The more rational approach is to adopt a reduced meat consumption diet for two reasons: first, for the optimal nutrition of the human organism, and second, for the sustainability of the planet.
Meat production with current demands depletes natural resources at an unsustainable rate. Imagine underdeveloped and developing countries starting to consume like the West. We have told these countries to open their markets to investments, to become capitalist to attain our standard of living. However, we haven’t told them that this is a utopia because it would require three more planets in terms of space and resources.
Nevertheless, if we consider the ethical side of consuming animal meat and its derivatives, humans are part of the planet’s chain of life.