Sure, it would be hypocritical, and I wouldn't do it if I hadn't changed my mind. And people would be free to criticize and ostracize me for it. I might not lik

Sure, it would be hypocritical, and I wouldn't do it if I hadn't changed my mind. And people would be free to criticize and ostracize me for it. I might not like it, but that is a possible consequence of holding an unpopular opinion. In fact, if animal rights have so advanced by 2050 that eating meat is widely seen as wrong, I dearly hope I am criticized and ostracized if I refuse to change my mind. I'm already willing to entertain the thought that eating meat may be wrong. It seems unlikely that a majority (or even plurality) would reach that conclusion before I did. Whether or not that comes to pass, though, we are talking here about removing existing rights from beings recognized even by bigots as people now, and doing so in contravention of constitutional provisions that have forbidden just that for nearly 150 years. Edit: By the way, is your country one of the many in Europe that criminalizes holocaust denial? What would you say if Mozilla appointed a known Nazi sympathizer as CEO? Would you really think this reaction was "scary"? If not, why not?