Hmm, according to
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/sahelanthropus-tchadensis our earliest known ancestors ate mostly plants. Meat consumption was also positively correlated with time. If that is the case, then vegetarians are 'savages' in that they are unevolved. The more modern the man, the more meat he eats.
However, plants have their own allure. They are cheap to grow, easy to care for, and don't cry and scream while you rip them into bite-sized pieces. If we could get a plant to grow fruit that is as protein-rich and delicious as meat, we would be able to feed our population much better. That is one of the current goals of artificial or "cruelty-free" meat.
Think about it, all the taste of steak without any guilt (come on, we've all felt it once) or vegetarian complaining about you eating it. That is not to say that all vegetarians are whiny or aggressive, one of my best friends did it for three years and never begrudged me a single piece of meat.
To conclude, meat is murder, and I'd rather not see animals suffer in slaughterhouses. New research concerning the idea that sentience is not a binary property, but rather a gradient on which all life lies makes me feel even worse. Though there will always be problems, the closer we can get to cruelty-free, the better.
-Penguin
