For what it's worth, my place is not a farm and not particularly beautiful, but I do have a pasture and keep chickens. On to my real response: my "exception" i

For what it's worth, my place is not a farm and not particularly beautiful, but I do have a pasture and keep chickens. On to my real response: my "exception" invalidates your argument wrt whether or not animals should be raised for consumption and have their lives cut short, which you said was an "obvious answer." I think most people agree that it's okay, so long as the animal is allowed to have a normal, fulfilling existence. We love our chickens and take no pleasure in butchering them, but I feel certain they are happy to get a shot at life, even if for some of them that life is only a year or two. I've had a minute now to think about your "obvious answer" from up-thread. I had a lot of fun by the time I was 6 years old. Experienced a lot of love, caught a lot of fish, explored a big world, rode my bike on dirt roads. I knew where "deer road" was, I knew how to sneak up on the bridge there and spy on the turtles. A couple of those years just might have been my best. I don't think I can agree with you. Anyway, if we pose the question as "is it okay to raise animals for consumption? animals that wouldn't have had a life otherwise?", I think the answer is something like "Yes, if we treat them well." So the answer isn't (necessarily) to become a vegan. A perfectly viable option is to source your meat differently.