Since the parent tried to make the case that people only have pets for vanity. This is my point; there are lots of reasons people have pets, and the top one, us

Since the parent tried to make the case that people only have pets for vanity. This is my point; there are lots of reasons people have pets, and the top one, usually, is an emotional connection. You do not derive the same emotional value from eating meat. One is sustenance, and the other has been bred for centuries to have an extreme emotional connection with humans.