We're omnivorous, have front teeth for cutting through meat and back teeth for grinding it up, naturally get significant protein from meat, etc... That much we all know.
So we know eating meat is 'natural'.
Obviously, farming animals for meat the way we do isn't 'natural', but it's certainly better than not doing it at all and decimating entire populations of animals in the wild. We're already doing that to fish, so naturally the answer is to farm them if possible, and if not, restrain from going overboard and killing off species of animals.
The only other thing we're left with is how we treat these animals we're killing... One side says why should you care about an animal's feelings when you're about to eat it anyway, and the other apparently wants us to what... give them social security numbers and take them on long walks on the beach and let them sleep in our beds or something.
Me personally, I think the meat industry should do what it can to maintain sanitary conditions for the animals it processes and maintain as much of a stress-free environment as possible while still keeping efficient productivity at a reasonably high level and waste at a reasonably low level.
Being extreme on either side of the argument isn't going to do anything. If people want better treatment of animals, both parties are going to have to meet somewhere in the middle on these issues.
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