Just like us, non-human animals are not machines, they are not for the satisfaction of our needs in this world, and they do not belong to us. I therefore advocate a lifestyle that is called ethical veganism [3][4]. It goes well beyond the diet and includes all aspects of life and human and animal interaction.
Only when we look at other animals as individuals, with dignity and respect, can we really know who they are. As long as you cling to euphemisms and degrade sentient creatures to being mere commodities for your personal enjoyment, you will remain ignorant of their individuality, their ability to suffer and their desire to live and be free.
1. http://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Treblinka-Treatment-Animals-Ho...
2. http://www.adaptt.org/killcounter.html
3. http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/
4. http://johnnytisdale.com/veganism-is-a-scientific-imperative...
So treat the animals like objects to make it easier to kill them? That also works for humans:
https://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Treblinka-Treatment-Animals-H...
> I had a dissociative event the first time I did this.
Dissociation happens for a reason. Slaughterhouse workers get PTSD.
> I think that killing and eating animals is fundamental to who we are (and I don't mean "we've evolved incisors"; I mean "the rituals and process are encoded in our minds". The hand shapes the tool and the tool shapes the hand).
The same argument could have been made for cannibalism, but somehow we managed to get over that.