This hypocrisy absolutely exists, and society does not seem likely to resolve it. But I think that most people would rather accept animal cruelty as okay, than

This hypocrisy absolutely exists, and society does not seem likely to resolve it. But I think that most people would rather accept animal cruelty as okay, than to give up eating meat (if they were hypothetically forced to make a choice). In other words, most people would resolve the contradiction in the opposite way that you are hoping for.