Before anything else, I consider myself an ethical vegan because I surely enjoy the health benefits of veganism, but above all I am doing this for the animals. Believe me that once you have truly educated yourself (and completely understand) the torture these poor innocent sentient beings go through, then you will feel that you can no longer contribute. I would like to leave you with this for reflection. Next time you are eating animals or animal bi-products, think about where it has come from. And, what makes these animals different from a house pet, like a cat or a dog?

Cows

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To start, cows are fed a highly unnatural diet of grain and corn (as opposed to their natural diet of grass), which is designed to fatten them up quickly. This can cause their stomach to develop a condition called bloat, in which their stomach becomes so full of gas that their breathing becomes impaired because of the compression of the lungs. Others suffer from a severe increase in stomach acid, which causes ulcers to form. In addition, the cows are packed into small areas and are forced to inhale ammonia, methane, and other harmful chemicals because of the large amounts of manure. Because of this, breathing can become painful and give them chronic respiratory problems. They are also given antibiotics to make them fatter and to keep them alive if they are raised for beef. To identify cows, ranchers may restrain cows and press hot fire irons, causing third-degree burns. They may also cut off the male cows' testicles or clamp them, so that they atrophy without any pain relievers. Many cows receive insufficient care from veterinarians. Cattle also is also experience extreme climates, in which they either die because of the heat or freeze to death. In feedlots, they are crammed by the thousands. Cows on dairy farms are constantly artificially impregnated to keep their milk flowing, and then torn away from their calves. This process repeats until the mother's body is worn out, and she too is sent to be killed. Female cows have maternal bonds with their young, and are heard for several days after separation frantically crying and searching for their young. All cows, whether they are used for beef or dairy, eventually end up slaughtered.

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Chickens

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Chickens are probably the most abused animals on the planet. Their legs are forced into restraints, they are put in scalding hot water to remove their feathers, and their throats are cut in slaughterhouses.Chickens that are bred for their flesh spend their lives in total confinement from the moment they hatch until the moment they are killed. They spend their entire lives with thousands of other chickens in extremely tight spaces,  where disease is rampant. They are bred and drugged to grow very large, and their body can't keep up. They suffer from heart problems, such as heart attacks, organ failure, and leg issues, such as lameness. They become crippled because of their own weight and oftentimes die of dehydration because of their inability to reach the little amount of water provided. Laying hens are also kept in tiny wire cages, where they are forced to urinate and defecate on one another, whereas naturally they are clean animals. They also have some of their beaks cut off so that they don't peck each other out of the frustration caused by their confinement. They are shipped to be slaughtered after their egg production drops and their bodies are exhausted, to be used for chicken soup or dog or cat food. This is because their flesh is too bruised to be used for anything else. To make matters worse, the egg industry has no use for male chicks (because they don't lay eggs and they aren't bred to produce excessive flesh for the meat), so about 200 million of these birds are suffocated and ground up. 

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Pigs

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Like cows and chickens, pigs spend their lives in cramped squalid warehouses. In small gestation and farrowing crates, sows (mother pigs) are repeatedly impregnated until their bodies wear out, and then they are sent to slaughterhouses. Piglets are take away from their mothers. The males are castrated, their tails are cut off, and the end of their teeth are cut down using pliers without any pain relievers whatsoever. When it's time for slaughter, the pigs are transported to the slaughterhouse, where they are again out into scalding hot tanks of water, which removes their hair, and makes their skin smooth.

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I strongly recommend going to www.peta.org for more more information. For the video below, viewer discretion is advised because of very graphic images.