I do not claim moral superiority. A person’s moral character depends on many factors, such as how much they donate to charity, their honesty and how they treat the people they meet. Some vegetarians certainly show a much worse overall moral character than meat-eaters. Nevertheless, given the amount of death and suffering we directly cause when we choose to eat meat, I believe that choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet is one of the most important moral decisions we will ever make.
I eat vegan food not to feel superior to others, but to reduce animal suffering. For this purpose, my influence on other people is ultimately just as important as the economic impact of my own choices. I think it is important for all of us, including vegetarians and vegans, to recognise that we are not ethically innocent and to avoid a superior or “holier-than-thou” attitude.
We should also try not to feel offended when someone politely suggests that a commonly accepted practice is immoral. If everyone refrained from expressing such criticism for fear of offending someone, institutions such as slavery would still exist today. Slave owners certainly considered themselves good and righteous people and strongly rejected any suggestion to the contrary.
Some people today react similarly when someone suggests that eating meat is immoral, because of what this implies about the ethics of their lifestyle. It is natural for some of us to react that way. But I believe we should not treat criticism of commonly accepted practices as a personal attack. Instead, we should assess it rationally and with an open mind, just as we would have wanted earlier generations to assess criticism of slavery and segregation.
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More answers: Vegan Ethics FAQ.