Meat Logic: Why Do We Eat Animals?

Why do we eat animals? Most of us think this question is absurd, but if pressed to answer we tend to provide one of a number of rationalizations. For example: "Humans are omnivores." "Every living thing eats other living things." "Animals don't possess human cognition." "Humans need to eat animals to live." We've all heard these arguments before, and many others too. Maybe we've even used these arguments ourselves. But are they logically sound? Or is eating animals in fact a prejudice, invo...