Just because they are worth less than a human doesn't mean you are free to inflict pain and suffering upon them. I'm vegan and i see animals as below me, i'd kill an animal if it means saving a human life. However that alone doesn't justify paying for them to be abused, raped, and have their throats slit for 15 minutes of taste pleasure when i can just eat something else instead.
The line is to not hurt animals unless you have a reason to.
Ah the classic "i get my meat from local farms, free range and grass fed!" doesn't change the fact that they die for nothing more than your tastebuds, buddy. A horrible existence through and through because you specifically paid for it, on top of being responsible for 18.5% CO2 emissions. It's easy to point the finger at "big corporations" and simply hope that they spontaneously stop polluting without consumers demanding alternatives at the very least.
