy products (milk and whey powder) and salmon.
Yesterday was a whole different matter, since I had 500g of perfectly cooked Nebraska beef for lunch at the Stockholm restaurant Vassa Eggen, as well as meat for dinner later the same evening. Carnivorous Vegetarian... and a hypocrite, but I'm trying, it's a direction. I'm doing it in small effortless increments - as with all things I do; one small step at a time turns into a long journey with time, if performed consistently.
Yesterday was a whole different matter, since I had 500g of perfectly cooked Nebraska beef for lunch at the Stockholm restaurant Vassa Eggen, as well as meat for dinner later the same evening. Carnivorous Vegetarian... and a hypocrite, but I'm trying, it's a direction. I'm doing it in small effortless increments - as with all things I do; one small step at a time turns into a long journey with time, if performed consistently.