And the fact that the “cows are not animals that would have been born naturally in a meadow somewhere . . . . [but] are ‘products’ that have been grown by a company for the sole purpose of becoming food” seems to me to be rather a stronger argument AGAINST eating them.  Manipulating nature and breeding billions of animals for the sole purpose of killing them to feed an already overfed population, combined with the inherent resultant overcrowding and pollution generated, just seems wrong to me.

As for your observation that you worked with ONE “vegan who always seemed like she was sick/sickly” — I work with and see on a daily basis DOZENS of omnivores suffering from obesity and heart disease.  I am over 50, and have no chronic illnesses or conditions, save from being hypothyroid (a condition I was diagnosed with when I was 35 and an omnivore).  I take my thyroid replacement and vitamin B-12, and that is it.  The omnivores I know have multiple health issues and take a slew of vitamins and medications for asthma, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and erectile disfunction.  So, who are the unhealthy ones?

Being a vegan is difficult, though.  Variety is limited and it’s very expensive.  Society is geared towards meat eaters.  I worked with a vegan who always seemed like she was sick/sickly.

Of COURSE the slaughterhouses are designed to conceal the killing from the majority of workers. Pachirat states clearly that this kind of design is not necessarily “deliberate” but is rather the inevitable result of industrialization and the bureaucratizing of mass production. The violence of the system must be hidden, both from the participants and those who consume the products.

I have told people for years that if they want to change their lives they should give up meat for 30 days. The vegetarian experience is “state specific;” you can’t describe it, it has to be experienced. One man told me he noticed he was “less aggressive” when he was a vegetarian. A rotund and semi-healthy colleague decided to try it and he was blown away. “It’s like discovering a whole new kind of food! Plus, my bowel movements are so regular!” He was also astounded at the amount of hostility he encountered from meat eaters. Many people get VERY threatened by vegetarians, and they often resort to insults or passive-aggressive jokes.

I think most meat eaters know somewhere deep inside — often very deep inside — that their diet is the cause of massive torture and suffering among animals. The worst thing we can do is lie to ourselves. Denial always emerges in unhealthy ways.

You are very confused. you sent me this link above against my argument that vegans suffer problems with their teeth…Mille, you know thats not a reliable link, its a shop / book website. I just told you quotes from people who actually deal with vegans as their dentist on a regular basis. You then told me to do some googling. So…if i get this right, you need a link to make something real or not. I need the dentist to provide you with a written statement. Millie, I have no idea what age you are. I hope you are under fifteen as an adult with this low level of comprehension is kinda scary. Research is the repeated search or the same subject, i think yours is’find what agrees with your latest point, then copy an paste it here. ok, fair enough, 
l http://www.curetoothdecay.com/Tooth_Decay/tooth_cavity_vegan.htm

(that link is also to some online shop, but they are not selling anything just some facts)

here is a quote from said site: 

The vegan diet lacks essential fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins from animal fats) and amino acids (from proteins) needed to help the body rebuild tissues and bones. Weston Price searched the world for a vegetarian culture and could not find one. A vegan diet therefore is not a primitive diet, but a new diet for modern times and one that our bodies are not designed for. In ancient times the concept of a vegan diet was not possible. In many regions there was not enough plant food to sustain life.

One day soon we’ll be able to grow this stuff in factories and then everyone will be happy, so relax.

No matter how “clean and efficient” death is made to look, it’s still death. Do you have a dog or a cat? Do you mind if I take your dog or cat away from you so they can be cleanly and efficiently killed and made into a burger today? Cause, you see, I’m really hungry. I’ll pay you for them. There can’t be any reason you should object, it’s just an animal. I promise, they’ll have a really nice death.

If there were activist groups advocating illegal action to shut down chip fabricators or tire makers, there would be such laws.

What a huge load of utter horseshit. Do a bit of Googling, my friend–

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm 

I think its lack of respect for others that leads to violence, not the other way around…  We did plenty of that horrible stuff with only swords and fire.  The machines just amplify the “inhumanity” (read: humanity) that already exists and reduce the number of participants in the violent acts…  But you’re right: we need to look at these places and ask ourselves if we’re ok with mass slaughter, mechanized or not.

You mean the thing that Pachirat explicitly did not do? What makes you bring that up?

The lesson here, of course, is not that slaughterhouses and genocides are morally or functionally equivalent, [emph. mine] but rather that large-scale, routinized, and systematic violence is entirely consistent with the kinds of bureaucratic structures and mechanisms we typically associate with modern civilization.