People say it's cruel to kill animals to eat them. Well, as I see it, how you kill them is the most important issue. You can do it horribly or humanely. I opt for the latter.
I was talking to a client about this the other day. She agreed and understood that we need to eat animal matter, but still had trouble with the idea of killing them.
I said to her "Well, the animal is going to die someday, so, would you rather the animal grow old, became decrepit and live in discomfort and potential agony till it drops and then we eat it? Or, might it be better for the animal to kill it humanely before it suffers?
This made her smile.
So, if you have a beef with eating beef or any other animal because it has to be killed, remember that the animal has to die someday.
(Note: I realize that there are other issues like veal, piglets, and other animals that we eat that are not allowed to live a decent lifespan and are tortured while they live. I am against this.)