I think the difference between bears eating meat and humans eating meat is that humans have the capacity to reason about ethics and have greater access to a wide variety of foods that can fulfil their dietary requirements. Yes this might require some initial effort to educate yourself about what to eat to stay healthy, but this is really quite easy. I am vegetarian and have been since I was very young, and I am healthy and play sport at an elite level. The illnesses and diseases suffered by people eating way too much meat are far more serious than the illnesses caused by people not eating meat at all.
Regarding abattoirs, the killing of animals is in some instances adequately regulated, but the living conditions of animals certainly are not adequately provided for in legislation (if they are provided for at all).
You are wrong PhilK, there is not enough regulation. Most regulation basically leaves it up to the industry to create codes of practice, and of course the industry does whatever reaps the highest profits. Look at Voiceless.com which is an animal protection group with many lawyers as members, and their reports... these people actually know about the legislation and its interpretation.
Farm animals are generally exempt from animal welfare legislation. Pigs have their tails cut off without anaesthetic, sheep and pigs are sterilised (male ones) without anaesthetic...I can't believe that that doesn't hurt. They scream and cry when it happens, and their stress levels have been shown to be very elevated for a long time afterwards. Pigs are kept in cages so small they can barely move. Veal calves are kept in very small cages so that they don't develop muscles to make the meat too tough, and are given artificial diets lacking in what they need, just to make the meat taste better. Male chicks in chicken farms are often put straight into shredding machines.
Many animals used in the meat industry are social animals and animals that fossick or graze. Keeping them segregated in tiny enclosures and preventing them from behaving naturally is very cruel.
Even though she is still eating some meat, at least she is doing her bit to prevent cruelty. Better than nothing.
The majority of meat available for sale in Australia is meat that comes from animals that have been treated in a cruel way. That is a fact and it is sad that so many people convince themselves otherwise and tell their wrongly held opinions to others, further prolonging the existing ignorance on these issues. Yes there are a small number of farms producing meat that do not treat their animals that way, but they are a very minute minority.
