The all-important human

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Humans are the most important beings on earth and that’s why we have dominion over all the rest and why we can do what we like with animals … which means we can put them in cages, mutilate them and generally control them. It’s to our advantage to do so. In this highly competitive animal-food market it makes economic sense to keep animals in slum conditions, and to kill them with speed and efficiency, without considering their feelings.
How do we justify it? By thinking that “animals lack self awareness so can’t foresee their coming execution ... so they don’t suffer until the very moment of death”. And anyway, since we don’t ever get to see them dying we don’t have to experience their reactions ... so, since we aren’t haunted by what happens it leaves the way clear for us to enjoy eating them. For those on the front line there’s another factor making it easier to keep them and kill them - they know that they can get away with it since it’s all legal. Animals can’t fight back so there will be no repercussions.
On a smaller scale we’ve all experienced a similar detachment and de-sensitisation - when we drown ants in the kitchen sink or crush a cockroach under foot. There’s no danger of being troubled by this because we don’t really experience the dying; they show no sign of suffering because they’re so small and make no audible noise ... which is more or less what the closed doors of the abattoir do, when there are killings of larger and more vocal animals.
By not having to think about it the irritating ‘pest’ is destroyed or, in the case of the no-longer-economically-viable dairy cow, her death is not seen. Separation neutralises empathy.
It’s the same when we separate from fellow humans in order to treat them in a way that benefits us. Racism helps us to separate from our coloured neighbours. By regarding them as ‘pests’ we more easily establish our superiority over them. We don’t have to be too obvious about it either because they’ve probably experienced racism before in their lives - so all we have to do is not get too friendly. We show we’re not interested in them as individuals, thus maintaining an advantage over them.
Whether it’s animals or humans, by making them feel inferior or frightened of us they can be handled more easily, made more useful. The first rule of racism is to never treat our inferiors as our social equals.
Vegans who refuse to enjoy taking advantage of exploited animals are probably acting more sensitively, and they may have a similar attitude when they see the forest as a thing of beauty rather than a collection of log-able trees. With people of other cultures or with trees or animals, or with children, it comes down to marvelling at their innocence and beauty without ever intending them any harm. And disregarding the all-important human.