I've also encountered arguments along the lines of "there's this other suffering you _aren't_ preventing". Emotionally it has the same feel as the drowning chi

I've also encountered arguments along the lines of "there's this other suffering you _aren't_ preventing". Emotionally it has the same feel as the drowning child argument[1] by Pete Singer. That argument engenders a feeling of hopelessness for me, because I can't assail its logic but it implies a vast array of suffering for which I am morally culpable. I think meat eaters feel similarly. When faced with the cognitive dissonance, they shrink. Now, I mostly shrug and say, "I'm doing the best I can." [1]: https://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/199704--.htm https://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/199704--.htm