I think I agree with most of your post, Bingowings. I do eat meat at almost every meal, but I am against animal cruelty and recognize that meat should be the smallest part of the meal, since it is less essential to our bodies than the other stuff (unless you count desert).
I am frequently called upon to kill insects that have invaded our house, and only very rarely do I kill them just because. I either feed them to our fish, since the bugs are good for them, or I release the creature outside where it can live and die naturally. Many people show a strange aversion to bumblebees, which are almost entirely harmless, and show no hesitation in stepping on them, but when those things get in the house I always capture them rather than kill them.
When I was younger, I always used to rescue bugs from the rain barrel. I remember one time (when I was five or six) I rescued a drowning horsefly in a bucket, which to my surprise, ungratefully bit me and made me cry. Rather than leaving it to die, I tipped the bucket over and let it go. Another time, I just about burst into tears because I killed a small fly without thinking. Though I don't cry when I step on ants anymore, I still feel slightly guilty if I do it intentionally.
Unless an animal is a pest, I never kill it. Even if it is a pest, I usually try to remove it rather than ending its life, so I fully understand your point of view, Bingowings.
It might seem inconsistent that I eat meat but rescue bugs, but I certainly wouldn't purchase or eat meat that was from a cruelly treated animal. It's natural for humans to eat meat, and many animals eat meat as well, so I have no problem with it.
As you know, I value human life at any stage of development far more than any animal, but that's partly because I recognize that the potential for a human embryo is greater than that of an adult Blue Whale. The Blue Whale will swim around in the ocean its whole life, not contributing anything to the world besides another Blue Whale or two (if that) while a human baby will grow up to become a member of a planetary society and could have a huge impact on the world (even a small impact would be better than the Blue Whale could manage).
I'm not an advocate of animal equality, and/or their equality with human beings, but I do support animal rights to some degree. Hunting shouldn't be for sport, animals should be kept in healthy, safe environments, they shouldn't be treated cruelly, and they shouldn't be slaughtered for no good reason.