As for "nature to do its thing", that's a kind of misconception. Nowaday, such places barely exist anywhere, even in the areas people believe to be "natural". Most of the areas are highly managed and I believe your country is an extreme example of this.
I think we both know what I meant by that.
Correct, animals suffer just as well. However, what I mean is that huge areas are being cleaned up to grow plant-based food, which is really unhealthy both for the environment overall and for many rare species. The so-called 'green' way of eating and 'green' products take way more resources than some more orthodox kinds of food which speeds up not only the humanity's death but also the death of the biosphere.
So where do you think the food for the animals is coming from? Where do you think the animals themselves are? Do you think all that doesn't cost space and resources?
So what are you trying to achieve with your 'green' eating? prolong the life of a few livestock animals that will still be murdered for eating later on?
I don't understand how someone, who said they were a vegetarian themselves, can ask such a question.
First of all, I'm living by a moral code that I don't need to do mental gymnastics for. I don't see why animals lives should be worth less than mine.
It's very simple: If I don't need to cause any creatures death, then I won't. I don't need to eat meat, so I don't.
Now, before you get any weird ideas: I said if I don't NEED to. I'm aware that I'm stepping on bugs all the time, but I can't stop these kinds of things without kms, and I quite like my life.
Secondly, I know I'm not prolonging anyone's life. But do you not understand the concept of supply and demand?
Less meat eaters -> less eaten meat -> less meat sold -> less meat produced -> less animals killed.
And if you're one of the people who think that "what you do won't matter anyway because the majority of people still eat meat" and genuinely don't understand why that statement is stupid, I'm not going to discuss this with you any further.
But if this is your opinion: What I do does in fact matter. It matters for the one animal that might not live nor die because I decided to stop eating meat, and it matters for myself. Because I can look at myself and say that I'm doing what I can and that my morals have integrity.