After 40 years of advocating for animal rights, I am well-used to the plethora of irrational and unfounded excuses people use in an attempt to justify their exploitation and oppression of other animals. It starts with the discomfort of cognitive dissonance between the belief that causing suffering is wrong and the desire to eat animal flesh, cheese or whatever.

From this point of discomfort, coupled with the unconscious belief that "I am a good person so what I do must be right" they then proceed to go through a whole series of rationalisations and justifications to 'prove' that.