Yes, gymeejet, I agree:

human beings -- as a group -- behave as though every other living organism on the planet were put here for us to us, abuse, and destroy at our whim. That's just wrong.

I don't however think that meat eating is wrong for ALL human beings.

Just as the lion must eat the gazelle, certain cultures -- hunter-gatherers living at subsistence level -- must eat meat.

But then, those ancient hunter-gatherer cultures are not destroying the planet in all the ways you mention.