Mara, you missed the point of my analogy by focussing on irrelevant details. It doesn't matter whether there's an SUV instead of a Humvee, or a deer instead of a fox, or it's nighttime instead of daytime, or it's a man instead of a woman.

The only point I am making is that unnecessary cruelty to animals, and killing of animals, should be avoided.

If you think about it, you yourself almost certainly practice this principle every single time you treat any animal humanely. It's intuitive for most people that it is more ethical to avoid cruelty to animals.

Of course, if you're a psychopath who likes to go around torturing animals, then everything I've just said is wasted on you.

As far as the necessity of eating animal tissues -- this is clearly not the case as there are any number of extremely healthy vegetarians running around and liing long healthy productive lives.

As far as the necessity of eating animal tissues prior to the development of agriculture -- I DID say that for ancient hunter-gatherer cultures meat eating is a necessity.

So when I said "we have a choice," I was referring to the "we" who live in a modern industrialized society.

Clearly, we DO have a choice.

I have exercised that choice.

So, yes, that statement DOES "hold water."

And as for the health benefits of ANIMAL proteins -- one can get these from humanely farmed eggs and dairy.

Obviously, there is No need to KILL anything.

As far as the overpopulation of deer, etc. -- hunting is not the solution. Animals in the wild DO regulate their own populations in lean years by having fewer offspring.

As far as farm animals now in existence -- it is clear that even if my wildest dreams come true and the world adopts a vegetarian diet, this process will happen very gradually, over hundred of years. The number of animals in farm production will gradually decline.

When animals die, of natural causes, of course, do whatever you wish with their dead bodies. Just don't inflict unnecessary suffering or pain on them.