I think that our basic nature as human beings is to be vegetarian - making every effort not to harm other living beings. Eventually you may be able to eliminate the need for meat. If your body needs meat, it may be better to eat bigger animals. I find it really awful, and I think it is better to avoid these things. For one plate, many lives must be sacrificed. In the Indian tradition, beef is always avoided, but I think there is some logic to her argument. An Indian friend told me that his young daughter has been arguing with him that it is better to serve one cow to ten people than to serve chicken or other small animals, since more lives would be involved. We must support those who are attempting to reduce that kind of unfair treatment.

Then after two years, when they are no longer productive, the hens are sold. During those two years, they are prisoners. I once visited a poultry farm in Japan where they keep 200,000 hens for two years just for their eggs. Certain killing is purely a 'luxury.' … But perhaps the saddest is factory farming. I have seen many individuals and groups promoting animal rights and following a vegetarian diet. We have a great variety of vegetables and other supplementary foods, so we have the capacity and the responsibility to save billions of lives.

We human beings can live without meat, especially in our modern world. “Thousands - millions and billions - of animals are killed for food.

14th dalai lama quote about kindness