This topic is completely genuine, no sarcasm intended at all. I value all life. Some life appears more valuable than others. I do believe humans, from conception to death, to be most valuable and killing them to be most immoral. But this thread is not intended to focus on humans, but rather other members of the animal kingdom, as well as even plants, fungi, prokaryotes, whatever you want to talk about.

I will first start by stating that I recently saw a lengthy ad on a webpage (can't even remember which) talking about why the viewer should choose to be vegan. I didn't watch the whole thing, but I saw chicks being ground up, cattle's throats being slit and the blood drained from their bodies, etc. It got me thinking. I've seen flyers and such before, and I remember my first ballot when I turned 18, where I voted for larger cages for livestock (soon to be eaten, mind you) so they would be able to turn around. I fairly recently saw a wonderful movie called Temple Grandin, and though the focus of the movie was on a woman overcoming her obstacles in autism, I love how she devoted her life to producing more humane means of treating cattle that would soon be slaughtered.

I eat meat, and I rather enjoy it. It is the easiest way to get sufficient protein in one's diet. But is our society so addicted to meat that we treat animals cruelly so we can get that Chik-Filet sammich? Can we justify the killing of animals? Our bodies are designed to eat them. Can we find more humane ways to produce meat? Can we learn as a society to rely on it less, while still retaining a meat filled diet for those who prefer it? How?

I also enjoy mushrooms and onions as two of my favorite veggies, so you can see that I am making sure I consume life from other kingdoms as well, not just the animal kingdon. ;)