I’ve worked with pigs on an organic farm, and I’m convinced that if people in general spent any amount of time with a happy, relaxed pig, they’d swear off pork altogether. Pigs are extremely smart and sociable, and even have a sense of humor.

That being said, I’m with you, it’s the unnecessary suffering that I can’t abide. And it’s not even a matter of intelligence; chickens are pretty dumb (though they’re a lot smarter than people credit them for), and I wouldn’t want to see one suffer either. They’re sensitive animals all the same, as any basic interaction quickly illustrates. The idea that it’s fine to torment an animal because they’re dumb is borderline inhuman to me.