PWCCA, just for a balance, some of the greatest thinkers in history have been vegetarian including:

Albert Einstein
Isaac Newton
Leonardo da Vinci
Charles Darwin
Thomas Edison
Ben Franklin
Pythagoras
Socrates
Plutarch
Martin Luther
Mark Twain
Charlotte Bronte
John Wesley
Louisa May Allcott
John Milton
Albert Schweitzer
George Barnard Shaw
Mary Shelley
Percey Shelley
William Blake
William Wordsworth
Plato
Isaac Singer
Vincent Van Gogh
HG Wells
Leo Tolstoy
Ralph Waldo Emersen
Hans Christian Anderson

PS I agree with you about the treatment of animals. However, I don't think being vegetarian is enough, because dairy animals are exploited too. I take some dairy and eggs at the moment because I am struggling so much for things to eat, but my eventual goal is veganism. I do have a sense of guilt in consuming dairy, but as it is not a sin (and neither is meat eating) I do eat some mostly for fat, but I would rather not.

PPS I don't want to discourage anyone from eating meat, espcially if they need it for their health - have just been sharing my own experiences.