Originally posted by: C3PX
Okay, the difference between animal and human life: Can a mouse build a mousetrap? No. It uses its instincts. It is all instincts. The cat will use the same methods over and over and over again while trying to catch a mouse. Cats don't display emotion. If two cats live in the same home for many years and one dies, the other will hardly even notice it. Its corps could be in the same room for a number of days and the cat would react to it with indifference. Put the same situation with two humans, and the experience would be tramatizing. Having your friend or roommate die, then being in the same room with his body for a few days. When the mother of your dog dies, your dog doesn't even really care. If they were close, then maybe he will whine for a day or two and look sad. But he will be over it in a week. A human looses his mother, it can take a year before he gets back on a solid track in life, and he could very well live the rest of his life without getting over the trauma. These are some very minor examples of the differences between humans and animals. This could go on for ever and in much more detail. There is a very distinct difference. Do animals love? Do they cry? Do they communicate anywhere near the level humans are capable of communicating on? Can they think for themselves? Can they plan, design, and build? Can they dream? Can they hope? Can they be inspired? Can they draw? Can they write books? When a pack of animals is being chased by a lion and one gets caught, do the others stop and risk their lives to help it? Humans do. Why? Can you seriously not see the distinction?
I'm sorry, but I have to say that most of that paragraph is complete bullshit. Of course animals think and feel. It's absurd to think they don't. But then again, maybe I'm wrong. You seem to have a great deal of insight into the animal psyche. Last I checked, they couldn't even talk, so it's fascinating that you seem to be convinced that you are aware of "grieving patterns" or displays of emotions in animals.
Sarcasm aside, if forced, would I sacrifice a non-human animal for a human? Of course. I'd be sad about it, but, ultimately, I do hold human life in slightly higher regard than animal life. Our intelligence is much superior to that of other animals, but most humans seem to take some ego trip with that statement. Or the statement in the Bible where God puts man in charge over the animals. Most people don't seem to realize that that makes animals our responsibility rather than our playthings to do with as we wish. Ever since ancient times, man has used animals for food, shelter, and a myriad of other purposes. Why? Because he had to. Just like animals have to eat other animals to survive. Well, guess what? The world isn't like that any more. As has been stated, we are superior to animals. We don't have to kill other animals to survive. We have been inspired and have created other means of sheltering and feeding ourselves that don't necessitate us to resort to murder. That's why I'm a vegetarian. And it's strange. As advanced as we are now, we give much less respect to what we kill than our ancestors, who had to kill animals did. Ancient tribes respected the life that had to be lost to sustain theirs. They were grateful to the animal and didn't waste a part of it. But nowadays, we raise animals on factory farms, who have no other life than being prepared for food. They are abused and slaughtered. I'll start faulting animals for their part in the food chain when I see a tiger herd up a bunch of antelope and keep them all around in horrible conditions until he's ready to kill them.
By the by, I also find it quite hilarious how all of you seem to think we equate factory farms and meat eaters with Hitler's genocide of the Jews when Hitler himself was a vegetarian. Yeah, kinda hard to live down (you don't see many vegetarians hyping that aspect of the history), but I still find it quite humorous when you make that bizarre and ironic of a comparison. 
