"It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings" -- Kurt Cobain

We have animal rights activists but why don't we have vegetable rights activists? Fungi rights activists? Microbe rights activists? Mineral rights activists? Our physiology was designed with a certain diet of flora and fauna, it shouldn't be tampered with. Why do animals deserve rights and not trees or mushrooms? It's because we have the ability to empathize with animals. If we could empathize with plants then perhaps we'd see things differently. Some of our spiritualist populous would be overwhelmed with moral obligation to protect flora and fauna alike however wouldn't be able to consume with a clear conscience. Conversely, these same people would identify how ludicrous the entire idea is in the first place and can eat with a clear head. Rights are a man-made concept that differs with each government. We, as a people, have built a society and have made ourself rules to live by. Within those rules are our list of rights to be upheld by our society and enforced by the government. No where are animals or plants included because they're not a part of our society. If you're worried about your soul if you eat animals then I'm afraid I have some bad news for you...When you bite into a tomato you've got corpse guts dribbling down your chin. Accept it or get out of my way so I can chow down on these ribs. No matter what you do you're destroying life so that you may live. Be proud of your relative superiority. No one's asking you to eat Fluffy. Besides, no one seems to care about the rights of ugly animals anyway. Is this a strong foundation to base a philosophy on? Aesthetics? For a great example of a society driven and ruined by aesthetics I recommend Bioshock.