Panni55 – vegans are not the same as vegetarians. Vegans are like the Neturei Karta of vegetarians… They’re totally looney.
Yytz- ” there’s nothing wrong with being vegetarian to avoid contributing to the severe violations of tzaar baalei chaim which are very common in this age of factory farming.” I have one question, are there any gedolim who hold like this? If not, then it’s likely not a valid hashkafa, and you can assume your sensitivity for tzaar baalei chaim is not genuinely greater than theirs is.