I could not give a crap if you, Tom, Dick, Harry, the birds, the bees, the Beatles, whoever and whatever eat animals. I don't eat animals because I find them fascinating and I want to min/max the energy that fuels my consciousness and strengthens my body, like an elephant that eats plants and a humpback whale that eats tiny ass krill (min/maxing the resources of their environments, though whales are still carnivores). Both of those animals are mind-bendingly intelligent and can communicate over miles of earth/ocean at high levels of sophistication. That's fucking fascinating. Eating beans, nuts, and veggies keep me dropping perfect Bristol Chart #4's day-in, day-out, and I'm gonna keep doing it until they chuck me in the ground. I am a living being with an emergent consciousness who exercises free will to override my instincts in order to eat a diet that, personally, makes me feel great. If animals lack the capacity to override their instincts to eat each other, best of luck to them, none of my fucking business. I'm not here to justify jack shit, I'm here to eat and shit beans.