All of us in society are supposed to believe that cruelty to animals is wrong and that it is a good thing to prevent needless suffering. So if that is true, how can meat be acceptable under any but the most extraordinary circumstances, such as perhaps roasting the bird who died flying into a window?
The type of meat eating that I am defending is the occasional consumption of animals that have been raised on pasture in limited numbers and where the practice mimics that of nature and treats the animals (and slaughters them) humanely. In this limited capacity, I think meat eating can be MORE responsible than vegetarianism for reasons that impact the environment, our health, culture, history and morality.