until my carrots get up and move about, having live births and being affectionate i shall continue to eat my vegetables.
So why not eat the lathargic, male, nonaffectionate animals? I mean, if that's your cut-off point for edible lifeforms.
Clearly, we can continue this to the point of absurdity (if we haven't reached it already). And that's the point. Since the moral side of vegatarianism can't be consistently applied to all life (since we have to eat
something), it is an illogical position to take from the beginning. If you believe that it is a healthier way to live, then by all means go for it. But the moral part of vegatarianism is ALWAYS applied in a hypocritical manner, since your respect for "lower" lifeforms has a bottom end cut-off point--the very thing by which you claim the moral high ground against meat eaters who think animals are "beneath us" and have no rights.
This isn't rocket science. It's very simple logic. Excluding one group of lifeforms from your sympathy based on arbitrary criteria such as those listed above (moving, birthing, being affectionate, etc.) is still exclusionary. It is still discriminatory. It is still a claim of superiority over billions of lifeforms. And given this fact, vegetarians have little justification for their position of moral high ground. Which is why I say it is just disingenuous emotionalism. Feel good morality. An inauthentic fad.