I think this is a pretty fundamental question and that there will be differing responses even within the vegan community.
Do you think that animals and people are "equal"? If so, in what ways? For instance, do you think that torturing an animal is equally as reprehensible as torturing a human? This might manifest itself in other ways as well. For instance, do you think that comparing the meat industry to the Holocaust is an appropriate comparison? Or is your position more like "it's wrong to kill an animal just like it's wrong to kill a person, but the two crimes are not necessarily equally reprehensible."
Also, just an interesting, and maybe really difficult, question...If you do believe that it is equally horrible to kill a person or a human, would you feel the same if your sister versus your pet died? Of course, it's possible that you WOULD feel differently, but recognize that you SHOULDN'T, so it's entirely possible to believe it is equally horrible and still feel worse if your sister dies, I guess.
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